Devanagari
एकायनोऽसौ द्विफलस्त्रिमूल-श्चतूरस: पञ्चविध: षडात्मा
सप्तत्वगष्टविटपो नवाक्षोदशच्छदी द्विखगो ह्यादिवृक्ष: ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
ekāyano ’sau dvi-phalas tri-mūlaś
catū-rasaḥ paṣca-vidhaḥ ṣaḍ-ātmā
sapta-tvag aṣṭa-viṭapo navākṣo
daśa-cchadī dvi-khago hy ādi-vṛkṣaḥ
Synonyms
eka
—
ayanaḥ — the body of an ordinary living being is fully dependent on the material elements
;
asau
—
that
;
dvi
—
phalaḥ — in this body we are subject to material happiness and distress, which result from karma
;
tri
—
mūlaḥ — having three roots, the three modes of nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), upon which the body is created
;
catuḥ
—
rasaḥ — four rasas, or tastes*
;
paṣca
—
vidhaḥ — consisting of five senses for acquiring knowledge (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch)
;
ṣaṭ
—
ātmā — six circumstances (lamentation, illusion, old age, death, hunger and thirst)
;
sapta
—
tvak — having seven coverings (skin, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow and semen)
;
aṣṭa
—
viṭapaḥ — eight branches (the five gross elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether — and also the mind, intelligence and ego)
;
nava
—
akṣaḥ — nine holes
;
daśa
—
chadī — ten kinds of life air, resembling the leaves of a tree
;
dvi
—
khagaḥ — two birds (the individual soul and the Supersoul)
;
hi
—
indeed
;
ādi
—
vṛkṣaḥ — this is the original tree or construction of the material body, whether individual or universal .
Translation
The body [the total body and the individual body are of the same composition] may figuratively be called “the original tree.” From this tree, which fully depends on the ground of material nature, come two kinds of fruit — the enjoyment of happiness and the suffering of distress. The cause of the tree, forming its three roots, is association with the three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. The fruits of bodily happiness have four tastes — religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation — which are experienced through five senses for acquiring knowledge in the midst of six circumstances: lamentation, illusion, old age, death, hunger and thirst. The seven layers of bark covering the tree are skin, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow and semen, and the eight branches of the tree are the five gross and three subtle elements — earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. The tree of the body has nine hollows — the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the rectum and the genitals — and ten leaves, the ten airs passing through the body. In this tree of the body there are two birds: one is the individual soul, and the other is the Supersoul.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The body [the total body and the individual body are of the same composition] may figuratively be called "the original tree." From this tree, which fully depends on the ground of material nature, come two kinds of fruit—the enjoyment of happiness and the suffering of distress. The cause of the tree, forming its three roots, is association with the three modes of material nature—goodness, passion and ignorance. The fruits of bodily happiness have four tastes—religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation—which are experienced through five senses for acquiring knowledge in the midst of six circumstances: lamentation, illusion, old age, death, hunger and thirst. The seven layers of bark covering the tree are skin, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow and semen, and the eight branches of the tree are the five gross and three subtle elements—earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. The tree of the body has nine hollows—the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the rectum and the genitals—and ten leaves, the ten airs passing through the body. In this tree of the body there are two birds: one is the individual soul, and the other is the Supersoul.
KB 10.2.27
This material world is composed of five principal elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—and all such elements are emanations from Kṛṣṇa. The material scientists accept these five primary elements as the cause of the material manifestation, but the elements in their gross and subtle states are produced by Kṛṣṇa. The living entities who are working within this material world are products of His marginal potency. In the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly stated that the whole manifestation is a combination of two kinds of energies of Kṛṣṇa, the superior energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the dead material elements are His inferior energy. In its dormant stage, everything remains in Kṛṣṇa.
The demigods continued to offer their respectful prayers unto the supreme form of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, by analytical study of the material manifestation. What is this material manifestation? It is just like a tree. A tree stands on the ground. Similarly, the tree of the material manifestation is standing on the ground of material nature. This material manifestation is compared to a tree because a tree is ultimately cut off in due course of time. A tree is called vṛkṣa. Vṛkṣa means that thing which will be ultimately cut off. Therefore, this tree of the material manifestation cannot be accepted as the Ultimate Truth, because it is influenced by time. But Kṛṣṇa’s body is eternal: He existed before the material manifestation, He is existing while the material manifestation is continuing, and when it will be dissolved, He will continue to exist. Therefore only Kṛṣṇa can be accepted as the Absolute Truth.
The Kaṭha Upaniṣad also cites this example of the tree of the material manifestation standing on the ground of material nature. This tree has two kinds of fruits, distress and happiness. Those who are living in the tree of the body are just like two birds. One bird is the localized aspect of Kṛṣṇa known as the Paramātmā, and the other bird is the living entity. The living entity is eating the fruits of this material manifestation. Sometimes he eats the fruit of happiness, and sometimes he eats the fruit of distress. But the other bird is not interested in eating the fruit of distress or happiness because he is self-satisfied. The Kaṭha Upaniṣad states that one bird on the tree of the body is eating the fruits, and the other bird is simply witnessing. The roots of this tree extend in three directions. This means that the root of the tree is the three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just as the tree’s root expands, so, by association of the modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), one expands his duration of material existence. The tastes of the fruits are of four kinds: religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, ultimately, liberation. According to the different associations in the three modes of material nature, the living entities are tasting different kinds of religiosity, different kinds of economic development, different kinds of sense gratification and different kinds of liberation. Practically all material work is performed in ignorance, but because there are three qualities, sometimes the quality of ignorance is covered with goodness or passion. The taste of these material fruits is accepted through five senses. The five sense organs through which knowledge is acquired are subjected to six kinds of whips: lamentation, illusion, infirmity, death, hunger and thirst. This material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers: muscle, blood, marrow, bone, fat and semen. The branches of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego. There are nine gates in this body: the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one genital organ, one rectum. And there are ten kinds of internal air passing within the body: prāṇa, apāna, udāna, vyāna, samāna, etc. The two birds seated in this tree, as explained above, are the living entity and the localized Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā.
