Verse 8.23
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ||२३||
Transliteration (IAST)
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ | prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha ||23||
Word-by-Word Meanings
yatra kāle-at which time
anāvṛttim-no return
āvṛttim-return
yoginaḥ-yogis
prayātāḥ-having departed
kālam-time
vakṣyāmi-I shall describe
Translation
I shall now describe to you, O best of the Bharatas, the times at which yogis depart never to return, and also the times at which they depart to return.
Commentary
Krishna introduces the doctrine of the two paths (deva-yana and pitri-yana) that determine the post-mortem journey of the soul. Shankaracharya notes that 'kala' here refers not merely to clock-time but to the presiding deities of various time periods who guide the departing soul along its path.
Themes
timekarmamoksha