The moon's curse

In a widely told moon-curse story, often attributed to the Skanda Purana, Ganesha eats laddus to his heart's content at a feast; the exact chapter has not been securely pinned.

Riding home, his belly full, his balance gone — and the mouse startles at a snake and jumps.

Ganesha falls, and the full belly bursts; all the laddus roll out onto the ground.

Ganesha got up, gathered every laddu and put them back into his belly.

Then he took that same snake — the one the mouse had startled at — and tied it around his belly like a belt.

This is why many images of Ganesha show a snake wound around his belly — it is a mark of that night.

Above in the sky the moon had watched all of it — the fall, the bursting belly, the rolling laddus, the snake-belt.

And the moon laughed.

Ganesha's hand went up, and the next moment a curse came out.

The curse was harsh — whoever looked at the moon would meet with blame he had not earned.

The moon and the gods begged forgiveness.

Ganesha softened a little and limited the curse — to one night only.

Ganesha bound the curse to the night of Ganesh Chaturthi — Bhadrapada shukla chaturthi.

This is why, still today, seeing the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi is held to be inauspicious — it is called "mithya dosha" or "kalank."

Ganesh Chaturthi begins on Bhadrapada shukla chaturthi; many public celebrations culminate with immersion on Anant Chaturdashi, though household observances may end earlier.

This story is told in full on this site in the seventeenth chapter of Krishna-Leela — the Syamantaka jewel, Prasena's death, and the finger pointed at Krishna.

Tradition ties this false accusation to Ganesha's curse on the moon.

This is why, if the moon is seen on Ganesh Chaturthi, the remedy given is to hear or read the story of the Syamantaka jewel.

The reasoning is that if even a god like Krishna was caught in this blame, then by speaking his name and hearing his story the blame can be lightened.

In some places another folk remedy runs too — throwing a small stone onto a neighbour's roof, so that a minor false accusation is "spent" in advance.

Behind both remedies is the same thought: not to avoid the blame but to accept it and let it pass.

Ganesh Jayanti is held to be Ganesha's "birthday" — in Magha (January–February), and it is celebrated especially in Maharashtra.

Ganesh Chaturthi (Bhadrapada, August–September) is the big ten-day festival with the installing and immersion of the image.

Besides these, the krishna-paksha chaturthi of every month is "Sankashti Chaturthi" — a fast to remove troubles.

The moon's laugh was no great crime — but it was a blow to Ganesha's dignity.

The curse was at first full and permanent; on the pleading it shrank to one night.

This is the way of the story — the punishment harsh, but always with room left for a reprieve.

The whole story opens as a comic scene — the full belly, the unsteady walk, the frightened mouse.

It is only after the snake-belt is tied that the moon laughs — so the laugh is the last cause of the insult, not the first.

And the curse is the direct answer to that laugh — without delay.