[Advaita-l] Chandra Devata in the puraanas

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

I don't think Sankaracharya had any reason to comment on this story, as it is not pertinent to the source texts of vedAnta.

 

However, it is generally well recognized that there is no dhArmic explanation or excuse for the actions of tArA and candra in this story. The purANic story also adds that candra was cursed for his transgressions and then partially pardoned by bRhaspati. This is given as an explanation for why the moon waxes and wanes, instead of shining full in the sky all the time. Also, budha was doomed to be genderless, a napuMsaka. budha goes on to marry iLA, who is both male and female. Their son was pururavas, from whom the lunar dynasty of kshatriyas was descended. There is an element of the magical and the fantastic in all these mythological stories, so no mundane human explanation is possible for them!

 

There is no dearth of stories in our mythology that relate transgressions of dharma by the devas. In particular, indra, the king of the devas, routinely violates rules of good conduct, e.g. in his dealing with ahalyA, wife of Rshi gautama. These accounts serve to underline the fact that rulers often arbitrarily set themselves above the rules that they apply to others. This, in turn, clearly leads to their downfall.

 

Regards,

Vidyasankar

 


> Has Sri Shanakaracharya or any authority on dharmashastras commented on the story of Chandra(Soma), son of Atri Rishi ? 
> 
> Chandra eloped with Brahaspati Rishi's wife Tara and gave birth to a son named Budha. Budha's descendants founded the Chandravamshi Kshatriya lineage that Bhagawan Shri Krishna took avatar into.
> 
> What is the possible (dharmic) explanation of Chandra's actions , he being a Devatha ? And also of Tara's actions being a rishi patni ?
> Did Chandra committ paapam of cohabiting with a Guru's wife, being that Rishis are Gurus ?
> 
> What is the status of Budha, product of this (from a mundane human prespective) of this illicit union ?
> 
> Based on the illicit union that resulted in Budha, how could his descendants be of illustrious Kshatriya lineage ?
> 
> Dhanyavaad,
> Ravi Chandrasekhara

 		 	   		  
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