Candra (Soma): the Moon Deva

Candra is the deva of the moon. He is also called Soma. He is the ruler of all oṣadhis (herbs and plants), and the son of the ṛṣi Atri. His title is Somarāja, the king of the soma offering and of the lunar realm.

The Purāṇas tell of Candra in several places. The Varāha Purāṇa (Book 2) tells of the Kānti Vrata, a year-long vrata (vow) in which a worshipper gains radiance (kānti), learning (sarva-jñatva) and beauty through the pūjā of Candra together with Bala-Keśava, a form of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. The same text says that Candra himself kept this vrata to recover from kṣaya (a wasting disease) brought on by Dakṣa’s śāpa (curse), and that Bhagavān Janārdana restored his full light.

Names and epithets

The Varāha Purāṇa calls Candra by these names:

Soma: the essence of the soma offering, and ruler of all plants
Atriputra: son of the ṛṣi Atri
Amṛtasvarūpa: the embodiment of immortal nectar
Oṣadhīrāja: king of herbs and plants
Yajñaloka-adhipati: ruler of the yajña-loka
Candra-rūpa paramātman: the supreme ātmā in the form of the moon, understood as a form of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa

The Purāṇa says that there is no deva other than Viṣṇu, and that through differences of name it is Parameśvara alone who is established everywhere. So Soma here is understood as a form of the supreme Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

Dakṣa’s śāpa and the kṣaya disease

The Varāha Purāṇa recalls that Candra received a śāpa from Dakṣa. It brought on kṣaya-roga, a wasting disease. His light grew dim and his form wasted away. To recover, Candra kept the Kānti Vrata with complete devotion.

When the vrata was finished, Bhagavān Janārdana was pleased. He gave Candra a special kalā (digit of the moon) called Amṛtā, and the kṣaya disease was removed completely. From then on Candra regained his Somahood and became king of the herbs, shining with full light.

The Kānti Vrata

The Varāha Purāṇa (Chapter 57, which is Book 2, Chapter 7) describes the Kānti Vrata as a vrata of great beauty.

It begins on the dvitīyā (second tithi) of the śukla-pakṣa (bright fortnight) in the month of Kārtika. On that night the worshipper does pūjā to Bala-Keśava (Bhagavān Viṣṇu together with Baladeva). Then he offers arghya (a water offering) to Soma with this brahma-mantra:

“Namaskaraḥ to the moon-formed paramātman, the amṛtasvarūpa, king of all oṣadhis, and ruler of the yajñaloka.”

He offers arghya to Brahmā in the same way. Then he spends the night with brāhmaṇas, eating food made of barley (yava) mixed with ghee.

From Phālguṇa, for four months, he offers pāyasānna (sweet rice).
From Āṣāḍha, for four months, he offers food made of sesame (nuvvulu) and does homa (fire offering) with sesame.
After a full year he makes a silver image of Candra. He wraps it in white cloth, decorates it with white flowers and sandalwood, and gives it to a brāhmaṇa together with gifts of cloth.

The closing mantra of the vrata is:

“O Candra-rūpa Śrī Nārāyaṇa! Namaskāra to you. By your prasāda may I in this world become luminous, all-knowing, and pleasing to behold.”

Fruits of the Kānti Vrata

The Purāṇa says: “By this great tapas Candra obtained that kalā. Therefore Somahood was achieved by him. And as king of the oṣadhis he shines forth.” The worshipper who keeps this vrata gains kānti (radiant beauty), sarva-jñatva (complete knowledge, or great learning) and darśanīyatā (a pleasing, auspicious look). The text adds that on the dvitīyā the Aśvins drink the Soma, and they become famous as the Śeṣa-Viṣṇu of both fortnights.

Tapas at Soma-tīrtha in Saukaraka

The Varāha Purāṇa (Book 3, Chapter 137) tells that Soma did great tapas (austerity) at the Soma-tīrtha. This tīrtha lies in the Saukaraka kṣetra, the place where Bhagavān Varāha lifted Bhūdevī out of the first waters. The Purāṇa counts it among the hardest austerities it describes. Soma spent:

5,000 years standing on one leg
5,000 years with his arms raised upward
5,000 years with his head bowed downward
5,000 years with his head raised upward
5,000 years living on wind alone (vāyu-bhoktā)
5,000 years taking no food at all

That makes 30,000 years of unbroken tapas, all given to the ārādhanā of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.

