BG 15.1
श्रीभगवानुवाच
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
Word-for-word meanings
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — Śrī Bhagavān said; prāhuḥ — it is said [in the Vedas]; avyayam — [that there is] an imperishable; aśvattham — banyan tree; mūlam — whose roots; ūrdhva — [are] upward; śākham — [and] whose branches; adhaḥ — [are] downward; parṇāni — [and] the leaves; yasya — of which; chandāṁsi — [are] the Vedic hymns; yaḥ — one who; veda — knows; tam — it; saḥ — he; veda-vit — [is] a knower of the Vedas.
Translation
Śrī Bhagavān said: It is said [in the Vedas] that there is an imperishable Aśvattha tree whose roots are upward and whose branches are downward, and the leaves of which are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is a knower of the Vedas.