Verse 8.25
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् | तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ||२५||
Transliteration (IAST)
dhūmo rātris tathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam | tatra cāndramasaṁ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate ||25||
Word-by-Word Meanings
dhūmaḥ-smoke
rātriḥ-night
kṛṣṇaḥ-dark fortnight
ṣaṭ-māsāḥ-six months
dakṣiṇāyanam-southern course of the sun
cāndramasam jyotiḥ-lunar light
prāpya-having attained
nivartate-returns
Translation
Smoke, night, the dark fortnight, the six months of the southern solstice - by this path the yogi attains the lunar light and returns.
Commentary
This describes the path of darkness (dhumadi marga or pitriyana). Shankaracharya explains that souls traveling this path reach Chandraloka (the lunar realm) and enjoy the fruits of their good deeds, but eventually return to earthly existence when their merit is exhausted. This corresponds to the Chandogya Upanishad's teaching on the path of the ancestors.
Themes
karmatime