Darkness. As a mythological category, darkness is used throughout the Bible, from the opening of Genesis onward, as a symbol of chaos and of the primeval abyss out of which the universe is created. In this sense it is always set in opposition to light, a symbol of divinity, revelation, and truth. So in John's Prologue ( John 1), the Logos comes to the world as the light coming into the darkness, but the darkness could not understand it, so the light went generally unnoticed. Darkness at noon ( Amos 8.9) is represented the ultimate catastrophe. Darkness is seen as evil: Satan and other wicked agencies work out of darkness although often assuming the appearance of light in order to achieve the deception they must employ to corrupt the minds and hearts of men and women. Sinners are cast into darkness: the darkness to which their sin belongs. The term functions both mythologically and metaphorically in such ways, especially in John; nevertheless, it is sometimes used of course in a straightforward empirical sense as would anyone use it in referring to night or a room devoid of sunlight. The mythological and empirical uses are sometimes confused, e.g., in the opening verses of Genesis, in which God not only creates light, thus dispelling darkness (chaos), but at the same time gives darkness a name (night) as he gives a name to fight (day).

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989

darkness : (m.) tama; andhakāra.

A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera, Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary [available as digital version from Metta Net, Sri Lanka]

冥 [py] míng [wg] ming [ko] 명 myŏng [ja] ミョウ myō ||| (1) Darkness, especially as a metaphor for ignorance. (2) To join perfectly; to be unified. (3) Occult, mysterious.

[Dictionary References] Naka1355a [Credit] cmuller(entry) cwittern(py)

nag

[translation-san] kṛṣṇa

[translation-san] {MSA} mun nag = tamaḥ-prakāra

[translation-eng] {Hopkins} darkness; black

Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary