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Hindu

Chandra

The God of the Moon

Domain: Moon, Soma & Fertility
Alignment: Neutral Good
Element: Air
Relics of Power: Cup of Soma

Speak with Chandra

The full Codex

5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Hindu peoples

Region

Indian subcontinent

Period

c. 1500 BC – present

The Hindu deities have been worshipped for over three thousand years across the Indian subcontinent, from the Vedic hymns to the living Hinduism of today. Billions of devotees dedicate to them temples, festivals such as Diwali and Holi, and daily rituals in the home. It is one of the largest religious traditions still practiced in the world.

Diwali lights up India with oil lamps in honor of Lakshmi, and Holi celebrates spring with clouds of colored powder. At the Kumbh Mela, the largest pilgrimage on Earth, tens of millions bathe in the sacred rivers, and daily puja brings flowers, incense, and food to the altars.

At a glance

Chandra, also acclaimed as Soma, is the radiant god of the moon, of the tides and of medicinal plants in Hindu mythology. Born from the churning of the cosmic ocean of milk, Ksheera Sagara, he crosses the night sky in a silver chariot drawn by ten white antelopes. As guardian of the divine nectar of immortality, amrita, he nourishes the earthly vegetation with fresh dew and governs the rhythm of human minds. Sovereign of the nocturnal realm and supreme lord of Manas, the sphere of human emotions and of the psyche, Chandra personifies the cooling sweetness that balances the purifying heat of the cosmic sun.

16 min read · Reviewed on September 28, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

The lunar crescent, the antelope chariot, the rabbit and the cup of Soma

Family

Parents

AtriAnasuya

Siblings

DattatreyaDurvasa

Chandra

Unions

RohiniTara

Children

Budha

Genealogy according to Rigveda 10.85.1-19; Taittiriya Samhita 2.3.5.1; Vishnu Purana 4.6.1-34; Matsya Purana 23-24

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Anônimo, Rigveda. translation: Stephanie W. Jamison e Joel P. Brereton, 2014.
Anônimo, Taittiriya Samhita. translation: Arthur Berriedale Keith, 1914.
Vyasa, Vishnu Purana. translation: Horace Hayman Wilson, 1840.
Vyasa, Matsya Purana. translation: A Taluqdar of Oudh, 1916.

Studies

Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Vedic Mythology. Karl J. Trübner, 1897.
Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. Pantheon Books, 1946.
David Pingree, Jyotihsastra: Astral and Mathematical Literature. Otto Harrassowitz, 1981.
B. V. Subbarayappa, A Concise History of Science in India. Indian National Science Academy, 1971.

Name and epithets

The Sanskrit divine name Chandra derives from the verbal root chand, meaning to shine with a soft silvery brightness, to enchant or to radiate gentle beauty.

In the ancient sources

Rigveda., 12th century BCE.. Classic wedding hymn narrating the celestial marriage between Soma and the solar maiden Surya. Taittiriya Samhita., 10th century BCE..

The myths

The Curse of Daksha and the Phases of the Moon.. The patriarch Daksha gave his twenty-seven celestial daughters in marriage to the radiant Chandra.

Worship and archaeology

The worship of Chandra is practised intensely in the weekly liturgy and in the Hindu religious calendar. Mondays, known as Somavara, are dedicated to pious fasts and meditative prayers to calm the mind.

How the god was depicted

Hindu art represents Chandra as a young prince of silvery skin and a serene, magnetic countenance. He travels on a white three-wheeled chariot drawn by ten immaculate horses or antelopes.

What scholars debate

The Fusion of the Sacrificial Plant Soma with the Lunar Star.. Researchers investigate the historical process by which the plant elixir Soma was assimilated into the visible Moon.

After antiquity

The lunar cycle of Chandra remains the mathematical and liturgical foundation of the entire contemporary Hindu Panchanga calendar.

Did you know?

The dark mark on the surface of the moon is interpreted in Hindu mythology as the silhouette of a hare leaping across the sphere.

Codex relic

Cup of Soma. A cup holding the lunar nectar Soma, drink of the gods that grants ecstasy and immortality.

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