Verse 15.3
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा | अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल- मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ||३||
Transliteration (IAST)
na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā | aśvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā ||3||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
The form of this tree is not perceived here as such - neither its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut this firmly-rooted Ashvattha tree with the strong axe of non-attachment,
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that the tree of samsara cannot be fully comprehended by those immersed in it, just as a fish cannot perceive the ocean. The weapon prescribed is vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment), which alone can sever the bonds of worldly existence. Ramanuja emphasizes that this non-attachment must be 'firm' (dṛḍha) - not a passing mood but a settled disposition born of discriminative knowledge.