Bhagavad Gita 15.1 · BG 15.1
Chapter 15Verse 1
Purushottama Yoga
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
Translation
They speak of an eternal ashvattha tree with its roots above and its branches below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns. Whoever knows this tree knows the Vedas.
The moment
Chapter fifteen opens with this image. Krishna has just finished describing how to rise above the three qualities of nature, and now he gives a picture of the world those qualities make.
What it means
The world is like a huge sacred fig tree turned upside down. Its roots are in the divine above, its branches spread down into the world, and its leaves are the sacred hymns.
Going deeper
The ashvattha is the sacred fig, or peepal, still honored across India. Picturing it upside down puts the source of the world above, in the divine, and its growth below, in everyday life.
The image also appears in the Katha Upanishad. Two verses later Krishna says the tree has to be cut down with the axe of detachment, which is why it's an image to understand, not just admire.
In your life
Pick one part of your life that feels tangled, a habit or a worry, and trace it back to its root instead of trimming the branches. Asking 'where does this actually come from?' usually shows you the one place change would work.
The world is a tree rooted above. Know its roots, and you know the rest.