Devayana Marga and Pitruyana Marga (देवयानमार्गः पितृयानमार्गः च।)

edit title : progression of living entity

देवयान || Devayana (Path to the Realm of Gods) and पित्रयान || Pitrayana (Path to the Realm of Ancestors) is the journey to the higher realms. This can be explained with reference to the Chandogya Upanishad of the Sama Veda (5-3), where Shwetaketu, once came to the assembly of Panchalas, whose reigning monarch was Pravahana Jaivali. The King asks Shwetaketu five questions to gauge his understanding before imparting ब्रह्मविद्या || Brahma Vidya. These famous five questions are as below

From here (this लोक || loka) where do the people go (after death)?
How do the dead come back?
At what point do the paths of the देवयान || Devayana (journey to the deva loka post death) and पित्रयान (journey to Pitr loka post death) get separated?
Why do fewer जीवात्मा || jivatmas attain पित्र् लोक || Pitr loka (loka of ancestors)?
In पञ्चाग्नि || Panchagni, the fifth आहुती || ahuti (oblation), how does अप तत्त्व || Apa Tattva get the name of पुरुष || Purusha?

देवयान || Devayana (Path to the Realm of Brahma)

The Devayana path also called as Northern path or the path of light is the path by which the student or sadhaka of Brahmavidya goes to Brahman. This path leads to salvation and takes the devotee to Brahmaloka. The student who receives ब्रह्मविद्या || Brahmavidya with श्रद्धा || shraddha (devotion) while doing तपस् || tapas in the forest follows the following path.

- He reaches the अर्चिर्देवाः || archirdeva (the God of Light) during उत्क्रमन || Utkramana time or during departing time.

- The ब्रह्मज्ञानी || Brahmajñāni continues on his journey through the daytime (God of Day) through the शुक्लपक्ष || shukla paksha (bright half of the lunar month).

- From there they go higher into the realm when the Sun is in the Uttarayayana or Northern hemisphere.

- Then through the देवताः || devta he reaches आदित्य || aditya which is the passage for the soul to liberation and from there to the subtle realm of चन्द्र || chandra (the Moon God).

- From the moon moving further and higher to the उर्जा || urja (energy god) the soul is received by the देवदूत || devdoota (Bhagawan’s assistants) who welcome him to परमब्रह्म || parabrahma (the Absolute).

This is देवयान मार्ग (the divine Way), the final destination in the भूलोक || Bhuloka dimension, this is the path of freedom; the path of liberation or Moksha.

The human body is likened to the Cosmos. The ब्रह्मज्ञानी || Brahmajñāni (the wise one) goes to the higher realm through heart veins which are beyond hundred, unlike the ordinary person who transits through the veins lesser in number.

A critical question that arises is how does he perceive through which veins he is passing through? Such discussion is unwarranted as one who has worshiped the Param purusha, is absorbed in the ultimate goal, the wise seeker who through his own education and by God’s grace being illuminated is able to recognize the veins that help him depart to a higher realm. Such an advanced soul can transit through the path of light and even if such a person dies at night or in दक्षिणायन || Dakshinayana, the jnani will attain ब्रह्मलोक || brahmaLoka (Moksha).

पित्रयान || Pitrayana (Path to the Realm of Pitrus)

Another kind of life journey which involves discharging one’s functional responsibilities and fulfilling material desires with no interest in acquiring ब्रह्मविद्या || Brahmavidya and then eventually death.

Such people during continue their journey at night time, during the कृष्णपक्ष || krsnapaksha (अमावास्या || amavasya-dark moon) in the southern direction, reaching the धुमाभिमनि देवताः || dhumabhimani (wind gods) without seeing the संवत्सर देवताः || sanvatsar devata they reach the पितृलोक || pitrulok (land of the ancestors) then to the Sky and eventually reach सोम || soma (the grain of the Gods).

