Neil Armstrong had described his landing on the moon as ' One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind .' But words fail to describe when we find the innumerable anecdotes scattered in the texts of Puranas which unveil the undisputable scientific truths shrouding this beautiful planet.
As the Sun is the king of the day, so is the Moon queen of the night. Astronomically, the Moon is a mere secondary planet or satellite revolving round the earth once in 27 days at an average distance of 238,000 miles.
The Puranas throw a rich and varied light on this planet, its nature, size, birth and other details.
Nomenclature :- According to Matsya Purana, Chandrama ( Moon) is derived from the root ' chand ' which connotes whiteness, nectar, cold and pleasant.
Nature :- Garuda Purana states that the Moon is calm. Matsya purana describes the shining mandala of Moon in the divine firmament as luminous, white, full of water ( scientists have detected water on the Moon ) and fire. It is beautiful like white pitcher.
Size and form :- Puranas like Matsya, Kurma refer to the size of the Moon as double that of the Sun. The chariot of the Moon has three wheels and is produced from the depth of the waters. It has ten white horses. It is a tradition in Sanskrit texts to depict Moon as a god ,that is why chariot and horses are described.
Birth :-
From the Sun -
Matsya Purana mentions that from the Sun emanate the stars, planets and the Moon and they are preserved by him. It is by the Sushumna ray of the Sun that the Moon waxes again day by day.
From the milky ocean -
General traditional belief is that the Moon is one of the fourteen gems came out from the churning of the milky ocean .
A pauranic account runs that the Moon was partial towards the star Rohini when all the 27 stars, the daughters of Daksha prajapati were his wives. When the other daughters reported this special love to their father, the latter cursed the Moon to get afflicted by consumption ( kshaya roga ). Being thus cursed, he is said to have hid himself in the ocean and was taken out at the churning of the ocean
From the sage Atri -
According to Puranas like Agni, Brahmanda and Markandeya, the Moon is said to have been born from the eye or mind of the sage Atri. There is another account which runs thus. Brahma, the creator caused the Moon to be produced from the eyes of Atri.At that time Lord Shiva and His consort Parvati became highly pleased to see the Moon. All the sages acknowledged Him as the Supreme Lord. Brahma created an illustrious Being and bedecked him with weapons. By the yogic glory of Brahma, that Being became still more lustrous emerged out as the Moon. By its lustre, the herbs in the world profusely thrived and the Moon became more radiant in the night and consequently the Moon came to be the sovereign of the herbs and the night.
Brahma and Skanda Puranas give the account with a slight variation.Atri was practising severe penance and gradually his whole body got full of Soma juice, the latter oozed ou from his eyes, illuminating the quarters profusely. The quarters ( dishas or directions ) however could not bear the lustre and let it fall down. Brahma, for the welfare of the world ,placed it on his chariot. Thus the Moon was born. When he circumambulated the earth, his lustre penetrated the earth and gave birth to various herbs. Brahma made him the king of herbs and night.
Waxing and waning of the Moon.
The Matsya Purana gives an interesting and a detailed note on this aspect. The Moon waxes and wanes according to his position with respect to the Sun.
In the bright fortnight, the Moon gets ahead of the Sun and whatever of him waned during the dark fortnight becomes filled up again, digit by digit, by the solar ray, day after day. Thus he becomes nourished by the one seed ray of the Sun named Sushumna. He becomes full and circular on the Full- Moon night. Similarly in the dark fort night, the Moon wanes daily from the second day till the fourteenth day after the Full moon. The waning is due to the fact that the deities drink up the soft sweet like honey, the excellent nectar of the Moon . Thus, drinking the nectar, the deities at the end of the fortnight go elsewhere on the Amavasya night ( new moon night ) when the pitrus ( manes or departed souls ) come and drink the 15th portion of the nectar of the Moon. The 16th part of the Moon is recognised as the junction of the two ( dark and bright ) fortnights, when the final waxing takes place and fresh waxing begins.
