Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 22
Sādhu-saṅga, the Gopīs’ Prema, and the Veda’s Culmination in Exclusive Surrender
द्वे अस्य बीजे शतमूलस्त्रिनाल: पञ्चस्कन्ध: पञ्चरसप्रसूति: । दशैकशाखो द्विसुपर्णनीड- स्त्रिवल्कलो द्विफलोऽर्कं प्रविष्ट: ॥ २२ ॥ अदन्ति चैकं फलमस्य गृध्रा ग्रामेचरा एकमरण्यवासा: । हंसा य एकं बहुरूपमिज्यै- र्मायामयं वेद स वेद वेदम् ॥ २३ ॥
dve asya bīje śata-mūlas tri-nālaḥ pañca-skandhaḥ pañca-rasa-prasūtiḥ daśaika-śākho dvi-suparṇa-nīḍas tri-valkalo dvi-phalo ’rkaṁ praviṣṭaḥ
Cet arbre de l’existence matérielle a deux semences, des centaines de racines, trois troncs inférieurs et cinq troncs supérieurs. Il produit cinq saveurs, porte onze branches et un nid de deux oiseaux; il est couvert de trois écorces, donne deux fruits et s’étend jusqu’au soleil.
The two seeds of this tree are sinful and pious activities, and the hundreds of roots are the living entities’ innumerable material desires, which chain them to material existence. The three lower trunks represent the three modes of material nature, and the five upper trunks represent the five gross material elements. The tree produces five flavors — sound, form, touch, taste and aroma — and has eleven branches — the five working senses, the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the mind. Two birds, namely the individual soul and the Supersoul, have made their nest in this tree, and the three types of bark are air, bile and mucus, the constituent elements of the body. The two fruits of this tree are happiness and distress.
FAQs
It presents saṁsāra as a symbolic tree—rooted in material desire and branching into sense objects—so the listener can recognize bondage and seek liberation through spiritual knowledge and devotion.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, continuing the philosophical instructions of Canto 11 by explaining how the conditioned soul is entangled in material nature.
By identifying how sense tastes and attachments drive choices, one can practice restraint, cultivate devotion and remembrance of the Lord, and redirect life toward lasting spiritual goals rather than temporary pleasure.