The story of MOON god

                                       Om Dhadhi Shankha tushaaraabham
                                       Ksheero Dhaarnava Sambhavam
                                       Namami Shashinam Somam
                                       Shambor Makuda Bhooshanam

Chandra's Bija Mantra
The Bija mantra is most powerful and potent, ensure physical and mental cleanup and purity before chanting this mantra.

Om Som Soma yai namaha
Om Shrim krim Cham Chandra yai namaha

About Chandra:
Chandra(Moon) goes around mother earth in 30 days and travels through the 12 zodical signs. Chandra is known as the Lord of Medicinal herbs. He gives his healing powers through moon-crystals(chandramukhi mani) when sunlight gets reflected through these crystals as moonlight shining on the medicinal plants at night, when these herbs grow and yield. Chandra has another name, Soma, meaning nectar.

The Hindu scriptures state that Chandra repesents the human mind, the subconscious and is a giver of life force. The moon represents the human mind(manas) and fermentation and influences one's intuitive, imaginative and psychic nature.

The story of MOON God:
Lord Brahma began creating the universe, as he created seven rishis (sages), he instructed them to aid him in his creation by engaging in procreation. The seven rishis are Vashishta, Marichi, Pulastya, Pulaha, Atri, Angiras and Kratu.

Atri was married to Anusuya and had no children, Anusuya was very virtuous, so, the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) wanted to test Anusuya, so, they transformed themselves into three sages and appeared before Atri and Anusuya, asking them to serve food. They were welcomed into the house and the trinity said they follow some pinciples and only if food is served adhering to those principles, would they accept it, and the couple agreed. The trinity said they wanted to see Anusuya naked and then she serve them food, Atri was shocked to hear this, Anusuya immediately agreed and transformed the trinity into infants and began feeding them. Sage Narada learns about this and informs the trinity devis (Parvati, Laxmi and Saraswathi). The devis come to meet Anusuya and request her to release them from infancy and give them back their divine trinity form. Anusuya agrees to this request and the trinity now appear as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva along with their devis, pleased with Anusuya's virtuousness offered them a boon, to which the couple asked for a son who will be remembered forever by mother earth and who will prove useful to human and other life forms.

Thus, was born 3 sons, Soma(Chandra), Durvasa, Dattatreya. Durvasa mastered the vedas and did severe penance and obtained the status of a Great Sage. Dattatreya became a Deva and obtained a status equal to Indra, Vayu, Varuna, Kubera, Yama and became a part of the Devalok. Soma obtained or achieved the status of a Navagraha and thus came into being the origin of Lunar Dynasty.

Soma (Chandra) performed severe penance and received several boons from the trinity. Among the boons he received were to permeate and influence the human mind and fermentation, influence the human psyche and subconscious, be a giver of life force, influence the growth and yield of medicinal herbs, influence the happy and sad part of all life forms and provide moonlight at night. The blessings of Lord Vishnu conferred the title to Soma as Lord Chandra.

Chandra was married to the twenty seven (27) daughters of sage Daksha, son of Lord Brahma. Those 27 daughters are the 27 lunar asterisms or stars (see - "Introduction to Planets"). When Daksha gave away his 27 daughters on marriage to Chandra, asked for a promise that Chandra would never look down upon any of his daughters and would treat all the 27 daughters with love, care and equality. And, Chandra too promised sage Daksha that he will love and care all his wives equally.

Once, Chandra decided to perform the greatest of Yagnas, Rajasuya Yagna(Fire worship). Chandra went to Satyalok and invited Lord Brahma and to receive his blessings and then went to Devalok to invite Lord Indra and other Devas to attend the Yagna. Chandra requested Brihaspathi (Deva Guru) to preside as the main priest to perform the yagna and Brihaspathi agreed to perform, since, Chandra was taught all the vedas and divine skills by his guru, who was none other than Brihaspathi himself.

Due to some other reason, Brihaspathi could not go and asked his wife Taara to preside over the yagna. As the yagna was progressing, Chandra began to attain more and more beautiful form, his divine beauty kept increasing to such an extent that all the Apsaras (Angels), Devalok women and including Deva Guru's wife Taara began to fall for Chandra's beauty. The women could not take their eyes off Chandra and this made the Deva men get jealous and they left the yagna, their better halves did not want to join them and hence, all the apsaras and Deva women stayed back with Chandra and indulged in physical relationship with him and after a period of time, the women folks left, except Deva Guru's wife Taara. She loved Chandra who was initially hesitant about this, knowing Taara is his Guru's wife, but, he could not control watching her beauty and finally yielded to his and her desires.

Brihaspathi sent his messengers to Chandra asking to send Taara back home, but, Chandra said to the messengers, "I am not keeping Taara forcefully, and she is staying with me at her own accord, if Taara wants to go, she can, I shall not try stopping her".

