15:1  

श्रीभगवानुवाच
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥१५- १॥

Transliteration

shriibhagawaanuwaacha

uurdhwamoolamadhaHshaakhamashwatthaM praahurawyayam ।

ChandaaMsi yasya parNaani yastaM weda sa wedawit ॥१५- १॥

Translation

The blessed lord said,
Rooted up, branched down, the bodhi tree is said to be imperishable,
Whose leaves protect. Who knows this knows the Vedas.

Translation

The Supreme Lord said: They (or the wise) speak of the eternal Ashvattha tree having its origin above (in unmanifest Brahman) and its branches below (in the cosmos) whose leaves are the (Vedic) hymns. One who understands this is a knower of the Vedas.

Translation

The Blessed Lord said: There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.