There is a fig-tree, known in ages old, with roots above and boughs beneath, whose leaves are Vedic hymns
Krishna presents the famous image of the cosmic fig tree (Ashvattha): its roots are above in Brahman, its branches spread downward into the world, nourished by the gunas. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns. No one can see its full form. The wise must cut this tree with the axe of non-attachment to reach the eternal.
The inverted Ashvattha tree — an ancient Vedic image of the cosmos with roots in heaven and branches below, representing the world of illusion.
