A great tree rooted upward into the sky, its branches spreading down toward the earth

Chapter 15 of 18 · 20 verses

पुरुषोत्तमयोगThe supreme Person

The world as an inverted tree, cut with the axe of non-attachment; the supreme Person beyond the perishable.

How do I live among changing branches without losing the highest root?

By knowing which is which. Saṃsāra is drawn as an aśvattha with its root above and its branches below (15.1), and the axe is non-attachment — not contempt for life, but a refusal to treat a changing branch as the thing everything rests on. Krishna then names where he is already present: as light in sun and moon, as the fire that digests food, as memory and knowledge (15.12–15). The root is not elsewhere. It is what holds the branches up.

Read it with this in mindCutting the tree does not mean despising life or relationships. It means refusing to treat a changing branch as the ultimate root. Traditions differ sharply on how the jīva is an eternal aṃśa of Krishna.

Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life

Plate 15 — Purushottama Yoga: The supreme being

Where we are in the dialogue

The Highest Root of Life

The inverted aśvattha pictures saṃsāra as branches whose root is above. Non-attachment cuts the binding tree so the seeker can turn toward the primal person. The jīva carries the senses from one body to another; Krishna is present as light, nourishment, digestion, memory and knowledge, and is revealed as Puruṣottama.

Words to carry through: saṃsāra tree; non-attachment; jīva; divine presence; perishable; imperishable; Puruṣottama
The chapter’s spine: 15.1–11 15.12–20
Threads running through it: Samsara Jiva Divine Purushottama

