Bhagavad Gita 8.23
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 23 of 28
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ||२३||
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṃ caiva yoginaḥ | prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha || 23 ||
At the time of departure, yogis travel one of two paths — one from which they do not return, one from which they do.
Word by word (3)
- yatra kāle tu anāvṛttim āvṛttiṃ ca eva yoginaḥ prayātāḥ yānti
- — The time at which departing yogis go to non-return or return · yatra = where, at which (relative adverb — 'at which time'). kāle = at the time (locative of kāla = time; kāle = at the time). tu = now (transition marker — 'now I shall tell you' — shifts the teaching from the what (V20-V22) to the when and how). anāvṛttim = non-return (an = not; āvṛtti = return, turning back — āvṛttim = the path of return; anāvṛttim = non-return, the path of no-return). āvṛttiṃ = return (the path of return to rebirth). ca eva = and indeed. yoginaḥ = yogis (the practitioners). prayātāḥ = departing (pra + √yā = to go forth — prayāta = departed, the one who has departed; prayātāḥ = plural — those who depart). yānti = they go (from √yā = to go). The verse introduces Ch.8's next topic: kāla (the time/path of departure) as the determinant of anāvṛtti (non-return) vs. āvṛtti (return to rebirth). This is the shift from the cosmological (what is the Supreme, V20-V22) to the practical-technical (how does one ensure reaching the Supreme at death, V23-V27).
- taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha
- — That time I shall declare, O bull of the Bharatas · taṃ kālaṃ = that time (accusative — 'that time [of departure]'). vakṣyāmi = I shall declare (future of √vac = to speak — first person singular: 'I will tell you'). bharatarṣabha = O bull of the Bharatas (bharata = of the Bharata clan; ṛṣabha = bull, the best among — bharatarṣabha = 'bull among the Bharatas,' the best of the Bharata lineage; used as an honorific address to Arjuna). The announcement: 'I shall now declare the two paths of departure.' V23 is thus a transition verse — it announces the topic of V24-V27 (the bright/northern path and the dark/southern path) without yet giving the content. The bhāratarṣabha address (bull among Bharatas) is an honorific that reminds Arjuna of his warrior lineage — connecting the practical death-path teaching to the warrior context of the Gita.
- kāla as path in V23 — the shift from cosmological to practical
- — V23's kāla (time/path) introduces the traditional Indian teaching of the two paths of departure (pitṛ-yāna and deva-yāna) · The Vedic and Upaniṣadic tradition describes two paths taken by the departed after death: (1) deva-yāna (the path of the gods) — associated with light, fire, day, waxing moon, northern solstice; those who go this way reach Brahman and do not return. (2) pitṛ-yāna (the path of the ancestors) — associated with smoke, night, waning moon, southern solstice; those who go this way reach the moon, experience their accumulated merit, and return to be reborn. This teaching appears in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.2 (the Pañcāgni-vidyā, five-fire teaching) and Chāndogya Upaniṣad 5.3-10 (in detail, with the path of the devas and the path of the ancestors). V23-V26 are the Gita's version of this traditional teaching. V23 is the introduction: now I will tell you about these two paths (kāla). The use of kāla (time) rather than mārga (path) or gati (course) reflects the fact that in the Vedic tradition, time (cosmic periods — day/night, waxing/waning moon, northern/southern sun) is understood as the vehicle of the soul's journey.
Now I shall tell you, O bull of the Bharatas, of the times at which departing yogis go to return, or to no return.
A modern analogy
At a fork in the road, the direction you take determines where you end up. This verse announces: there are two forks in the road of departure (death), and I will tell you which leads where. This doesn't mean you schedule your death for a favorable astronomical period — it means understanding the quality of consciousness that characterizes each path so you can cultivate the quality that leads to non-return.
What it does NOT mean
The 'time' (kāla) in this verse does not mean that liberation depends on the astronomical calendar (whether the sun is in its northern course at the moment of death). The tradition interprets kāla here as referring to the cosmic/psychological state at the time of departure — the consciousness-quality, not the clock time. The chapter's closing assurance makes this explicit: knowing both paths, the yogi is not deluded — suggesting the teaching is about the quality of departure consciousness, not scheduling.
Take with you
- This verse is a reminder that the Gita's death-teachings — what to do at death, and what path the departure takes — are not morbid but practical: the Gita treats death as a solvable problem. Knowing the two paths and cultivating the quality that belongs to the non-return path is the practical application of all of Chapter 8's teaching.
- The contrast between non-return (anāvṛtti) and return (āvṛtti) works as a daily frame: every moment of practice is a step toward the quality of departure that leads to non-return. The instruction to remember Krishna while fighting, and to remember Him daily with single-pointed mind, is precisely the cultivation of that non-return quality — consciousness oriented toward the Supreme.
- The address 'O bull of the Bharatas' (bharatarṣabha) — the honorific warrior address — connects the two-path teaching to Arjuna's warrior context: the warrior's finest quality is not hesitation but decisive knowledge. Know which path leads where; cultivate the qualities of the path you wish to take.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Now I shall tell thee, O bull of the Bharatas, of the time (path) travelling in which, the Yogis return, (and again of that, taking which) they do not return. [4]
Now I will declare the time, O Bull of the Bhâratas, at which dying, Yogis go to freedom or return. [5]
I will now declare to thee, O best of the Bharatas, at what time yogis dying obtain freedom from or subjection to rebirth. [6]
Richer than holy fruit on Vedas growing... [Arnold's V23-V28 are compressed into the chapter close — see Telang for verse-specific texts] [7]
I will state the times, O descendant of Bharata! at which devotees departing (from this world) go, never to return, or to return. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Fire, Light, Day, waxing fortnight, six months of Northern sun — taking this path, Brahman-knowers reach Brahman.
Smoke, Night, dark fortnight, six months of the Southern sun — by this path the yogi attains the moon and returns.
Knowing both paths, no yogi is deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna, be steadfast in yoga at all times.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
Verse 23 of 28 · back to Chapter 8