Shankaracharya's commentary, trans. Alladi Mahadeva Sastry (1897)
[1]They speak of the indestructible Asvattha having its root above and branches below, whose leaves are the metres. He who knows it knows the Vedas.
BG 15.1
ऊर्ध्वमूलम् अधःशाखम् अश्वत्थं प्राहुर् अव्ययम् । छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस् तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṃ prāhur avyayam | chandāṃsi yasya parṇāni yas taṃ veda sa veda-vit ||
"Saṃsāra is an eternal inverted tree rooted in Brahman; knowing this tree root to tip is true Vedic wisdom."
All public-domain translations
4 translations · all pre-1928 or released to public domain · sources
Swami Swarupananda, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (1909)
[4]They speak of an eternal Ashvattha rooted above and branching below whose leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it, is a Veda-knower.
K.T. Telang, Sacred Books of the East Vol. 8 (1882)
[9]They say the inexhaustible Aśvattha has its roots above, its branches below; the Chhandas are its leaves. He who knows it knows the Vedas.
K.M. Ganguli, The Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva (1883–96)
[13]They say that the Aswattha, having its roots above and branches below, is eternal, its leaves are the Chhandas. He who knows it, knows the Vedas.