|| 15.3 ||

न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा। अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूल मसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा।।

na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā aśvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā

na (not) rūpam (form) asya (of this) iha (here) tathā (as it is) upalabhyate (is perceived) na (not) antaḥ (end) na (not) ca (and) ādiḥ (beginning) na (not) ca (and) sampratiṣṭhā (foundation) aśvattham (banyan tree) enam (this) su-virūḍha (strongly) mūlam (rooted) asaṅga-śastreṇa (by the weapon of detachment) dṛḍhena (strong) chittvā (cutting).

The real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. But with determination one must cut down this strongly rooted tree with the weapon of detachment.

Kṛṣṇa explains that while we are in this world, we cannot see the full form of the cosmic tree. We don’t know where it starts or where it ends. It is ‘Su-virūḍha-mūlam’—extremely deeply rooted in our desires. Kṛṣṇa gives a bold solution: don’t try to untangle it; just cut it down with the weapon of detachment (‘Asaṅga’). Detachment is the ‘axe’ that breaks our connection to the material reflection. We have been trying for millions of lifetimes to find happiness in the branches of money, fame, and family. Kṛṣṇa says these roots are too strong for logic alone. You need the sharp, heavy weapon of ‘Asaṅga’—the realization that ‘I do not belong to this world’. Cutting the tree doesn’t mean leaving your responsibilities; it means cutting the mental obsession with them. When you stop watering the tree with your desires, the binding roots begin to wither. This is the prerequisite for finding the real spiritual world that lies beyond the reflection.