Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 3

Chapter 15 – Purushottama Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते
नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा ।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलं
असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥

Transliteration

na rūpamasyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādirna ca sampratiṣṭhā .
aśvatthamenaṃ suvirūḍhamūlaṃ asaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā ॥

Meaning

Its form is not perceived here as it has been described, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut down this firmly rooted ashvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment,

Word meanings

न – not
रूपम् – form
अस्य – its
इह – here, in this world
तथा – as such, as described
उपलभ्यते – is perceived
अन्तः – end
आदिः – beginning
सम्प्रतिष्ठा – foundation, basis
अश्वत्थम् – the ashvattha tree
एनम् – this
सुविरूढमूलम् – with deep and firm roots
असङ्गशस्त्रेण – with the weapon of non-attachment
दृढेन – strong, firm
छित्त्वा – having cut

Anvaya (word order)

अस्य रूपम् इह तथा न उपलभ्यते, न अन्तः, न च आदिः, न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा । एनम् सुविरूढमूलम् अश्वत्थम् दृढेन असङ्गशस्त्रेण छित्त्वा —

Explanation

Krishna now says something surprising: the tree he has just described cannot be seen in that form ‘here’, from within the world. A bird perched on one branch cannot see the whole tree. Living inside samsara, we cannot locate its beginning or its end, nor say on what it finally rests. Just as a dreamer cannot find where the dream began while still dreaming, the riddle of the world is not solved from inside it.

Shankara takes this as a pointer to the illusory status of the world: like a dream, a mirage or a city of the gandharvas in the clouds, it appears vividly yet yields no solid substance when examined. Ramanuja does not call the world unreal; he explains that the bound soul fails to understand that this tree grows from attachment to the gunas, that it ends through non-attachment, and that its support is that very attachment born of ignorance. Madhva holds that the world is real, but that its origin and end lie beyond the limited intellect of the soul and are known and governed by the Lord alone.

Then comes the remedy. This deeply rooted tree must be felled with the ‘strong axe of non-attachment’. The Katha Upanishad presents the ashvattha and calls it eternal; the Gita goes further and puts an axe in the seeker’s hand. That axe is asanga: letting go of clinging to family, wealth, reputation, the body, even to heavenly pleasures. The word dridhena, strong, matters. A blunt axe will not do against roots this deep; it must be sharpened by steady discrimination and dispassion.

Non-attachment does not mean running away from life. The Gita has repeatedly taught that one should act while renouncing attachment to results and the sense of doership (2.47, 5.10), like the lotus leaf that rests on water yet stays dry. The tree is rooted in our inner clinging, and the axe too must be swung within. Notice that the sentence is left unfinished at ‘having cut’; it is completed in the next verse, which says what must be sought once the tree has fallen.

Context

Verses 1 and 2 described the root, branches and downward roots of the world-tree. Here Krishna adds that its true nature cannot be grasped from within, and gives the means of release: the axe of detachment. The sentence runs on into verse 4, which speaks of seeking the supreme goal and taking refuge in the primeval Person.

Life lesson

The bondage we wish to escape is rooted in our own attachments. Cutting it needs no external weapon, only firm detachment. Each time we notice and loosen a small daily clinging, we sharpen the axe a little more.

Key terms

Asanga-shastra: the weapon of non-attachment that fells the world-tree
Suvirudha-mula: firmly and deeply rooted
Sampratishtha: foundation or resting place
Vairagya: dispassion, the ground of non-attachment