अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः | अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ||
adhaś cordhvaṁ prasṛtās tasya śākhā guṇa-pravṛddhā viṣaya-pravālāḥ adhaś ca mūlāny anusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣya-loke
Translation
Its branches spread below and above, nourished by the gunas; its tender shoots are the sense objects; its roots also stretch downward in the human world, binding through karma.
Interpretation
The cosmic tree is elaborated: its branches spread in both directions (higher and lower realms), fed by the three gunas which are its sap and nutrient. The tender shoots — the enticing new growths — are the sense objects that attract consciousness into further involvement with the world. Below, in the human realm, secondary roots spread downward — these are karmas, the actions and their consequences that bind beings to continued rebirth. The image is powerful: what we take to be the world is actually a reflection, a cosmic projection, with its true root in the transcendent.