Visited the Chandramouleshwara Temple in Unkal today and I think it’s one of the most underrated historical places in India.

The temple dates to around the late 11th century, probably around 1080–1090 CE during the Western Chalukya (Kalyana Chalukya) period. There are entrances facing all four cardinal directions, and the original Shiva linga inside was said to have four faces, too, so no matter where you stood, Shiva was already looking back at you.

At some point, though, after invasions or damage, the original arrangement changed and the Shiva Linga was replaced with a simpler linga used in Lingayat worship.

After coming back, I started reading about why Shiva here is named so. Turns out this is where Chandra, the moon god, is believed to have prayed to the god after Daksha cursed him.

The legend goes that Chandra married the 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapati, the 27 nakshatras, but loved Rohini above the rest. The others watched from the shadows, neglected and aching, until longing curdled into grief and they went weeping to their father.

Furious at the humiliation of his daughters, Daksha cursed Chandra to lose the very light that made him divine.

Slowly, the moon began to die.

Night after night, its silver thinned across the sky like water draining from a bowl. The earth felt it as the nights darkened and the tides changed.

Chandra wandered in despair before arriving here to worship Shiva. He prayed for release from the curse consuming him.

Shiva could not undo the curse completely, so he turned it into a cycle instead.

The moon would continue to fade, he said, but it would also return.

The god then lifted the crescent moon onto his own brow, carrying Chandra’s fading light against his skin forever.

Chandramouleshwara.

The lord crowned with the moon.

A mythological explanation for the phases of the moon cannot possibly get more beautiful than that.