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Not part of Riordanverse
The following article/section is from the Pandava Quintet continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon. |
Chandra ("CHUHN-drah") is the Hindu god of the moon.
History[]
Chandra, and thus the moon, was born during the churning of the Ocean of Milk. Soon after, he got in line behind Surya and Rahuketu to drink the Amrita.
Once, Chandra and Tara, the wife of Brihaspati, god of the planet Jupiter, were attracted to each other. One day Chandra abducted her and made her his queen. Tara gave birth to Budha, god of the planet Mercury. Brihaspati got upset and declared a war, but the Devas intervened and Tara was returned to Brihaspati. Chandra was very upset of this loss, he wanted more children with Tara. So he married all twenty-seven of the Nakshatra, goddesses of the constellations, but his favorite wife was Rohini. Their father, Daksha, did not like how Chandra was treating them, so he cursed the god to wither. Chandra appealed to Shiva who soften the cursed so that he would get younger then go back the end of each month, that's why there are phases of the moon.[1]
In another myth, Chandra witness Ganesh fall on his stomach and vomited out modaks. The elephant-headed god was returning home on his mouse vahana from a feast by Kubera when a snake scared his vahana. Chandra laughed at Ganesh who got so offended he chucked a tusk at the moon god and cursed him "never to be whole again." This legend explains why Ganesh is missing part of his tusk and why the moon has a giant crater. Also, during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, it is forbidden to mention Chandra.[2]
Rick Riordan Presents[]
Pandava Quintet[]
Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes[]
Appearance[]
Chandra was startlingly handsome. He had pale, glowing skin, perfectly arched eyebrows over sparkling dark eyes, and a slim nose perched over perpetually smirking lips. His shiny black hair was streaked with silver.
His outfits included a tuxedo covered in stardust and a sleeveless tee but that form only lasts during the full moon the first days of it he's powerful and a bit deranged but after the moon starts to wane and wax again, he looks like a scrawny pimple faced crackle voiced teenager who's prone to temper tantrums.
Trivia[]
- The glossary of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes explains that there are lots of myths about why the moon waxes and wanes.
- His vahana (divine vehicle) is an antelope and his weapon is a rope.
- On the island of Bali, the reason for the moon phases is the story of Dewi Ratih, who gets partially devoured by demons each month and the new moon is when there's nothing left but her ghost and when the moon phases in, she's growing back her limbs bit by bit or so the legend goes.
References[]
- ↑ Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes, Glossary
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra#Mythology