Moon and Amavasya -
According to a myth in the Skanda Purana, the Moon is said to be the recipient of a part of the fire from the fore head of Shiva. The Moon is said to be the 8th form of Shiva on the new moon day( Lord Shiva has eight forms namely the five elements, the Sun, the Moon and the sacrificer or yogi.). On the Amavasya day the Moon is believed to enter the plants, herbs and water and hence is not seen. Eating these plants and drinking this water cows and other animals produce milk. From milk are produced curd and ghee. This ghee from the sacrificial offerings reaches the Moon through the wind.
It is said that on this day the creeper or tree should not be cut, for, these are produce from the Moon.
The waxing period is associated with growth of plants.So seeds sown during this period or on full moon day always fructify as they are enriched with nourishing lunar rays.
The mythical base of Moon's waning is Daksha's curse. Daksha's curse made the Moon afflicted with consumption. When the Moon was afflicted, the growthof medicinal plants stopped. With the result, all beings and things contracted consumption. When people began becoming thinner, the deities asked Chandra for an explanation and he told him all the details. They then sought the help of Daksha, who gave Chandra redemption from the curse for half of every month.
Chandra- the king of stars and medicinal plants
The milking of the earth mentioned in the various Puranas is nothing but symbolic of attainment of gains.
According to one version, the earth swallowed the medicinal herbs used at the sacrifices and holy rituals because kings disrespected her. On this act of the earth, Prthu, a noble and able king got angry and wanted to punish her. But the earth agreed to be milked and all types of herbs, corns were produced. Harivamsha refers to a legend according to which during the reign of emperor Prthu, he changed the Bhumidevi ( earth ) into a cow and milked her. It was Chandra who served as calf then. Pleased at this, Brahma crowned Chandra as the king of stars and medicinal plants.
Tides and the Moon-
Matsya Purana states that when the Moon rises in the east , the sea swells. The level of sea falls when the Moon wanes. The sea rises and falls, according to the phases of the Moon and 150 Angulis ( fingers length ) is the measure of its rise and fall, on the two parva days namely full moon and new moon.
Moon and the sea - mutual attraction - the strength of the Moon is the greatest.
According to Skanda Purana, the Moon which is the product of Atri and Anasuya is full of water. It is said that when the milky ocean was being churned, the Moon looked at it and was highly delighted. The ocean also glanced at the Moon and got pleased. The Moon, hence, got nectar from the ocean into himself , before all gods got it. Seeing this, the gods waved a light ( nirajana) before him. They asked the sage Garga about the strength of the Moon. He said that the strength of the Moon is equal to that of all the gods and of all favourable planets. Hence to the Moon did Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Venus, Saturn and others take resort. Hence it is that Chandrabala ( the strength of the Moon ) is said to be excellent for all auspicious occasions. When all the planets resort to the Moon, the auspicious occasion is termed Gomanta ( endowed with rays ) and it gives victory.
Moon and Rabbit-
Moon is called Shashanka meaning with the emblem of rabbit. Skanda Purana refers to the anecdote of the rabbit getting stuck into the orbit of the Moon. It is said that after the churning of the ocean, the gods got nectar. When they were drinking it, thousands of drops fell on the ground and also got mixed with water.There was a rabbit moving in the waters. When all the nectar was drunk by the gods, the Moon god, emaciated, came there and asked for it.As no nectar remained, the gods asked the Moon to drink the water mixed with nectar. The Moon drank it and also the rabbit. The Moon then got fattened and became lustrous. The place where this happened came to be known as the shashapana. This is a sacred place at Prabhasa. A dip here confers the fruits of a sacrifice and the world of Shiva.
Shiva and half-Moon-
The Brahmavaivarta Purana has an interesting account about the Moon getting upon the head of Shiva. It is said that when the Moon suffered from consumption, he went to Shiva for shelter. Shiva placed him on his head. As the wives of the Moon wanted their husband back, Daksha, the father- in -law of the Moon came to Shiva and asked him to give the Moon back, which Shiva refused.Then Krishna assumed the form of an old brahmin and requested Lord Shiva to return Chandra. Shiva did not, as Chandra had come to him for shelter.So Krishna devised a plan, and in consultation with Shiva, he took out a part of Chandra and gave it to Daksha.So the half moon remained undiseased on the head of Shiva.
