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जलान्तश्चन्द्रचपलं जीवनं खलु देहिनाम् |तथा विधिमिति त्वा शाश्वतं कल्याणम् आचरेत् ||jalaanthashchandrachapalam jeevanam Khalu dhehinaam |thaTha viDhimithi thvaa shaashvatham kalyaaNam aacharethi ||Meaning: Our lives are as unsteady as the reflection of the moon in water. Since life is destined to be unpredictable, forever engage in doing good.In this episode, Dr. N. Hema Malini and Madhavi Nadig discuss Indians’ obsession with the moon.This episode is a celebration of India’s Chandrayaan-3 Mission.The Vikram rover soft-landed on the south pole of the moon on 23 August 2023. India is the first nation to achieve this. Henceforth, 23rd August will be celebrated as National Space Day.Vikram rover’s touchdown point is called “Shiv Shakti Point” while the Chandrayaan-2 crash landing site is named “Tiranga Point”.ISRO’s technology is completely home-grown—no help from any other country.In the Ramayana, baby Rama demands that his parents bring him the moon. Mother Kausalya shows him the reflection of the moon in a bowl of water and satisfies her child.Across India, why is the moon referred to only as a maternal uncle—Chanda mama?The lyrics of a popular Hindi nursery rhyme suggest that the child will visit his Chanda mama in a spacecraft.  चंदा मामा दूर के… उड़नखटोला बैठ के मुन्ना, चंदा के घर जायेगा तारो के संग आँख मिचोली, खेल के दिल बहलायेगा“ What appeared to be purely a flight of imagination, now seems attainable.In the Mahabharatha, Krishna once asked Karna for his oil bowl while Karna was massaging himself with oil. Karna instantly gave it to him using his left hand. He explained that he didn’t want to waste time in doing a good deed, nor take the chance of changing his mind while transferring it to his right hand.In the “Shatapatha Brahmana”, Yagnavalkya estimated that the distance from the earth to the moon is 108 times the sum of the diameters of the earth and the moon, based on observations with the naked eye. Today, we know it to be 110.6 times.Since the Hindu calendar follows the lunar cycle, the moon determines the dates of all festivals, except Sankranthi. Sankranthi marks Uttarayana, i.e. the sun’s march towards the north pole.When Daksha’s 27 daughters married Chandra, he asked him to love all his daughters equally. Since Chandra favoured Rohini, ignoring the others, Daksha cursed him that his strength and lustre would wane. Shiva came to his rescue, giving him a boon that he’d also regain his strength and lustre again. Thus, the cycle continues.Chandra’s 27 wives are Ashvini (अश्विनी) , Bharani (भरणी), Krittika (कृत्तिका), Rohini (रोहिणी), Mrigashira (मृगशिरा), Aardra (आर्द्रा), Punarvasu (पुनर्वसु), Pushya (पुष्य), Ashlesha (आश्लेषा), Pūrvaphalguni (पूर्वा फाल्गुनी), Uttaraphalguni (उत्तरा फाल्गुनी), Hasta (हस्त), Chitra (चित्रा), Svati (स्वाति), Vishakha (विशाखा), Anuradha (अनुराधा), Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठा), Mula (मूल), Purvashadha (पूर्वाषाढ़ा), Uttarashadha (उत्तराषाढ़ा), Shravana (श्रवण), Dhanishta (धनिष्ठा), Shatabhisha (शतभिषा), Uttarabhadrapada (उत्तराभाद्रपद), Revati (रेवती), Purvabhadrapada (पूर्वाभाद्रपद) and Magha (मघा)This story encapsulated an astronomical fact. The 27 wives of the moon are the names of the brightest stars in the 27 constellations that the moon traverses through.The moon spends the most time in the Taurus constellation where Rohini nakshatra (Aldebaran), a red giant, is the brightest star.The lyrics of a Kannada poem urge us to not delay good deeds. “ಇಂದಿನ ದಿನವೇ ಶುಭ ದಿನವು. ಇಂದಿನ ವಾರ ಶುಭ ವಾರ”. (Today is the most auspicious day. This is the most auspicious week.)“शुभस्य शीघ्रम” (Perform good deeds immediately) is a similar Sanskrit saying.“कल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब” is one of Kabir’s famous dohas urging us to not procrastinate.Which stories and beliefs define your relationship with the moon?@susambhashanam on Instagram & YouTubeMusic: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/calm-reveal-logo-154643/