dhÅ«mo rÄtris tathÄ kṛṣṇaḥ
á¹£aṇ-mÄsÄ daká¹£iṇÄyanam
tatra cÄndramasaá¹ jyotir
yogÄ« prÄpya nivartate
dhumah--smoke; ratrih--night; tatha--also; krsnah--the fortnight of the dark moon; sat-masah--the six months; daksina-ayanam--when the sun passes on the southern side; tatra--there; candra-masam--the moon planet; jyotih--light; yogi--the mystic; prapya--achieves; nivartate--comes back.
The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, the night, the moonless fortnight, or in the six months when the sun passes to the south, or who reaches the moon planet, again comes back.
In the Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam we are informed that those who are expert in fruitive activities and sacrificial methods on earth attain to the moon at death. These elevated souls live on the moon for about 10,000 years (by demigod calculations) and enjoy life by drinking soma-rasa. They eventually return to earth. This means that on the moon there are higher classes of living beings, though they may not be perceived by the gross senses.
