📿 Shloka Collection

Na Rupam Asyeha

Gita 15.3 Bhagavad Gita

📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15 — Purushottama Yoga

न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा ।

अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलमसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥

Na rupam asyeha tathopalabhyate nanto na chadirna cha sampratishtha,

Ashvattham enam suviroodhamulam asangashastrena dridhena chhittva.

Word-by-Word Meaning

न रूपम्

not the form

अस्य

of this (tree)

इह

here (in this world)

तथा उपलभ्यते

can be perceived as such

न अन्तः

no end

न आदिः

no beginning

न सम्प्रतिष्ठा

no foundation

अश्वत्थम् एनम्

this Ashvattha tree

सुविरूढमूलम्

with deeply grown roots

असङ्गशस्त्रेण

with the weapon of non-attachment

दृढेन

firmly

छित्त्वा

having cut

Explanation in Simple English

This tree of worldly existence is so tangled that we cannot see its true form. We cannot find where it begins, where it ends, or what holds it in place. It is like an ancient banyan tree whose original root is impossible to trace — the aerial roots have dropped everywhere, new trunks have sprouted, and the whole thing is a web of growth upon growth.

So Krishna says: do not keep trying to analyze it endlessly. There is one thing to do — cut it down. And the weapon for this task is vairagya, non-attachment. Not a dull sadness or withdrawal from life, but a firm, sharp instrument.

Just as a farmer needs a sharp sickle to harvest a standing crop, the seeker needs firm inner resolve to sever attachment. The word used is dridhena — with strength. This is not passive resignation. It is a deliberate, decisive act.

Context and Significance

This shloka completes the metaphor begun in 15.1-2. Having described the tree — its roots, branches, buds, and secondary roots — Krishna now prescribes the remedy: cut it with the weapon of non-attachment. The term asanga-shastra (the weapon of non-attachment) is especially well-known in tradition. Where 15.2 diagnosed the problem, 15.3 offers the solution.

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