Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 23
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ।।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ।।
yatra kāle tvanāvṛttim āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ
prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha
also searched as "yatra kale tvanavrittim avrittim chaiva yoginah"
Translation
O best of the Bharata dynasty, I shall now speak of that time by which the yogis depart and attain the State of Non-return, and also the State of Return.
Vāṇi's rendering
Now hear of the two roads — the hour of departure after which yogis return, and after which they do not.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यत्रyatra | at which, in which |
| कालेkāle | time, hour |
| तुtu | but, now (sandhi: tu + anāvṛttim = tvanāvṛttim) |
| अनावृत्तिम्anāvṛttim | non-return, not coming back |
| आवृत्तिम्āvṛttim | return, coming back |
| चca | and (sandhi: ca + eva = caiva) |
| एवeva | indeed, certainly |
| योगिनःyoginaḥ | the yogis |
| प्रयाताःprayātā | having departed, gone forth (visarga dropped before y-) |
| यान्तिyānti | they go, they reach |
| तम्taṁ | that |
| कालम्kālaṁ | time, hour |
| वक्ष्यामिvakṣyāmi | I shall speak of, I shall tell |
| भरतर्षभbharata-rṣabha | O bull among the Bharatas, best of Bharata's line (bharata + ṛṣabha) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 23 mean?
Krishna announces a teaching before giving it: there is an hour of departure after which yogis do not return, and one after which they do. He is not describing a calendar. He is preparing Arjuna to hear that how a life was lived shapes the road it leaves by.
What does yatra kale tvanavrittim avrittim chaiva yoginah mean?
"The time at which yogis depart and do not return — and the time at which they return." Krishna calls Arjuna bharata-ṛṣabha, bull of the Bharatas, and promises to speak of both. The verses following give the two paths as light and smoke, flame and darkness.
Does this verse mean the moment of death decides everything?
Not a lucky moment, no. The road opens according to what has become natural to you. Nothing new is invented at the end; what was practised is what surfaces. The hour reveals the life rather than overruling it — which is why Krishna keeps returning you to now.
What are the two roads mentioned here?
One is the path of no-return, from which there is no coming back into birth. The other returns — a high place reached, enjoyed, and then left again. Krishna names both without contempt for either. He simply lets Arjuna see that both exist, and that one is chosen long before it is walked.
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Commentary
Krishna has just described the highest goal; now he turns to timing. Two roads out of a body — one the yogi returns by, one he does not. Arjuna asked how to be steady at the hour of death, and the answer arrives as geography: light and darkness, smoke and flame, the road of those who go and those who go for good. Notice that Krishna does not begin with the destination. He begins with the departing — with what is carried at the last hour. That hour will come. What you practise now is what will be awake in you then.