Ashvattha Tree Symbol Analysis

In the Bhagavad Gita, the ashvattha fig tree symbolizes both the eternal self and the embodied self. Ashvattha trees continue to serve an important religious function in Buddhism and Hinduism, in which they are sometimes associated with the eternal being of Brahman, in part because they tend to grow outward in all directions and can accordingly survive for many centuries—this may explain why Krishna states that the tree’s form and lifespan are unknowable in this world. In addition, the indistinguishability of its roots and branches may explain why he first declares that the tree is inverted, its roots growing upwards and its branches into the ground, before claiming that the branches grow “below and above” while “the roots are stretched below.” In this passage from the Gita, the tree is a symbol of this-worldly human life. This is why Krishna thinks that people should sever the tree’s roots with “the strong axe / of non-clinging;” the tree’s branches grow in the gunas and human actions grow from its roots. This suggests that severing its roots means relinquishing human action and even the visible human self for the sake of the imperishable eternal self that lies behind worldly appearances.

Yet, when he enumerates his divine forms in the tenth discourse, Krishna declares himself the ashvattha among all trees, which associates it with the eternal rather than the embodied self. Perhaps these competing interpretations of the ashvattha tree are reconcilable: if the self is truly identical with Brahman (but is unaware of this identity), then one must sever the apparent self in order to recognize the eternal self; alternatively, Krishna may simply be the ashvattha among trees because of its particularly holy nature, and not because it directly stands for Brahman.