Nehal Rajvanshi
The connection between the Moon and Shiva is more than ornamental; it is cosmic and deeply philosophical. Shiva does not merely wear the Moon; as Chandrapal, he is the Master of the Moon. And while the Moon has long been a marker of time, Shiva, as Mahakala, is the great lord of time itself.
Yet Shiva is not a deity of the full Moon, radiant and complete, he is the lord of the waning crescent—a sliver of light in the vast darkness. The crescent he wears is the Ardhachandra, the Moon caught between its descent into shadow and its rebirth into radiance. This imagery speaks of a profound truth: Shiva does not represent permanence, but rather the eternal cycle of dissolution and recreation, just as the Moon.
Even in the Moon’s cycle, one day every month is dedicated to Shiva. Every month, on the fourteenth night (Chaturdashi) of the waning Moon (Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi), Shiva is honoured on Shivratri. And once a year, during Phalguna’s Chaturdashi, this observance becomes Mahashivratri, the Great Night of Shiva.
The night of Chaturdashi marks the last visible crescent before the Moon disappears—a moment of transition, where darkness does not signify an end but a beginning.
The Mind, the Moon & the Master
In Vedic thought, the Moon is manas—the mind. It governs emotions, intuition, and perception, its cycles mirroring the ebb and flow of human consciousness. Shiva, the great yogi, is beyond these fluctuations—his mind is unwavering. And yet, the crescent Moon graces his locks, signifying his mastery over the mind and time itself.
The Legend of the Moon’s Decline & Return
A legend explains why the Moon found refuge in Shiva’s locks. In Hindu cosmology, the 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions) are envisioned as goddesses, and the Moon was married to all of them. Yet, he favoured only one – Rohini, neglecting the others. Angered by his partiality, the neglected goddesses, the 26 sister-wives of Rohini, turned to their father, Daksha, who cursed the Moon with kshaya roga, a wasting disease that caused him to wane relentlessly.
As he neared total extinction, the Moon sought Shiva’s help. Through his yogic power, Shiva restored the Moon, allowing him to wax again—but the curse could not be undone entirely. Thus, the Moon remains trapped in an endless cycle of decline and return, forever bound to Shiva, who wears him as a symbol of both, time and cosmic rhythm.