Purport
This material world is composed of five principal elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether — all of which are emanations from Kṛṣṇa. Although materialistic scientists may accept these five primary elements as the cause of the material manifestation, these elements in their gross and subtle states are produced by Kṛṣṇa, whose marginal potency also produces the living entities working within this material world. The Seventh Chapter of
Bhagavad-gītā
clearly states that the entire cosmic manifestation is a combination of two of Kṛṣṇa’s energies — the superior energy and the inferior energy. The living entities are the superior energy, and the inanimate material elements are His inferior energy. In the dormant stage, everything rests in Kṛṣṇa.
Material scientists cannot give such a thorough analysis of the material structure of the body. The analysis of the material scientists concerns itself only with inanimate matter, but this is inadequate because the living entity is completely separate from the material bodily structure. In
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.5)
the Lord says:
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
“Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all the living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Although the material elements emanate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, they are separated elements and are sustained by the living elements.
As indicated by the word
dvi-khagaḥ,
the living elements within the body resemble two birds in a tree.
Kha
means “sky,” and
ga
means “one who flies.” Thus the word
dvi-khagaḥ
refers to birds. In the tree of the body there are two birds, or two living elements, and they are always different. In
Bhagavad-gītā
(13.3)
, the Lord says,
kṣetra-jṣaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata:
“O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies.” The
kṣetra jṣa,
the owner of the body, is also called the
khaga,
the living entity. Within the body there are two such
kṣetra jṣas
— the individual soul and the Supersoul. The individual soul is the owner of his individual body, but the Supersoul is present within the bodies of all living entities. Such a thorough analysis and understanding of the bodily structure cannot be obtained anywhere but in the Vedic literature.
When two birds enter a tree, one may foolishly think that the birds become one or merge with the tree, but actually they do not. Rather, each bird keeps its individual identity. Similarly, the individual soul and the Supersoul do not become one, nor do they merge with matter. The living entity lives close to matter, but this does not mean that he merges or mixes with it (
asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ
), although material scientists mistakenly see the organic and inorganic, or animate and inanimate, to be mixed.
Vedic knowledge has been kept imprisoned or concealed, but every human being needs to understand it in truth. The modern civilization of ignorance is simply engaged in analyzing the body, and thus people come to the erroneous conclusion that the living force within the body is generated under certain material conditions. People have no information of the soul, but this verse gives the perfect explanation that there are two living forces (
dvi-khaga
): the individual soul and the Supersoul. The Supersoul is present in every body (
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
), whereas the individual soul is situated only in his own body (
dehī
) and is transmigrating from one body to another.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord then asks a question. "If I, endowed with body, sense and dhama am ‘satya’, then is the material world ‘asatya?’"
They answer. " The world is true, but subject to destruction in time, whereas you are not destructible by time. You are indestructible." With this intention they recite this verse.
Ekayanah means there is one shelter of the tree of the material world, called prakrti. There are two fruits of the tree of the material world: happiness and misery. There are three roots of the tree: sattva, raja and tama. There are four rasas: four the varnas and asramas. There are five types of knowledge: that derived from the five senses. There are six natural qualities (atma) of the tree: the six whirlpools of lamentation, illusion, old age, death, hunger and thirst. There are seven coverings of the tree: skin, flesh, blood, fat, bone, marrow and semen. There are eight branches (vitapa): the five gross elements, mind, intelligence and false ego. There are nine holes in the tree: the holes in the body such as two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, mouth, rectum and genital. Ther are ten leaves: the ten life airs. There are two birds in the tree, the jiva and the Lord.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
A general description simply indicates the proprietors of the body—two birds. They are described in more detail later. Yayor ekaḥ khādati pippalānnam: of the two one bird eats the tree’s fruits. (SB 11.11.6) The jīva and Paramātmā are not limbs of the tree: they are beyond the material realm since they exist from the first like a stream with continuity. The tree is described as ādi-vṛkṣaḥ (from vṛṣc to cut down) because time at all times attacks it. Its fruits are happiness and distress, with four tastes. It has eight branches. The second a in aṣṭa-viṭapaḥ should be lengthened for metrical reasons. The verse is explained according to Śrīdhara Svāmī. The sentence continues for two verses.
The five senses of the tree are the five knowledge senses. Plants have senses according to statements: paśyantī pādapāḥ: trees see. (Mahābhārata) The koṣas are skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bones. Or according to others they are hair, blood, flesh, tendons, bone and marrow. The seven dhātus are the previous six plus semen. Sapta-tvag can refer to seven coverings of skin or coverings starting with skin.