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Chapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme · 28 verses

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Liberation & destinyChapter 8 · Attaining the Supreme
8.248.26

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 8.25

Paths at death and freedom from return

धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्ण: षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् ।

तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥ २५ ॥

dhūmo rātris tathā kṛṣṇaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam

tatra cāndramasaṁ jyotir

yogī prāpya nivartate

Translation

The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, the night, the fortnight of the waning moon, or the six months when the sun passes to the south reaches the moon planet but again comes back.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

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

Reaching the Moon and Returning

  1. 1A mystic who dies during smoke, night, the waning fortnight, or the six months when the sun passes south reaches the moon but returns.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that experts in work for material results and sacrifice enjoy life there for about 10,000 years by demigod calculations.
  3. 3Higher classes of living beings exist on the moon, though ordinary senses may not perceive them.

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 8.25 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.

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The story behind it

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

All stories for chapter 8 ›
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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 8.23Paths at death and freedom from returnBG 8.24Paths 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.