Balachandra is a unique form of Ganesha in which He wears
the moon on His forehead. Balachandra means the boy with the moon. Bala means ‘child’
and Chandra means ‘moon’. The story of Ganesha as Bhalchandra is found in the
Brahmanda Purana.
Legend has it that Chandra, the moon god, was cursed by
Darbhi to lose his brightness. It is believed that this Darbhi was a great
saint who used to bring the four oceans to Kurukshetra to take bath.
Chandra was in a great dilemma and did not know how to
escape from the curse.
Seeing Chandra losing his luster, Ganesha took pity on him
and took him up and wore him on his forehead as a tilak.
This saved Chandra and he got back his luster.
The form of Ganapati in which he has the moon on the
forehead is known as Balachandra.
A popular temple with murti of Balachandra is found on the banks of Godavari River in Maharashtra. The temple of Bhalchandra is around 40 km from Parbhani.
A popular temple with murti of Balachandra is found on the banks of Godavari River in Maharashtra. The temple of Bhalchandra is around 40 km from Parbhani.