Verse 8.23

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 8.23:

यत्र काले त्व् अनावृत्तिम् आवृत्तिं चैव योगिनः ।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ॥ २३॥

yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṃ caiva yoginaḥ |
prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha || 23||

yatra–at which; kāle–time, or path; tu–indeed; anāvṛttim–no return; āvṛttim–return; ca–and; eva–certainly; yoginaḥ–yogīs; prayātāḥ–having passed from the body; yānti–they attain (their desired destination); tam–that; kālam–time, or path; vakṣyāmi–I shall describe; bharatarṣabha–O best of Bharata’s line.

O best of the dynasty of Bharata, I shall now explain the different paths (protected by the presiding deities of time) by which yogīs who pass from this world either return or never return.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

“Previously You said, ‘After attaining My supreme abode, the living entity never returns.’ By this statement, You established that after attaining Your abode, Your devotees never return. Yet You have not given any instruction about that special path and how to attain it. The path of arci (the sun-rays) is in the mode of goodness, but that special path of which You now speak must be beyond the material modes, since Your devotees are also beyond the modes. For now, however, I am inquiring about the path that is followed by karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs.”

Anticipating Arjuna’s question, Śrī Bhagavān speaks this verse beginning with yatra. “A person returns or does not return to this world, depending on the path that is indicated by the exact time he leaves his body. I will now explain that time, or path.”

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Bhagavān’s one-pointed devotees easily attain His abode, unlike the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs, and they do not have to undergo the path of material goodness (sattva-guṇa) which is fraught with miseries. Since the devotees who follow that bhakti which is beyond the modes (nirguṇā-bhakti) are also beyond the modes, their paths and the time of their passing are also beyond the modes. The devotees do not have to consider whether or not the sun is in the northern hemisphere. The moment in which they enter Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s unmanifest pastimes is always beyond the modes of material nature.