न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यतेनान्तो न चादिर्न च संप्रतिष्ठा ।अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलमसङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥
na rūpamasyeha tathopalabhyatenānto na cādirna ca saṃpratiṣṭhā |aśvatthamenaṃ suvirūḍhamūlamasaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā ||
Its form is not perceived here in that way, nor its end, nor its beginning, nor its foundation. Having cut down this ashvattha tree, whose roots have grown so firm, with the strong weapon of non-attachment…
Explanation
Krishna is continuing the image of the upside-down ashvattha (fig) tree, which stands for saṃsāra, the cycle of worldly existence. Ordinary experience cannot find its shape, its end, its beginning or its support. The way out is to cut it down with the firm weapon of non-attachment (asaṅga), freedom from clinging; Advaita reads the tree as ultimately unreal, while theistic schools see it as real but binding. The sentence continues into the next verse…