Waxing and waning of the Moon

The waxing and waning of the Moon is explained through a myth of marriage, partiality, and a curse that cannot be withdrawn. In the account, Daksha’s judgment turns the Moon’s decline from a permanent affliction into a recurring cycle of decay and recovery.

Mythic Background

The accompanying note identifies the Moon with Chandra and recounts his marriage to Daksha’s twenty-seven daughters, figures associated with the lunar asterisms. Chandra favors Rohini so completely that he neglects his other wives. Their complaints bring the grievance before their father, making the Moon’s uneven attention the cause of the crisis.

The Curse and Its Revision

Daksha intervenes repeatedly, but Chandra does not change his conduct. Daksha then curses his son-in-law: Chandra becomes childless and is afflicted with consumption. The wives appeal to their father on Chandra’s behalf. Although Daksha cannot revoke the curse, he modifies it so that the wasting will be periodic rather than permanent, alternating with periods of recovery.

Explanation of the Lunar Cycle

The note presents the Moon’s successive waning and waxing as the visible consequence of that revised curse. Decline remains real, but it no longer ends in uninterrupted loss: recovery follows and the cycle begins again. The account thus links a familiar celestial rhythm to a mythic sequence of favoritism, complaint, punishment, and limited reprieve.