15.1–6The upside-down treeSamsara is pictured as an ashvattha tree to be cut through detachment in search of the primal source.
श्रीभगवानुवाचShri Bhagavan said
15.1
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
ūrdhvamūlamadhaḥśākhamaśvatthaṁ prāhuravyayam / chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yastaṁ veda sa vedavit
They speak of an imperishable ashvattha tree whose roots are above and whose branches are below, and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. Whoever knows that tree knows the Vedas.
वे एक अविनाशी अश्वत्थ वृक्ष की बात करते हैं, जिसकी जड़ें ऊपर हैं और शाखाएँ नीचे, और जिसके पत्ते वेदों के छंद हैं। जो उस वृक्ष को जान लेता है, वही वेद जानता है।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.2
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः ।
अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥
adhaścordhvaṁ prasṛtāstasya śākhā guṇapravṛddhā viṣayapravālāḥ / adhaśca mūlānyanusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣyaloke
Its branches spread downward and upward, fed by the gunas, and the objects of the senses are their buds. Below, its roots run on into the human world, tying people to action.
उसकी शाखाएँ नीचे और ऊपर दोनों ओर फैली हैं, गुणों से पुष्ट, और विषय उनकी कोंपलें हैं। नीचे उसकी जड़ें मनुष्यलोक में फैलती चली जाती हैं और लोगों को कर्म से बाँध देती हैं।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.3
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा ।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलमसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥
na rūpamasyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādirna ca sampratiṣṭhā / aśvatthamenaṁ suvirūḍhamūlamasaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā
Its real form is not seen here — it has no end, no beginning, no footing anywhere. Cut this deeply rooted ashvattha down with the firm axe of non-attachment.
इस वृक्ष का असली रूप यहाँ दिखाई नहीं देता — न इसका अंत है, न आदि, और न कहीं कोई आधार। गहरी जड़ों वाले इस अश्वत्थ को अनासक्ति की दृढ़ कुल्हाड़ी से काट डालो।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.4
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः ।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥
tataḥ padaṁ tatparimārgitavyaṁ yasmingatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ / tameva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī
Then search out that place from which those who reach it never come back, thinking: I take refuge in the first Person himself, from whom this ancient unfolding streamed out.
फिर उस पद को खोजो, जहाँ पहुँचकर लोग लौटते नहीं, यह सोचकर कि मैं उसी आदिपुरुष की शरण लेता हूँ, जिससे यह पुरानी प्रवृत्ति फैली है।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.5
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः ।
द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसञ्ज्ञैर्गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ॥
nirmānamohā jitasaṅgadoṣā adhyātmanityā vinivṛttakāmāḥ / dvandvairvimuktāḥ sukhaduḥkhasañjñairgacchantyamūḍhāḥ padamavyayaṁ tat
Free of pride and delusion, past the fault of attachment, always settled in the self, their desires spent, released from the pairs called pleasure and pain — the undeluded reach that changeless place.
जिनमें मान और मोह नहीं रहा, जो आसक्ति के दोष से पार हो गए, जो सदा अध्यात्म में स्थित हैं, जिनकी कामनाएँ शांत हो चुकी हैं, और जो सुख-दुख नाम के द्वंद्वों से छूट गए हैं — वे अमूढ़ जन उस अव्यय पद को पा लेते हैं।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.6
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः ।
यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
na tadbhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ / yadgatvā na nivartante taddhāma paramaṁ mama
The sun does not light that place, nor the moon, nor fire. Those who go there do not return. That is my supreme abode.
उस धाम को न सूर्य प्रकाशित करता है, न चंद्रमा, न अग्नि। जो वहाँ पहुँच जाते हैं, वे लौटकर नहीं आते। वही मेरा परम धाम है।
Trust’s themeSamsara
15.7–11The embodied jivaThe individual self is described in relation to Krishna, mind, senses and changing bodies.
15.7
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥
mamaivāṁśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ / manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati
In this world of the living, the individual being is an eternal part of me. It draws to itself the five senses and the mind as the sixth, which rest in material nature.
इस जीवलोक में जीव मेरा ही सनातन अंश है। वही प्रकृति में स्थित पाँच इंद्रियों को और छठे मन को अपनी ओर खींचता है।
Trust’s themeJiva
The jiva and the Supreme
The individual self is described as an eternal portion in relation to Krishna, struggling with mind and senses in prakriti. Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita construe this relation differently, and that disagreement is left standing here rather than smoothed away.
Read deeper · Read with 2.20–25, 13.20–23 and 15.16–20.
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life
15.8
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥
śarīraṁ yadavāpnoti yaccāpyutkrāmatīśvaraḥ / gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti vāyurgandhānivāśayāt
When the lord of the body takes up a body, and when he leaves one behind, he carries these with him, the way the wind carries scents away from where they rest.
देह का स्वामी जब कोई शरीर ग्रहण करता है और जब उसे छोड़कर जाता है, तब वह इन्हें साथ ले जाता है, जैसे वायु गंध को उसके स्थान से उठा ले जाती है।
Trust’s themeJiva
15.9
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥
śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇameva ca / adhiṣṭhāya manaścāyaṁ viṣayānupasevate
Presiding over hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell, and over the mind as well, he takes in the objects of the senses.
श्रवण, दृष्टि, स्पर्श, स्वाद और गंध का तथा मन का भी आश्रय लेकर वह विषयों का भोग करता है।
Trust’s themeJiva
15.10
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् ।
विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam / vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñānacakṣuṣaḥ
Leaving the body, staying in it, or experiencing things through the gunas — the deluded do not see him at all. Those who have the eye of knowledge do see.