Bhagavān Viṣṇu was very pleased with Soma’s pure, single-pointed devotion. He showed his divine form. It was so bright that Soma fell into a swoon and could not look at it fully. When he recovered, Soma offered a great stuti (praise) and asked for these varas (boons):

“Let my bhakti toward you remain unbroken for as long as these worlds exist. Let my form be visible across all seven dvīpas. Let the amṛta brāhmaṇas drink from me in yajñas be as the devas’ own nectar. Let the piṇḍa-pitṛ-yajña during amāvāsyā, when I am dark, proceed correctly. Let my intelligence never incline toward adharma. Let me become lord of the oṣadhis. Grant me your māyā-boon for my joy.”

Bhagavān Viṣṇu granted all of these varas. They confirm Candra’s place as Oṣadhīrāja, as the vessel of amṛta in yajñas, and as the visible sign of cosmic time and of the rites for the ancestors.

The sign of Soma-tīrtha

The tīrtha has a wonderful sign by which it can be known. On the night of Vaiśākha Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī, complete darkness falls. Yet the earth around the tīrtha glows with soft moonlight, though no moon can be seen in the sky. A person standing there can see his own shadow while the moon stays hidden. This shadow without a moon, and moonlight without a moon, marks the tīrtha where Candra did his highest tapas.

Puṇya of Soma-tīrtha

A four-day fast (taking every eighth meal), followed by a bath at Soma-tīrtha, gives 3,300 years as a brahma-jñānī devotee of Viṣṇu. He is blessed with wealth, virtue and discernment, and can cross saṃsāra even while living in it.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa on Dakṣa’s śāpa

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa (Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9) gives a fuller account of Dakṣa and Candra than the short mention in the Varāha Purāṇa.

Dakṣa’s twenty-seven daughters. Dakṣa Prajāpati had twenty-seven daughters. All were married to Candra as his nakṣatra wives, each one standing for one of the twenty-seven nakṣatras of the Vedic lunar calendar. Candra was to give equal attention to all of them.
Rohiṇī. Candra favoured Rohiṇī, the most beautiful of the twenty-seven. He neglected his other wives, though Dakṣa warned him again and again.
The śāpa. In anger, Dakṣa laid a śāpa on Candra: kṣaya-roga. Candra began to shrink.
Refuge with Bhagavān Śiva. Candra went to Bhagavān Śiva for refuge. Śiva, the Candraśekhara, placed Candra on his own head. This is the origin of Śiva’s name Candraśekhara and of the crescent moon in his form. Touching Śiva gave Candra some protection.
Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s answer. Bhagavān Viṣṇu came as an old brāhmaṇa and settled the dispute. He gave Candra the vara of waxing and waning. For fifteen days, in the śukla-pakṣa, Candra grows to full glory. For fifteen days, in the kṛṣṇa-pakṣa (dark fortnight), he grows smaller. The diminishing in the kṛṣṇa-pakṣa fulfils Dakṣa’s śāpa, and the śukla-pakṣa restores him to his work in the cosmos.

Soma’s birth and the Tārakāmaya war

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 65) gives the fullest account of Soma’s birth and of the great war that came from his pride.

Birth from Atri’s eyes. Soma was born from the tejas (radiance) of the ṛṣi Atri. During Atri’s hard tapas, light overflowed from his eyes. It gathered together and became the moon. Brahmā was so pleased with this bright birth that he made Soma the ruler of brāhmaṇas, herbs, yajñas and tapas. Soma is the embodiment of soma-rasa, the nectar that sustains all ritual, all plant life and all spiritual practice.

Marriages and pride. Brahmā gave Soma the twenty-seven daughters of Dakṣa as wives. They stand for the twenty-seven lunar mansions through which the moon moves. Soma’s work grew. He became the source of amṛta for the devas in yajñas, the nourisher of plants, and the light of the night sky. His greatness fed his pride. When he came to the āśrama of Bṛhaspati, he saw Tārā, Bṛhaspati’s wife, and was filled with desire for her. She refused, but he carried her off. He would not give her back even when Bṛhaspati asked.

