Contents
Shri Sankara's Gita Bhashya
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary on the Gita)
CHAPTER -15
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This tree of samsāra is said to be eternal: since the illusion of sarhsāra has been existing from eternity (anādi-kāla), and rests, as is well-known, on the succession of bodies etc., without beginning or end, therefore they say it is eternal. Of that same tree of samsāra, there is this further attribute: Its leaves are the Vedas. The Vedas, Rk, Yajus and Sāman, are as it were the leaves of the tree of samsāra, since like leaves they protect[1] it. Just as leaves serve to protect a tree, the Vedas serve to protect the tree of sarhsāra by making known dharma, adharma, and their causes and effects[2]. He who knows it, the tree of sarhsāra and its Root, as described above, is a Veda-knower, one who has known the Teaching of the Vedas. Verily, there is nothing, not even an iota, which remains to be known, beyond this tree of samsāra and its Root; therefore, he who knows this Teaching of the Vedas is all-knowing- thus the Lord extols the knowledge of the tree and its Root[3]. Of that very tree of sarhsara, another figurative representation of (its) members is stated: |
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References and Context
- ↑ From the root 'chad', to cover, to protect. (A). "Chandas" is the word used for the Veda in the text here.
- ↑ The karma-kātidas of the Vedas describe the fruits of actions, namely, the ascent and the descent of the soul, and arc full of anha-vādas (explanations). Thereby they protect the tree of samsara and cover up the defects inherent in it. (A)
- ↑ On knowing the tree of samara and its Root it is possible to discard the non-Root and extract the Root alone and realise It; and one should_str ve for this. This is the object in praising the knowledge of the tree and the Root. (A)