The luminous path or the path of effulgence to the supreme being in Hindu religion is known as Arciradimarga. It is the path taken by the dead. ‘Arcis’ here denotes to the effulgent fire-God and ‘marga’ refers to the path taken by those who attain knowledge of Brahman. The Hindu religious and philosophical texts divide the year into two halves, each of six months duration – the time taken for the sun’s transit northwards (uttarayana) and that taken for its southward journey (dakshinayana). Similarly, there are two fortnights every month. The period of the waxing of the moon is described as bright (Shukla paksha) and that of the waning of the moon as dark (Krishna paksha). Days belongs to the bright aspect and night to the dark aspect. Each of the periods has a specific deity presiding over it. The units of time belonging to the bright aspect are known as path of light and of the gods (devayana), and the fire-God (Agni), and the deities presiding over the periods belonging to the bright aspect are stationed in this path. Those of the dark aspect are known as the path of darkness and of the manes (pitryana), and the deities presiding over the periods of dark aspect are stationed in this path (Bhagavad Gita VIII.24 and 25; Brahmastura IV. 3. 1-6.)
Those mortals who have known Brahman attain Brahman taking
the path of fire, light, daytime, the fortnight of the waxing moon, and the
period of the transit of the sun northwards. The effulgent fire-God has his
jurisdiction over the entire space. His function is to conduct the soul of a
person qualified to travel the path of light to the deity of daylight. If an
enlightened person dies during the day, he immediately hands over his soul to
the presiding deity of the day. If such a person dies during the night, this
God keeps the soul under his charge till it can be given over to the presiding
deity of the following day. Similarly, when a person dies during the day in a
dark fortnight, the deity of the day takes care of the soul until the arrival
of the bright fortnight. But if a person dies during the day of a bright
fortnight, the deity of the day immediately takes the soul to the deity of the bright
fortnight. The function of the deity of the bright fortnight is to conduct the
soul to the deity of the northerly course of the sun, whence it goes to the
deity presiding over the year. The soul subsequently proceeds to the abode of the
Sun God, the sun god to the abode of the Moon god (distinguished from the moon,
the planetary satellite of the earth), the moon-God to the God of lightning.
Then the attendants of the Supreme Being take the soul to Him. By taking this
path one does not return to the earth (Chandogya Upanishad IV.15.5; v.10, 1-2;
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI.2, 15). Bhishma, the grand patriarch in the Mahabharata,
waited to take this path.
Those who have not attained the knowledge of Brahman take
the other path wherein are stationed the presiding deities of smoke, night, the
dark fortnight, and the six months of the southward course of the un, all the
deities characterized by darkness. Similar to the fire-God, the deity presiding
over smoke has his jurisdiction over the entire space. His function is to take
the unenlightened soul to the presiding deity of the south. The deities of the
respective periods belonging to the dark aspect take the soul to the next
deity. Thus, the deity of the southerly course of the sun takes the soul to the
presiding deity of the world of the manes, that deity of the deity of the
heavens, and so on to the moon-world. The persons taking this path return to
this mortal world after enjoying the fruits of their meritorious deeds. (Chandogya
Upanishad V.10-3-6; Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI.2, 16).