I am the impeller of the tree; my fame is like the peak of the mountain; the Most High purifies me; I am the very Immortal; I am resplendent wealth; of great intelligence, steeped in immortality.

This anuvāka contains the famous mantra of Triśaṅku — an expression of the realization of the Ātman attained by this sage. It is a proclamation of ātmavidyā (knowledge of the Self), expressing how the realized sage sees his own nature.

“The tree” is the tree of saṃsāra — worldly existence whose roots are above (Brahman) and whose branches extend downward into multiplicity. The Ātman is the rerivā (impeller) that gives movement to all this manifestation. As the peak of the mountain rises above all, the kīrti (fame) of the liberated one transcends all limitations.

The Most High (parameśvara) purifies, returning the Ātman to its pure nature. The liberated one recognizes that he is svāmṛta (himself immortality), not a seeker but the goal itself. The draviṇa (wealth) here is brahma-vidyā — the knowledge of Brahman that shines forth illuminating one’s own nature.

For the yoga practitioner, this mantra is a reminder of our true identity — beyond the body, beyond the mind, beyond the intellect — as the pure Ātman, immortal and self-sufficient.