TEXT 25
धूमो रात्रिस् तथा कृष्णः
षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् ।
तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्
योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥ २५ ॥
dhūmo rātris tathā kṛṣṇaḥ
ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam
tatra cāndramasaṁ jyotir
yogī prāpya nivartate
SYNONYMS
dhūmaḥ—smoke; rātriḥ—night; tathā—also; kṛṣṇaḥ—the fortnight of the dark moon; ṣaṭ-māsāḥ—the six months; dakṣiṇa-ayanam—when the sun passes on the southern side; tatra—there; cāndra-masam—the moon planet; jyotiḥ—the light; yogī—the mystic; prāpya—achieving; nivartate—comes back.
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.
PURPORT
In the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Kapila Muni mentions that those who are expert in fruitive activities and sacrificial methods on earth attain to the moon at death. These elevated souls live on the moon for about 10,000 years (by demigod calculations) and enjoy life by drinking soma-rasa. They eventually return to earth. This means that on the moon there are higher classes of living beings, though they may not be perceived by the gross senses.
