न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा | अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलम् असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ||
na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā aśvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā
Translation
Its real form is not perceived here, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut down this firmly rooted Ashvattha tree with the strong sword of detachment —
Interpretation
The cosmic tree of samsara is ultimately incomprehensible from within it: its true form cannot be seen, its beginning is unknown, its end is unfathomable, its true foundation is hidden. This is the nature of maya — it cannot be understood through the conditioned mind that is itself a product of it. The only solution is radical: cut it down with the sharp sword of non-attachment (asanga). This sword of vairagya — dispassion, detachment — severs the roots that bind consciousness to the endless cycle. Only freedom from attachment frees one from the tree's labyrinthine entanglement.