Chapter VIII · Śloka 26
शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते ।
एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥
एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥
śukla-kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate |
ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ ||
ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ ||
These two paths — bright and dark — are considered eternal for the world. By one, one goes to no-return; by the other, one returns again.
The two paths are sanātana — eternal structural features of the cosmos. The bright path (devayāna) leads beyond all conditioned existence; the dark path (pitṛyāna) cycles the soul back through the world of birth and death.