Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 8: The Imperishable Absolute

Bhagavad Gita 8.25

dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam | tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotiryogī prāpya nivartate ||

Smoke, night, the dark fortnight, the six months of the sun's southern course: departing then, the yogi reaches the light of the moon and returns.

Modern context

The dark path mirrors the first: smoke, night, the waning moon, the months of the southern sun. Those who go this way reach the moon's light and return. Notice that the moon still gives light, borrowed from the sun. This is not a path to punishment but to a partial, reflected good: reward for good actions, which eventually runs out. It describes a life that has done good without yet seeing the source of all good.