Why does Chandra (moon) wax and wane? | Story of how Chandra got cursed by Ganesha
Why does the moon wax and wane? It's an extremely interesting story...
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Once Ganesha was returning home after attending a party and relishing a huge feast. He was riding his vehicle, a mouse, on the way back when suddenly the mouse slipped and down came Ganesha crashing on to the ground! This incident was witnessed by Chandra (Moon) from the sky who found it funny and burst out laughing.
His laughter enraged Ganesha so much that he cursed him to disappear. Chandra, realising his mistake, immediately asked for forgiveness. Ganesha too, after having cooled down, regretted cursing the moon in a fit of rage. But alas, a curse once given, can never be taken back! He could only modify the curse now. The modified curse thus allowed Chandra to not completely disappear but only disappear a little with each passing day (waning) to one day becoming completely invisible (Amavasya or New Moon) followed by slowly gaining back the visibility over the next few days (waxing) till he became fully visible again (Pournima or Full Moon). And the cycle continues even to this day!