Chandra: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Lunar deity in Hinduism}}

| affiliation = [[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]], [[Graha]], [[Dikpala]]

| consort = [[Rohini (goddess)|Rohini]] (chief consort), Revati and other 25 [[Nakshatra|Nakshatra goddesses]];<br>[[Taraka (goddess)|Tara]] (illegitimate)

| mother = [[Anusuya]]

| children = [[Budha]], [[Varchas]], [[Bhadra#Chandra's daughter|Bhadra]], Jyotsnakali

| caption = An 18th century painting of Chandra

| deity_of = God of the Moon, Night, Plants and Vegetation<ref>{{cite book|author=Vinod ChandraaSrivastava|title=History of Agriculture in India, Up to C. 1200 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvjZVwYVmNcC&pg=PA557 |year=2008|publisher=Concept Publishing|isbn=978-81-8069-521-6|page=557}}</ref>{{sfn|Edward Washburn Hopkins|1968|p=90}}

| color = Pale white<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.astrosagar.com/article.asp?id=71 |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021002911/http://www.astrosagar.com/article.asp?id=71 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''Chandra''' ({{lang-sa|चन्द्र|Candra|shining or moon}}), also known as '''Soma''', is the [[Hindu god]] of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the [[Navagraha]] (nine planets of Hinduism) and [[Dikpala]] (guardians of the directions).{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=394}}

The word "Chandra" literally means "bright, shining or glittering" and is used for the "[[Moon]]" in [[Sanskrit]], [[Hindi]] and other [[India]]n languages.{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1872|p=315}}<ref name="eWilhelm51">''Graha Sutras'' by Ernst Wilhelm, published by Kala Occult Publishers {{ISBN|0-9709636-4-5}} p. 51</ref> It is also the name of various other figures in Hindu mythology, including an asura and a [[Solar dynasty|Suryavanshi]] king.{{sfn|Mani|1975|p=171}} It is also a common Indian name and surname. Both male and female name variations exists in many South Asian languages that originate from Sanskrit.

In the [[Vedas]], the word Soma is primarily used for a intoxicating plant [[Soma (drink)|drink]] and the deity representating it.<ref name="Dalal2">{{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&q=Soma#v=snippet&q=Soma&f=false|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths|date=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|language=en}}</ref> In post-Vedic [[Hindu]] mythology, Soma is used for Chandra, who is associated with the moon and the plant.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=393}}<ref>Nirukta, Chapter 11, Part 3. The oldest available book for Vedic Etymology</ref><ref>RgVeda 9.1.1, Samaveda 1</ref> The Hindu texts state that the Moon is lit and nourished by the Sun, and that it is Moon where the divine nectar of immortality resides.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=394}} In Puranas, Soma is sometimes also used to refer to [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]] (as ''Somanatha''), [[Yama]] and [[Kubera]].<ref name=mmw1137>{{cite book|author=Monier Monier-Williams|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|year=1872|publisher=Oxford University Press (Reprint: 2001)|page=1137}}</ref> In some Indian texts, Soma is the name of an [[apsara]]; alternatively it is the name of any medicinal concoction, or rice-water gruel, or heaven and sky, as well as the name of certain places of pilgrimage.<ref name=mmw1137/>

[[File:Chandra deva.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Chandra, British Museum, 13th century, Konark]]

The origin of Soma is traced back to the Hindu [[Vedic texts]], where is he is the personification of [[Soma (drink)|a drink made from a plant with the same name]]. Scholars state that the plant had an important role in Vedic civilization and thus, the deity was one of the most important gods of the pantheon. In these Vedic texts, Soma is praised as the lord of plants and forests; the king of rivers and earth; and the father of the gods. The entire [[Mandala 9]] of the ''[[Rigveda]]'' is dedicated to Soma, both the plant and the deity.{{sfn|Stephanie Jamison|2015|p=80}} The identification of Soma as a lunar deity in the Vedic texts is a controversial topic among scholars.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=393}} According to [[William J. Wilkins]], "In later years the name Soma was [.....] given to the moon. How and why this change took place is not known; but in the later of the Vedic hymns there is some evidence of the transition.{{refn|group=note|Wilkins states, "In the following passage Soma seems to be used in both senses — as god of the intoxicating juice, and as the moon ruling through the night. "By Soma the Adityas are strong ; by Soma the earth is great ; and Soma is placed in the midst of the stars. When they crush the plant, he who drinks regards it as Soma. Of him whom the priests regard as Soma (the moon) no one drinks." In another passage this prayer is found : "May the god Soma, he whom they call the Moon, free me.....Soma is the moon, the food of the gods. The sun has the nature of Agni, the moon of Soma."}}{{sfn|Wilkins|1936|p=73}}

