Bhagavad Gita BG 15.2
Chapter 15, Verse 2 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः । अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥
adhash cordhvam prasrtas tasya shakha guna-pravrddha vishaya-pravalah adhash ca mulany anusantatani karmanubandhini manushya-loke
Meaning
Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the gunas; the sense-objects are its buds. Below too its roots extend downward, producing the bonds of action in the world of men.
Understanding
The cosmic tree of samsara is further described: adhash cordhvam prasrtah shakha (branches spreading downward and upward — the tree extends in all directions through all worlds). Guna-pravrddha (nourished by the gunas — sattva, rajas, tamas are the sap that feeds the world-tree's expansion). Vishaya-pravalah (sense-objects are the tender shoots/buds — what attracts beings outward). Below, the roots descend further into manushya-loke (the world of men) producing karma-anubandhini (bonds of action — the cycles of karma that keep beings in samsara). The image: guna-energy feeds the world's proliferation; sense-objects keep beings attached to the branches; and action-bonds pull the roots ever deeper into the human world. This two-directional growth captures the self-perpetuating nature of samsara.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| प्रसृताः | prasrtah | spread, extended, proliferating |
| गुणप्रवृद्धाः | guna-pravrddha | nourished/grown by the gunas (qualities of Nature) |
| विषयप्रवालाः | vishaya-pravalah | sense-objects as the tender shoots/buds |
| अनुसन्ततानि | anusantatani | extending, spreading downward, proliferating below |
| कर्मानुबन्धीनि | karma-anubandhini | binding through karma, creating karmic bonds |
| अधः | adhaś ca ūrdhvam | below and above |
| प्रसृताः | prasṛtāḥ | extended, spread |
| तस्य | tasya | of it |
| शाखाः | śākhāḥ | the branches |
| गुण-प्रवृद्धाः | guṇa-pravṛddhāḥ | nourished by the modes of nature |
| विषय-प्रवालाः | viṣaya-pravālāḥ | with sense objects as buds |
| अधः | adhaś ca | and below |
| मूलानि | mūlāni | roots |
| अनुसन्ततानि | anusantatāni | spread out, extended |
| कर्म-अनुबन्धीनि | karma-anubandhīni | bound by action |
| मनुष्य-लोके | manuṣya-loke | in the world of humans |
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