The matter reached Lord Shiva, and Shiva asked Chandra to send Taara back, to which, chandra said, "I cannot compel Taara to go back, it is not a Kshatriya's Dharma to send off someone, when they have come to take refuge and live with you". Shiva gets angry on hearing this and starts a war with Chandra. Due to the war, the 5 elements of nature suffered (5 elements - Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Ether). Lord Indra seeks Brahma's interference to stop the war, Brahma realizes that Chandra is alone responsible and asks Chandra to stop this unnecessary war and send Taara back. Chandra as usual began preaching the Kshatriya Dharma to Brahma and this agitates Brahma who curses that Chandra become a Sinner. Chandra reiterates his stand and appeals to Brahma that he is not at fault, and that Brahma reconsider his curse, to which Brahma asks Chandra to return Taara to Brihaspathi and beg forgiveness with Deva Guru (Brihaspathi), if forgiven then Brihaspathi's Yellow rays would remove the curse.

Chandra now decides to get his curse removed and stops the war, begs Lord Shiva to forgive him and advises Taara to go back home, and leaves her in his guru's house and falls at the feet of his guru, guru too decides to forget whatever happened and pardons Chandra and shines yellow rays on him that removes Brahma's curse.

Deva guru finds Taara has conceived and she tells him that this happened due to Chandra, so, upon birth of the baby, Guru did not like to bring up Chandra's baby and asks her to return the baby to Chandra. Chandra now asks his 27 wives to take care of the baby, the baby is named Budha(Mercury) and only 2 of his wives, Krittika and Rohini care for the baby, the other 25 wives ignore the baby. Between Krittika and Rohini, Rohini cares a lot more for the baby, so, Chandra too reciprocates his love for his wives in the same manner, ignoring the 25 wives and caring only for Krittika and Rohini.

The 25 wives feeling neglected, approach their father, Sage Daksha and apprise him of the situation. Daksha realizes that Chandra has broken his promise of loving all his wives equally and curses Chandra in his anger that in 15 days he will loose all his beauty and get rotten.

Chandra realizes that eventhough he has obtained several boons from Lord Shiva after several years of penance, he does not have power to stop Daksha's strange and mystic powers of his curse, and so approaches Lord Indra with his woes.

Lord Indra tells chandra all his faults, by recollecting the bad deeds one by one. At first, as a small boy Chandra laughs at Lord Ganesha, once, when Ganesha was walking home after eating a heavy meal filled with sweets (Modhak), Ganesha felt very heavy and slipped and fell down, and picked up a snake running by to wear it as a belt to hold his dress over his waist and began walking again, when Chandra saw this scene he could not control his laughter and burst upon Ganesha, for which Lord Ganesha curses that Chandra become debilitated. Lord Brahma then explained to Lord Ganesha, the purpose of Chandra's birth and his significant planetary position, Ganesha, then, modifies his curse and lets Chandra be debilitated only on one day in a year, which is on the day of Vinayaka Chathurthi, the month of Shravana (mid Aug to mid Sep). Next, Chandra got cursed by Lord Brahma and later released from the curse, after Brahma realized Chandra's planetary position. Then, Chandra again got cursed by Daksha, and this time, the effect of the curse is more stronger that Chandra is unable to release himself from it, so, saying, Lord Indra, asked Chandra to approach Lord Brahma, as he is the only one who can save him from this situation.

Chandra goes to Brahma and asks for his forgiveness and a solution to remove Daksha's curse from affecting him, to which Brahma says, eventhough Daksha is my son, he has received strange mystic powers and several boons and he is invincible, this fact has made him very proud of his achievements and Daksha in no way, would listen to me, even if, I, as his father advise him, Lord Shiva is your last resort, go and fall at his feet.

By the time Chandra went to Lord Shiva, he has already lost his beauty in 14 days and was left with only one day to completely look miserable. Chandra surrendered himself to Lord Shiva and begged his forgiveness and said, henceforth, he will only do what the Lord asks him to do. Shiva feels pious and kind on hearing Chandra's pleas, and immediately takes Chandra and keeps him on his matted hair, Chandra looked like a curved bowl on Shiva's matted hair and the last part of his beauty, remained forever, and Daksha's curse could not affect Chandra further. Shiva said Chandra, that from tommorrow, your radiance and beauty will increase day by day and you will shine in all glory in 15 days, however, Daksha's curse cannot be completely removed, so, in the next 15 days after you shine, your radiance will deteriorate each day and will lose your radiance according to Daksha's curse, when you are left with one day's radiance, you will stop there, due to my interference and will not deteriorate further, but, grow in radiance for the next 15 days. This way, you will grow in radiance and beauty for 15 days and shine in all resplendant glory on the 15th day (full moon day - Pournima) and will lose each day's radiance and beauty in the 15 days and will be left with one day's radiance and beauty on 15th day (No moon day - Amavasya). You will now, influence every living being on earth with your planetary position and be a giver of life force through your Waxing and Waning periods (Bright Half and Dark Half respectively).

Thus, came into being, Lord Chandra, as per the boon that Atri and Anusuya received from the trinity, a boon that asked for a son who will be remembered forever by mother earth and who will prove useful to human and other life forms.