The Tārakāmaya war. The quarrel over Tārā split the cosmic order. The devas, led by Indra, stood with Bṛhaspati and asked for Tārā’s release. The asuras stood with Soma. A great war began, the Tārakāmaya war, one of the twelve great wars between devas and asuras. It went on for twelve years and shook all the worlds. It threatened the order of ritual, which depends on both Soma, the lord of yajña, and Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas. At last Brahmā stepped in himself and made Soma give Tārā back.

Budha and the lunar dynasty. Tārā was with child when she came back. Soma and Bṛhaspati both claimed the child. Brahmā pressed Tārā until she told the truth: the father was Soma. The child, born golden and bright, was given to Soma. This child was Budha, the adhideva (presiding deva) of the planet Budha (Mercury). Budha and Ilā had a son, Purūravas, the first king of the Candra-vaṃśa. The whole Soma-vaṃśa (lunar dynasty) comes from this child of Tārā and Soma. It includes the Yādavas, the Pāṇḍavas and, in the end, the line of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.

Tārā and Candra in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa (Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapters 57 to 60) tells of Candra’s desire for Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, and of all that followed.

Candra’s pride and the carrying off of Tārā

Candra performed a Rājasūya yajña and was crowned king. Filled with pride, he roamed the three worlds. He came to Bṛhaspati’s āśrama and saw Tārā bathing in the Gaṅgā. Desire seized him. Tārā refused him in clear words: “You are like a son to me; I am like a mother to you. Give up this intention.” In spite of her firm and dignified refusal, Candra forced her into his chariot. He roamed mountains, rivers and forests with her for a hundred years. (Chapter 57)

The mark on the moon

All through her captivity, Tārā stayed faithful to Bṛhaspati in her heart. The Purāṇa says the force of her pātivratya (devotion to her husband) left a clear and lasting mark on Candra’s disc. The rabbit-shaped mark that the moon carries to this day comes from the power of Tārā’s virtue pressing against her captor. (Chapter 57)

Candra’s refuge with Śukra

Candra feared the devas and took refuge with Śukra, the guru of the daityas. Śukra protected him and even mocked Bṛhaspati. Bṛhaspati went to Indra for help. Indra searched for a hundred years and did not find Tārā. He then sent Bṛhaspati to Kailāsa and himself went to the Narmadā. (Chapter 58)

Brahmā steps in and Tārā returns

Indra’s efforts did not settle the matter. Brahmā himself came to Śukra’s fortress, with Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, Prahlāda and other ṛṣis. Brahmā spoke to Śukra directly, and Śukra agreed and set Tārā free. Brahmā comforted Tārā. A woman taken by force has no fault, he said, and her purity was whole. (Chapters 58 and 59)

Budha’s birth and the line that followed

Tārā was with child when she returned. The child was born golden and bright. Candra and Bṛhaspati both claimed him. Brahmā questioned Tārā again and again, and she said the father was Candra. Candra took the boy, who became Budha, adhideva of Mercury. Brahmā gave Tārā back to Bṛhaspati, who gladly took her home.

Budha married Citrā, the daughter of Kubera, in Nandanavana, and the lunar line went on: Budha, then Caitra, then Ādhīratha, then Sūratha, the great king and devotee of Durgā. (Chapters 59 to 61)

Tapas at Badarīkāśrama and Somakuṇḍa

The Skanda Purāṇa (Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kṣetra Māhātmya, Chapter 7) tells how Candra won his high title as ruler of all planets, stars, nakṣatras, herbs, brāhmaṇas and the night. He did it through 158,000 years of tapas at Badarīkāśrama.

As a young being, Candra heard of the glory of the devas in svarga (heaven). He asked his father, Maharṣi Atri, how he could become the ruler of the lights of the sky. Atri told him to do ārādhanā of Govinda through yama and niyama (the rules of self-control). Candra then went to Nārada, who sent him to Badarī.

At Badarī, Candra did his tapas in three rounds:

88,000 years in the first round.
30,000 years in the second round. Bhagavān Govinda appeared in this round but did not give the vara Candra wanted.
40,000 more years in the third round. Then Bhagavān Govinda gave the vara.

Twice Bhagavān Govinda appeared and went away without giving the vara. Candra held to his own purpose and did not settle for less. In the end he received exactly what he had always asked for.

The devas then came to Badarī and did the abhiṣeka (sacred bathing) that made Candra Somarāja. The tīrtha there is called Somakuṇḍa.

Sources

Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 57 and 137
Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9
Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapters 57 to 61
Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 65
Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kṣetra Māhātmya, Chapter 7