Chapter 15, Verse 2
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः | अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ||१५-२||
adhaścordhvaṃ prasṛtāstasya śākhā guṇapravṛddhā viṣayapravālāḥ . adhaśca mūlānyanusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣyaloke ||15-2||
Meaning
15.2 Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below, in the world of men, stretch forth the roots, originating action.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna elaborates the metaphor of the world-tree. Its branches spread in every direction, both up toward subtler realms and down toward grosser ones, all fed by the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas. Where the branches meet experience, they sprout viṣaya-pravālāḥ, the tender buds of sense-objects that tempt us at every turn.
The most important insight here is about secondary roots. Beyond the primal root in Brahman, the tree sends down further roots into the human world — and these are karmānubandhīni, binding us through action and its consequences. Every action driven by craving plants a new root, deepening our entanglement in the cycle of birth and rebirth. Krishna is mapping precisely how the soul becomes bound: not by the divine source, but by attachment to sense-objects and the chains of karma we ourselves create through desire-driven deeds.
💡 Key Takeaway
Desire-driven actions send down new roots that bind us deeper into the cycle of becoming.
Related Verses
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः | मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ||१५-७||
mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ . manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati ||15-7||
15.7 An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to (itself) the (five) senses with the mind for the sixth, abiding in Nature.
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः | गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ||१५-८||
śarīraṃ yadavāpnoti yaccāpyutkrāmatīśvaraḥ . gṛhitvaitāni saṃyāti vāyurgandhānivāśayāt ||15-8||
15.8 When the Lord (as the individual soul) obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these and goes (with them) as the wind takes the scents from their seats (flowers, etc.).
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च | अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ||१५-९||
śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca rasanaṃ ghrāṇameva ca . adhiṣṭhāya manaścāyaṃ viṣayānupasevate ||15-9||
15.9 Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste and smell, as well as the mind, it enjoys the objects of the senses.