Lunar eclipse-
Most of the Puranas mention the motif of Rahu ( node ) eating the nectar and reporting of luminaries ( Sun and Moon ) to Vishnu as the cause of the eclipse. When the Rahu catches the Moon ( on a full moon day only ), the eclipse is termed lunar. Taking food and indulging in worldly pleasures are prohibited during this period. Prayers are recommended. It is supposed to be a good time for initiation into mantras.
Moon- Mercury-
The legend of the Moon is marked with an important event namely the abduction of Tara, the wife of his preceptor Jupiter by him. From this union, Budha ( Mercury) was born.Because of this act, he is said to have become a leper or consumptive. Matsya Purana states that because of this sin, the Moon was called a papagraha ( sinful planet ).
Brahmavaivarta Purana refers to this motif and it is stated there that when her husband Jupiter refused to take her back, Tara cursed the Moon to be stained with sin and that one who looked at it would be sinful. the Moon performed severe penance and received a boon from Vishnu that he would be free from his sin for all times, except in the month of Bhadrapada, that too especially on the fourth day of the bright fortnight, if any one saw the Moon purposefully, the sin would go to him. The remedy to get away from the sin of looking at the Moon on this day is stated to be the recitation of specific verses with sipping of water which are given in the text.
There is yet another account in Skanda Purana which states that Brhaspati was responsible for bestowing the position of Indra to Nahusha and Yayati when Indra was still ruling. So Indrani ( Indra's wife ) cursed him, that due to this impropriety of behaviour on his part, some one else shall procreate a son on his wife. This accounts for carrying away of Brhaspati's wife by Soma, the Moon and procreating a son on her.
The allegory can have a scientific base also. It may mean that the terrestrial Moon went out of its orbit and attracted one of the Moons of Jupiter and thus disturbed the solar equilibrium which was brought to harmony again by the birth of Mercury ( Budha ). Moon must have had a bigger mass in those days.
This anecdote may be a hint at the shifting of starry calculation with reference to Jupiter (Brhaspatimana) to that the Moon ( Chandramana).
A hole seen on the Moon portends evil according to Agni Purana.
Generally, it is believed that the Sun and the Moon are the right and left eyes of Lord Shiva. Shiva gave half of his body to Uma, his consort( left portion). So the left eye the Moon is represented by the goddess. Hence the Moon is the karaka for mother in astrological predictions.
Another interesting note seen in the scriptures is that the mind is born from Chandrama.The entire human body is a product of natural elements only. The mental disturbances are closely connected with the phases of the Moon.Regarding the eccentricity of the mind, there is a beautiful saying, ' The lovers, poets and lunatics are of the same kind'.The mind is said to be highly turbulant on full moon day. Taking into account of this, ancient dharmashastras prescribe various devices to control the mind naturally. Each day is specific to a particular deity for worship like Monday for Shiva, Tuesday for Hanuman, Kartikeya, Goddess, Wednesday for Vishnu, Thursday for Dakshinamurthy, Friday for Lakshmi and other Goddesses, Saturday for Venkateshwara, Saturn and Hanuman. Almost on all full moon days some festivals are celebrated so that people concentrate on good things like going to temple, participating in prayers, dance, music etc. The in built social system was so good that personal and social welfare was always there.
With 24x7 work culture of today, the elaborate celebration is not possible.At least the spirit behind this can be absorbed.Devoting fifteen mnts for meditation in the morning and before going to bed will calm the mind. Slowly man can open his inner treasure and achieve a lot in this life. Here , the Mahabharata's saying is very apt.
' Mana eva karanam bandhamokshayoh '
Mind alone is the sole cause for bondage and freedom.
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