BG 8.25
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम्। तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते।।8.25।।
dhūmo rātris tathā kṛiṣhṇaḥ ṣhaṇ-māsā dakṣhiṇāyanam tatra chāndramasaṁ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate
dhūmaḥ—smoke; rātriḥ—night; tathā—and; kṛiṣhṇaḥ—the dark fortnight of the moon; ṣhaṭ-māsāḥ—six months; dakṣhiṇa-ayanam—the sun’s southern course; tatra—there; chāndra-masam—lunar; jyotiḥ—light; yogī—a yogi; prāpya—attain; nivartate—comes back;
Translation
Attaining the lunar light through smoke, night time, the dark fortnight, and the six months of the southern path of the sun (the southern solstice), the yogi returns.
Commentary
8.25 धूमः smoke? रात्रिः night? तथा also? कृष्णः the dark (fortnight)? षण्मासाः the six months? दक्षिणायनम् the southern path of the sun? तत्र there? चान्द्रमसम् lunar? ज्योतिः light? योगी the Yogi? प्राप्य having attained? निवर्तते returns.Commentary This is the Pitriyana or the path of darkness or the path of the ancestors which leads to rirth. Those who do sacrifices to the gods and other charitable
works with expectation of reward go to the Chandraloka through this path and come back to this world when the fruits of the Karmas are exhausted.Smoke? night time? the dark fortnight and the six months of the southern solstice are all deities who preside over them. They may denote the degree of ignorance? attachment and passion. There are smoke and darkcoloured objects throughout the course. There is no illumination when one passes along this path. It is reached by ignorance. Hence it is called the path of darkness or smoke.