In post Vedic texts like the ''[[Ramayana]]'', the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and the ''[[Puranas]]'', Soma is mentioned as a lunar deity and has many epithets including Chandra.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=104}}{{sfn|Dowson|1870|p=301}} According to most of these texts, Chandra, along with his brothers [[Dattatreya]] and [[Durvasa]], were the sons of the sage [[Atri]] and his wife [[Anasuya]]. The ''[[Devi Bhagvata Purana]]'' states Chandra to be the [[avatar]] of the creator god [[Brahma]].{{sfn|Mani|1975|p=171}} Some texts contain varying accounts regarding Chandra's birth. According to one text, he is the son of [[Dharma]]; while another mention Prabhakar as his father.{{sfn|Dowson|1870|p=301}} Many legends about Chandra are told in the scriptures.

Once, Chandra and [[Tara (Hindu goddess)|Tara]]—the star goddess and the wife of devas' guru [[Brihaspati]]—fell in love with each another. He abducted her and made her his queen. [[Brihaspati]], after multiple failed peace missions and threats, declared war against Chandra. The Devas sided with their teacher, while [[Shukra]], an enemy of Brihaspati and the teacher of [[Asura]]s, aided Chandra. After the intervention of Brahma stopped the war, Tara, pregnant, was returned to her husband. She later gave birth to a son named [[Budha]], but there was a controversy over the paternity of the child; with both Chandra and Brihaspati claiming themselves as his father. Brahma once again interfered and questioned Tara, who eventually confirmed Chandra as the father of Budha. Budha's son was [[Pururava]]s who established the [[Chandravanshi]] Dynasty.{{sfn|Mani|1975|p=171}}{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=393}}

Chandra married 27 daughters of [[Prajapati]] [[Daksha]] — [[Ashvini]], [[Bharani]], [[Kṛttikā|Krittika]], [[Rohini (goddess)|Rohini]], [[Mrigashīrsha|Mrigashiras]], [[Ardra (nakshatra)|Ardra]], [[Punarvasu]], [[Pushya]], [[Ashlesha]], [[Nakshatra|Janakam]], [[Pūrva Phalgunī|Phalguni]], [[Uttara Phalgunī|Uttaraphalguni]],

[[Mula (nakshatra)|Mula]], [[Pūrva Ashādhā|Purvashadha]], [[Uttara Ashadha|Uttarashadha]], Shrona (or [[Shravana]]), [[Dhanishta|Sravishtha]],

Pracetas (or [[Shatabhisha]]), [[Purva Bhadrapada|Purvaproshthapada]], [[Uttara Bhadrapada|Uttaraproshthapada]],

Soma's iconography varies in Hindu texts. The most common is one where he is a white colored deity, holding a mace in his hand, riding a chariot with three wheels and three or more white horses (up to ten).{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=394}}

The Navagraha was furthered by additional contributions from [[Western Asia]], including [[Zoroastrian calendar|Zoroastrian]] and [[Hellenistic astrology|Hellenistic]] influences. The [[Yavanajataka]], or 'Science of the [[Yavana|Yavanas]]', was written by the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greek]] named "[[Yavanesvara]]" ("Lord of the Greeks") under the rule of the [[Western Kshatrapa]] king [[Rudrakarman I]]. The Yavanajataka written in 120 CE is often attributed to standardizing Indian astrology. The Navagraha would further develop and culminate in the [[Shaka era]] with the [[Saka]], or Scythian, people. Additionally the contributions by the Saka people would be the basis of the [[Indian national calendar]], which is also called the Saka calendar.

 

 

==See also==

==References==

===Sources===

* {{Cite book|last=Monier-Williams|first=Monier|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&q=Candra&f=false|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|date=1872|publisher=Clarendon|language=en|pages=315}}

*{{cite book|author=Stephanie Jamison|title=The Rigveda –– Earliest Religious Poetry of India|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?redir_esc=y&id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ&q=Somw#v=onepage&q=Soma&f=false|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190633394|page=}}

* {{Cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Constance|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&q=Sati&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=Chandra%20soma&f=false|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|last2=Ryan|first2=James D.|date=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|language=en}}

* {{Cite book|last=Dowson|first=John|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=PwsYAAAAYAAJ&q=Daksha&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=Soma&f=false|title=A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature|date=1870|publisher=Trübner & Company|language=en}}