Downward and upward extend its branches, strengthened by the guṇas, with shoots that are the objects of the senses. Below also extend the roots, which bind to action in the world of humans.

The expansion of the tree metaphor continues. The branches multiply in all directions — upward in the higher worlds (urdhva), downward in the lower ones — nourished by the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas). The viṣaya (sense objects) are the tender shoots (pravāla) that attract the jiva.

The lower roots (mūlāni) are particularly dangerous because they extend into the manuṣya-loka, the human world where karma is possible. Here the karma-anubandha is formed — the connection that binds the individual to the consequences of action, perpetuating the cycle of birth and death. This tree grows in both directions: toward the celestial and toward the dense, but always conditioned.