Verse 8.24
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
अग्निर्ज्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् | तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः ||२४||
Transliteration (IAST)
agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam | tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahma-vido janāḥ ||24||
Word-by-Word Meanings
agniḥ-fire
jyotiḥ-light
ahaḥ-day
śuklaḥ-bright fortnight
ṣaṭ-māsāḥ-six months
uttarāyaṇam-northern course of the sun
brahma-vidaḥ-knowers of Brahman
Translation
Fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight, the six months of the northern solstice - departing by this path, the knowers of Brahman attain Brahman.
Commentary
This describes the path of light (archiradi marga or devayana). Shankaracharya explains that these are not merely temporal conditions but presiding deities who escort the departing soul progressively toward Brahman. The Chandogya Upanishad (5.10.1) elaborates this path in detail.
Themes
mokshatimejnana