The Moon and the Stolen Bride

The sages told the Pandavas of Chandra, the Moon, and of the war that his desire kindled in heaven - a tale that explains both the origin of the very dynasty from which the Pandavas themselves descend, and why the moon waxes and wanes in the sky.

Chandra, the Moon-god, was radiant and beautiful, the lord of the night sky, and he was much given to pride in his own splendor. He had been set as the guardian of the stars and given high honors, and he grew arrogant in his beauty and his station. And it was this pride, joined to desire, that led him into a great wrong - for Chandra cast his eyes upon Tara, the wife of Brihaspati, the venerable preceptor of the gods himself, and conceived a desire for her that he would not master.