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Chapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme · 28 verses

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Liberation & destinyChapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme
8.238.25

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 8.24

Paths at death and freedom from return

अग्न‍िर्ज्योतिरह: शुक्ल‍ः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् ।

तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जना: ॥ २४ ॥

agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam

tatra prayātā gacchanti

brahma brahma-vido janāḥ

Translation

Those who know the Supreme Brahman attain that Supreme by passing away from the world during the influence of the fiery god, in the light, at an auspicious moment of the day, during the fortnight of the waxing moon, or during the six months when the sun travels in the north.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Auspicious Times and Devotion

  1. 1Those who know the Supreme Brahman attain that Supreme by leaving this world under the auspicious conditions described.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that presiding deities arrange the soul’s passage, and leaving at these times can lead to the impersonal brahma-jyotir.
  3. 3A pure devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness need not fear returning to birth and death, regardless of when the body is left.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 8, Attaining the Supreme: paths at death and freedom from return.

What it teaches

Theme summary

The soul's true destination is eternal.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: mokṣa, dhāma.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 8.24 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to liberation & destiny?

Practice

Reflect on what you want to remember at life's end.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 8 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 8.23Paths at death and freedom from returnBG 8.25Paths at death and freedom from return

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.