After their karma is exhausted, these souls come back to पृथ्वीलोक || prutvilok using the same path that they had used to go up, through the Sky, Wind, Smoke, Cloud, Rain. Determined by one’s कर्म || karma, the soul is reborn embodied through अन्न || anna (rice, wheat, herbs, tree, varieties of roots and medicinal herbs). By the power of धर्म || dharma and कर्म || karma (दैव || daiva) and through these grains, one may be born either as a ब्राह्मण || brahmana, क्षत्रिय || kshatriya or वैश्य || vaisya. Such pious people are called as रमनिया चरना || ramaniya charna. If however their accumulated sin during the human birth is high, then they could become dog, pig or a चान्डाल || chandala (outcaste). Those souls who do not traverse either of these paths, the देवयान and पितृयान, are reborn time and again in the lower species of life. Therefore पितृलोक || pitri loka is not filled all the time.

As in Brahmasutras

Brahmasutras extensively and intricately describe the path of the Soul after Jeevan mukti and Videha mukti.

तदन्तरप्रतिपत्तौ रंहति सम्परिष्वक्तः प्रश्ननिरूपणाभ्याम् ( III-1-1)

Tadantarapratipattau raṁhati sampariṣvaktaḥ praśnanirūpaṇābhyām ( III-1-1)

When the transmigration of the soul takes place, the living being enters into the new body along with the subtle elements- मनस || manasa (mind), बुद्धि || buddhi (intellect) and अहङ्कार || ahankara (ego). This is corroborated in the Upanishads.

The Devayana and Pitrayana is described in the Brahmasutras in the 4th chapter (phaladhyaya), 2nd section. The mode of departure from the body up to the way is common to both the knower of the Saguna Brahman and an ordinary man

समाना चासृत्युपक्रमादमृतत्वं चानुपोष्य (4.2.7)

And common (is the mode of departure at the time of death for both the knower of the Saguna Brahman and the ignorant) up to the beginning of their ways; and the immortality (of the knower of the Saguna Brahman is only relative) without having burnt (ignorance). The present Sutra says that the knower of the Saguna Brahman enters the Sushumna Nadi at death and then goes out of the body and then enters the Devayana or the path of the gods while the ordinary ignorant man enters some other Nadi and goes by another way to have rebirth.

But the mode of departure at death is common to both till they enter on their respective ways.

As in Bhagavad Gita

The law of Creation is also explained in the Bhagavad Gita (VIIth & VIIIth Chapters) and in the third chapter of Yajna chakra. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the Ultimate Reality has to be realised in both aspects, transcendent as well as immanent. The Yogi who realizes both has nothing more to know.

This complete union with the Brahman is an extremely difficult task to attain. Of the millions of human beings, very few aspire for this union, and among those who aspire for it, few make efforts to achieve that union, and of the few who make efforts, few ever reach the pinnacle of spiritual realisation.

Sri krishna then explains about the manifestations of the Paramatma as the revealed universe and the power behind it. He speaks of these manifestations as His lower and higher manifestations (Prakritis). The lower Prakriti is made up of the five elements, mind, ego and intellect. The higher Prakriti is the ultimate ‘Powerless Power’ which creates and upholds the universe, and causes its final dissolution. In the eight chapter,

शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते ।

एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥ (Bhag. G. 8.26)

śuklakṛṣṇe gatī hyete jagataḥ śāśvate mate,
ekayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayāvartate punaḥ

Meaning: These are the bright and the dark paths (called the path of the gods and the path of the fathers in the Upanishads); by the one he departs who does not return, by the other he who returns again.

सम्वाद || Discussion

The Vedas are the earliest literatures that speak extensively about the concept of life after death and the journey of the soul in different paths. While other faiths also believe in the existence of life after the death (For example Christians believe in Heaven, Hell and Purgatory) clear explanation about the upward journey of the soul is described vividly in the Vedas, Brahmasutras, Upanishads like Chandogya and Mundaka apart from Brihadaaranyakopanishad and Garuda purana.

No other faith has such extensive and ancient system of rituals and deeds for their ancestors as described in Sanatana Dharma. In the present day, festivals like Halloween, Day of the Dead, Wag festival, Bon Festival, Ayamarca, Ghost Festival are celebrated, characteristic of each religion or country, as an event to remember and honour the departed souls.