Gita Sapta-shloki, Verse 5

Gītā sapta-ślokī 5

|| 15.1 ||

ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम्।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित्॥

ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam |
chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit ||

[yasya] mūlaṁ ūrdhvaṁ asti, śākhā adhaḥ sthitā [asti], yasya ca [aśvatthasya] parṇāni chandāṁsi santi, [tam] aśvatthaṁ avyayam [iti] prāhuḥ [śrutayaḥ] | yas taṁ veda, sa veda-vid bhavati |

  • ūrdhva-mūlaṁ = “with the roots above” (bahuvrīhi-samāsa) yasya mūlāni ūrdhve sthitāni santi, tam.
  • adhaḥ-śākhaṁ = “with the branches below”. These two adjectives describe the tree, so agree in number, case and gender.
  • aśvatthaṁ (acc. sing.) the banyan tree ( na śvo’pi sthātety aśvatthas taṁ kṣaṇa-pradhvaṁsinam)
  • prāhuḥ = “they say” (kathayanti) There is no subject, but the commentaries add śrutayaḥ and refer to a verse in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.3.1):
ūrdhva-mūlo’vāk-śākha eṣo’śvatthaḥ sanātanaḥ |
  • avyayaṁ = (adj.) inexhaustible, not spent (vyaya-rahitam)
  • chandāṁsi = the Vedic hymns (n. pl. nom., the singular is chandas)
  • yasya parṇāni = whose leaves (chandāṁsi cchādanād ṛg-yajuḥ-sāma-lakṣaṇāni yasya saṁsāra-vṛkṣasya parṇānīva patrāṇi)
  • veda = 3rd pers. sing. of verb √vid. “knows”
  • yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit = “who knows this knows the Veda”

The Aśvattha tree of this world has its roots upwards and its branches downward. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this knows the Veda.


Comments

Anonymous said…

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृर्तिर्ज्ञानपोहनम् च।

वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्धेदविदेव चाहम्॥


sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛrtirjñānapohanam ca

vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyo vedāntakṛddhedavideva cāham.
Sunday, 26 April, 2015
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

O Mind! Meditate on Radha's Breasts

Image
Flickr As I go through the dāna-līlā episode of Chandi Das's Śrī Kṛṣṇa Kīrtana , there are many songs in which Krishna describes Radha's beauty, and a regular feature of that includes descriptions of her breasts. In fact, breasts are a subject that is prominent in all Sanskrit poetry, and is even standard in prayers to goddesses. There does not seem to have been any inhibition in talking about breasts in the ancient Indian culture, even though I dare say, there is more of one in the modern society, in spite of Bollywood. There is, however, an apparent restriction in talking about genitals, male or female, in the so-called erotic poetry of India--Sanskrit or vernacular--even when lovemaking etc., is described. Such descriptions would automatically fall into some other genre. In Radha and Krishna descriptions, I cannot recall ever seeing or hearing a passage that mentioned genitals or overt sexual activity. It is nearly always spoken of somewhat euphemistically. I remember ...
Read more

Swami Vishwananda's Bhakti Marga and Parampara

Image
It has been a little strange here at Jiva these past few days. Swami Vishwananda is here with his troupe of disciples, of whom there are a goodly number, perhaps 80 or so. When I arrived in Vrindavan already a couple of weeks back, almost the first thing I noticed at the corner of Mathura Road and the Parikrama Marg was a big billboard with Swami Vishwananda’s charming smile and glowing tilak staring charismatically out at the world and announcing that he would be giving darshan on March 8 at the Jiva Institute. Below him, in a smaller frame was Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji, who besides being his host will be speaking on the Bhāgavatam at the darshan event. This is not the first time that Vishwananda and his group have been at Jiva. Satyanarayana Dasaji calls Vishwananda a friend, and indeed the relations between the two are very cordial. Vishwananda's group is mostly young and enthusiastic, predominantly European (German and points east), who are very enthusiastic about...
Read more

Erotic sculptures on Jagannath temple

Image
This was written on the basis of Sundarananda Vidyavinode's Sri Kshetra and intended for a devotee audience, as it was done on a commission by disciples of Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj. It has never been published. I decided to put this on line since there was a discussion on Facebook on the subject and I thought I would revisit what I wrote here nearly twenty years ago. This is from chapter ten on temple renovations. Please note that I have removed the images that I had found of some of the sculptures. I have been blocked from posting links to this blog on Facebook for some infringement of its "community standards". The only thing I can think of on this blog that might have offended some prudish person in cyberspace is this. I do not have much hope for redemption as it has been over six months since my ban is "under review" and there has been no sign of action. Needless to say, I find this heavy-handed action on the part of Facebook dangerously authoritar...
Read more