15-2

अधः च ऊर्ध्वम् प्रसृताः तस्य शाखाः
गुण प्रवृद्धा विशय प्रवालाः ।
अधः च मूलनि अनुसन्ततानि
कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्य लोके ॥ २ ॥

adhaH ca Urdhvam prasRtAH tasya zAkhAH
guNa pravRddhA vizaya pravAlAH |
adhaH ca mUlani anusantatAni
karmAnubandhIni manuSya loke || 2 ||

तस्य शाखाः [tasya zAkhAH] Its branches प्रवृद्धाः [pravRddhAH] have expanded गुण [guNa] with the three qualities . प्रवालाः [pravAlAH] Its shoots and sprouts विशय [vizaya] are the stimuli in the environment. प्रसृताः [prasRtAH] They have spread wide, अधः च ऊर्ध्वम् [adhaH ca Urdhvam] both above and below. अधः च [adhaH ca] The branches below मनुष्य लोके [manuSya loke] in the world of humans कर्मबन्धीनि [karmabandhIni] bind them with actions. मूलानि अनुसन्ततानि [mUlAni anusantatAni] The root has progressively become dense.

Humans and others are the branches of the tree. This tree spreads its branches with the deeds of humans. It sprouts more branches below, in the form of more humans and other beings. It spreads branches above, in the form of more powerful beings.

These branches expand with the three qualities of sattva , rajas and tamas . Those shoots and sprouts are the stimuli present in the environment - sounds, touch, form, taste and smell. How do the shoots and sprouts figure over here? That is explained next -

This tree has Brahma, the principal engineer of the universe, at its root at the top. It has humans down below in its branches. These branches form the ‘source’ or the basis for activities driven by desire. This is the base for us to get entangled in our actions.

In this way the branches sprout and get progressively denser in the world of humans, with little influence from the Brahma at the root. Human beings progress to higher and more powerful lives, or get degraded to lower life forms, depending on their actions.