Verse 8.26
शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते ।
एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥
Transliteration
śuklakṛṣṇe gatī hyete jagataḥ śāśvate mate |
ekayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayāvartate punaḥ ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
The bright and the dark paths of the world are verily thought to be eternal; by the one (the bright path) a man goes not to return and by the other (the dark path) he returns.
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
These two paths of the world, the bright and the dark, are held to be everlasting. By one a person goes to no return; by the other he comes back again.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
These two paths, the bright and the dark, are said to be everlasting features of the world. By one, a person goes to no return; by the other, a person comes back again. The verse sums up the teaching of the two paths and presents them as enduring possibilities rather than accidents. The deeper meaning, widely accepted across traditions, is that the quality of one's life and understanding, not merely the calendar, determines which way one goes.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08