देह छोड़ते हुए, देह में ठहरे हुए, या गुणों के साथ भोगते हुए — मूढ़ लोग उसे बिलकुल नहीं देखते। जिनके पास ज्ञान की आँख है, वे उसे देख लेते हैं।
Trust’s themeJiva
15.11
यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् ।
यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ॥
yatanto yoginaścainaṁ paśyantyātmanyavasthitam / yatanto’pyakṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyantyacetasaḥ
Yogis who make the effort see him present within themselves. But those who have not worked on themselves, whose minds are unprepared, do not see him even when they try.
प्रयत्न करने वाले योगी उसे अपने भीतर स्थित देख लेते हैं। पर जिन्होंने अपने को साधा नहीं और जिनका चित्त तैयार नहीं है, वे प्रयत्न करके भी उसे नहीं देख पाते।
Trust’s themeJiva
15.12–15Divine sustenance within lifeSun, moon, earth, digestion, memory and knowledge are linked to Krishna.
15.12
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् ।
यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥
yadādityagataṁ tejo jagadbhāsayate’khilam / yaccandramasi yaccāgnau tattejo viddhi māmakam
The light that is in the sun and lights up this whole world, and the light that is in the moon and in fire — know that light to be mine.
जो तेज सूर्य में है और सारे जगत को प्रकाशित करता है, और जो तेज चंद्रमा में तथा अग्नि में है — उस तेज को मेरा ही जानो।
Trust’s themeDivine
15.13
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा ।
पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥
gāmāviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmyahamojasā / puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ
Entering the earth, I hold up all beings by my own energy. Becoming the moon, which is made of sap, I nourish every plant that grows.
पृथ्वी में प्रवेश करके मैं अपनी शक्ति से सब प्राणियों को धारण करता हूँ। रस से बना चंद्रमा होकर मैं सारी औषधियों को पुष्ट करता हूँ।
Trust’s themeDivine
15.14
अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः ।
प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥
ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ dehamāśritaḥ / prāṇāpānasamāyuktaḥ pacāmyannaṁ caturvidham
Becoming the fire of digestion, I live in the bodies of all breathing creatures. Joined with the incoming and the outgoing breath, I cook the four kinds of food.
वैश्वानर अग्नि बनकर मैं सब प्राणियों के शरीर में रहता हूँ। प्राण और अपान से जुड़कर मैं चार प्रकार के अन्न को पचाता हूँ।
Trust’s themeDivine
15.15
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि संनिविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च ।
वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ॥
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi saṁniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtirjñānamapohanaṁ ca / vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyo vedāntakṛdvedavideva cāham
I am seated in the heart of everyone. Memory, knowledge and the loss of both come from me. I am what all the Vedas seek to know; I made the Vedanta, and I know the Vedas.
मैं सबके हृदय में बैठा हूँ। स्मृति, ज्ञान और इन दोनों का लोप मुझसे ही होता है। सारे वेद मुझे ही जानना चाहते हैं; वेदांत का रचयिता और वेदों का जाननेवाला भी मैं ही हूँ।
Trust’s themeDivine
15.16–20Perishable, imperishable, PurushottamaThe chapter culminates by distinguishing kshara, akshara and the Supreme Person.
15.16
द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च ।
क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥
dvāvimau puruṣau loke kṣaraścākṣara eva ca / kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭastho’kṣara ucyate
There are two persons in this world, the perishable and the imperishable. All beings are the perishable one; what stands unchanging is called the imperishable.
इस लोक में दो पुरुष हैं — क्षर और अक्षर। सारे प्राणी क्षर हैं; जो अटल बना रहता है, वह अक्षर कहलाता है।
Trust’s themePurushottama
15.17
उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः ।
यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥
uttamaḥ puruṣastvanyaḥ paramātmetyudāhṛtaḥ / yo lokatrayamāviśya bibhartyavyaya īśvaraḥ
But the highest Person is someone else. He is called the supreme Self: the undying lord who enters the three worlds and holds them up.
पर उत्तम पुरुष इन दोनों से अलग है। उसे परमात्मा कहा जाता है: वह अविनाशी ईश्वर, जो तीनों लोकों में प्रवेश करके उन्हें धारण करता है।
Trust’s themePurushottama
15.18
यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥
yasmātkṣaramatīto’hamakṣarādapi cottamaḥ / ato’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
Because I am past the perishable and higher even than the imperishable, I am known in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama, the highest Person.
क्योंकि मैं क्षर से परे हूँ और अक्षर से भी ऊपर हूँ, इसलिए लोक में और वेद में मैं पुरुषोत्तम नाम से जाना जाता हूँ।
Trust’s themePurushottama
15.19
यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥
yo māmevamasammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam / sa sarvavidbhajati māṁ sarvabhāvena bhārata
Whoever knows me in this way, without confusion, as the highest Person knows everything there is, Bharata, and worships me with his whole being.
जो इस तरह बिना किसी भ्रम के मुझे पुरुषोत्तम के रूप में जान लेता है, हे भारत, वह सब कुछ जान लेता है और अपने पूरे अस्तित्व से मेरी उपासना करता है।
Trust’s themePurushottama
15.20
इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ ।
एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥
iti guhyatamaṁ śāstramidamuktaṁ mayānagha / etadbuddhvā buddhimānsyātkṛtakṛtyaśca bhārata
This is the most secret of teachings, Anagha, and I have now told it to you. Once a man understands it, Bharata, he becomes wise and his work is finished.
हे अनघ, यह सबसे गुह्य शास्त्र है, जो मैंने तुमसे कह दिया। हे भारत, इसे समझ लेने पर मनुष्य बुद्धिमान हो जाता है और उसका काम पूरा हो जाता है।
Trust’s themePurushottama
THE HUMAN QUESTION
What qualities am I becoming?
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life

Sanskrit transcribed from published texts and cross-checked verse by verse; transliteration generated from the Devanagari. The English and Hindi renderings are the Trust’s own.

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