यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः | प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ || २३ ||
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha
yatra—in which; kāle—time; tu—certainly; anāvṛttim—no return; āvṛttim—return; ca—and; eva—certainly; yoginaḥ—yogis; prayātāḥ—departing; yānti—go; tam—that; kālam—time; vakṣyāmi—I shall speak; bharata-ṛṣabha—O chief of the Bharatas.
“O chief of the Bharatas, I shall now explain the times of departure at which the yogi departs and does not return, and the times at which he departs and returns.”
Krishna now introduces the doctrine of the two paths: Devayana (the path of the gods, leading to non-return) and Pitriyana (the path of the ancestors, leading to return). From an Advaitic perspective, these are symbolic descriptions of states of consciousness at death—what the mind is absorbed in—rather than literal cosmic highways.
The teaching of the two paths is ultimately a teaching about the state of one's inner life at death. Which path will you take? The answer depends entirely on how you live and what you cultivate now, not on any cosmic accident of timing.