Note 39 — Chapter I · NATURE POWERS.

On the 15th day of the bright half of the month of Ashvin people put milk in the rays of the moon for some time, and then, after offering it to the moon, they drink it. Drinking milk in this way is called drinking the rays of the moon.39 On the Sankránt Chaturthi day and on that Chaturthi which immediately follows the Dasara holiday, people draw an image of the moon and worship it.40 In the Ratnágiri District several conflicting theories are held regarding the spots on the surface of the moon. Some believe that the spot observed on the moon is a tamarind tree in which that god has stationed himself; others hold that the spot is the reflection of a deer which is yoked to the chariot of the moon41; while many more believe that it has been occasioned by the hoof of the horse of King Nala. Some say that the spot on the surface of the moon represents a Pipal tree and a cow fastened to the roots of the tree; others on the authority of Hindu mythology suppose that God created Madan (cupid) from the essence taken from the body of the moon and hence the moon-god has spots on his body.42 In the Mahábhárat it is stated that on the surface of the moon is reflected the island of Sudarshan on this earth, together with some trees and a great hare, the bright part being nothing but water.43 The spot on the surface of the moon is considered by some a deer which the god has taken on his lap.44 Some believe that Yashoda, the mother of Krishna, after waving an earthen dish round the face of Krishna, threw it at the sky. It struck the moon and thereby the spots on the surface of the moon were caused. Nectar is supposed to have been derived from the rays of the moon; and in some sacred books it is stated that the Chakora bird (Bartavelle Partridge) drinks the rays of the moon.45