ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वॆद स वॆदवित् ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca- The Supreme Lord said; prāhuḥ-It is said in the scriptures(when describing this material world); ūrdhva-mūlam-"The roots are uppermost as it is rooted in aversion to the highest principle, the Supreme Lord; adhaḥ-śākham- the branches face downwards, representing all being from Lord Brahmā down to the lowest species; avyayam-and it is endless(for those who desire the independence to enjoy the fruits of their actions); aśvattham-yet transient (for a person with devotion to the Lord) it will be 'gone tomorrow'; chhandāṁsi-The ritualistic verses of the Vedas; parṇāni-are represented by the protective leaves; yasya-of the Aśvattha or Peepul tree of this material world; yaḥ-One who; veda-knows; tam-that tree; saḥ-he; veda-vit-is a knower of the vedas.

The Supreme Lord said: It is said in the scriptures that this material world is like a Peepul tree, roots up, branches down, endless yet transient. Its leaves represent the nourishing verses of the Vedas. One who knows this tree is a knower of the Vedas.

Commentary

The roots of the tree of this world are said to face upwards—its root cause is the highest plane. It is manifest by the potency of the Supreme Lord. However, it is rooted in aversion to the Lord. Its branches are said to face downwards since according to the law of karma all species of life from the highest to the lowest branch out

from it. It is known as an Aśvattha tree. The word aśvattha means ‘ephemeral,’ or ‘that which does not remain in the same state for even a day.’ Yet, it is endless. In the sense that it constantly appears in the natural flow of cause and effect. The leaves of the tree represent the fruitive verses of the Vedas {karma-kānda}. As the leaves of a tree nourish and beautify it, these verses similarly encourage and illuminate the world.

The external potency of the Lord, Māyā, is eternal, and it manifests this world. Yet the world itself is perishable inasmuch as it again becomes unmanifest. Although the fruitive verses of the Vedas provide its nourishment, their underlying purpose is rather to enlighten the conditioned souls to take shelter of the Supreme Lord who is transcendental to the mundane. Thus, one who knows these fundamental principles is a knower of the true essence of the Vedas