Hitchhiker's Guide to Religion
Hindu

Chandra

The Moon God

Hindu The moon, time, plants, the mind, the soma drink, fertility Vedic Soma/Chandra c. 1500 BCE; lunar dynasty mythology (Chandravamsha) developed c. 500 BCE – 300 CE; Navagraha system including Chandra fully codified in Jyotisha (Hindu astrology) c. 200–600 CE Pan-Indian; Chandra worship tied to lunar calendar throughout all Hindu traditions; Navagraha temples across South India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka) incorporate Chandra shrines
Portrait of Chandra
Portrait of Chandra
Rank God of the Moon / One of the Navagraha (Nine Planets)
Domain The moon, time, plants, the mind, the soma drink, fertility
Period Vedic Soma/Chandra c. 1500 BCE; lunar dynasty mythology (Chandravamsha) developed c. 500 BCE – 300 CE; Navagraha system including Chandra fully codified in Jyotisha (Hindu astrology) c. 200–600 CE
Alignment Hindu Sacred
Power LEGENDARY 81

Attributes

ATK
50
DEF
60
SPR
88
SPD
80
INT
82
CHA
98
WIS
99
END
94

Combat Profile

ATK DEF SPR SPD INT CHA WIS END
Special Move

Soma Nectar

grants divine intoxication that enhances fertility, mental clarity, and cosmic alignment to all who consume it

Passive

Lunar Cycles

perpetually governs the passage of time through moon phases, influencing tides, growth, and the minds of all living beings

Chandra rides a chariot pulled by ten white horses (or an antelope), holds a club and a lotus, and is associated with the soma — the sacred drink that intoxicates the gods (Rig Veda 9). His mythology is laced with romantic scandal: he married the 27 Nakshatras (lunar mansion goddesses, daughters of Daksha) but loved Rohini above all the others. Daksha cursed him to waste away. Shiva intervened, modifying the curse so Chandra would only wane half the month and wax the other half (Matsya Purana 11). The phases of the moon are the curse and its mercy in eternal alternation.

Chandra also famously seduced Tara, wife of Brihaspati (the guru of the gods), fathering Budha (Mercury) — the founding scandal of the lunar dynasty (Vishnu Purana 4.6).

Cross-tradition parallels: Sin/Nanna (Mesopotamian moon god, also a wanderer); Khonsu (Egyptian moon god whose name means “traveler”); Selene/Luna (Greek-Roman moon goddess); Yarikh (Canaanite lunar deity).

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Primary Source

Rig Veda, Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Matsya Purana

Vedic Soma/Chandra c. 1500 BCE; lunar dynasty mythology (Chandravamsha) developed c. 500 BCE – 300 CE; Navagraha system including Chandra fully codified in Jyotisha (Hindu astrology) c. 200–600 CE — See in timeline
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