Srimate Srivan Satakopa Sri Ranganatha Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

The Rabbit on the Moon

Readers should not mistake this to be a nursery tale, going by the title. You may ask,” Is there really
a rabbit on the moon?” It is difficult to give a straight answer to this, as no one has lived long enough
on the moon to confirm or deny this. The existence of life in general on the moon is a matter for the
scientists to debate and discuss, but we, on our part, at least for the purpose of this article, shall
presume that a rabbit does exist on the moon.

Popular legend is definitely in favour of the rabbit. Every mother, at some time or the other, while
feeding her toddler, must have pointed out the moon and the rabbit too on it. Looked at from earth,
especially on full moon nights, the moon does bear a mark on it very much resembling the rabbit,
with a slight forward stoop, upright ears and legs in an about-to-spring- forward posture. All in all, so
much does this figure resemble the rabbit, that the moon’s name itself is based on it. Sasaanka: is
one of the names of the moon, in Sanskrit. Sasa: refers to a rabbit and “anka:” to a distinguishing
mark or feature. Thus, Sasaanka: indicates one who has the unique feature of a rabbit as an
identification. There are similar names of the moon, based on its association with the rabbit: Sasee
(one who is rabbit-like or has a rabbit), Sasabindhu (having the mark of a rabbit), Sasabhrit (one
who bears a rabbit), Sasadhara: (one who holds a rabbit), etc.

Having established the association between the rabbit and the moon, shall we see how it came
about? This is to be found in the Brahmavaivarta Purana (Slokas 40-43 in the 58 th chapter of the
Prithivi Khanda). Chandra (the Moon) committed the heinous crime of stealing Tara Devi, the wife of
Brihaspati (the guru of all devas). Having done this, he sought refuge from Sukracharya, the arch rival
of Brihaspati and the guru of all asuras. Sukracharya granted asylum to Chandra and also made fun
of Brihaspati for losing his wife, as did all his disciples (the asuras). However, due to the gravamen of
his sin, Chandra was immediately afflicted by a stigma on his hitherto unblemished surface. This then
is how Chandra’s divine form took on a blemish in the shape of a rabbit. Here are the relative verses
from the Purana:

Babhoova saranaapanna: bheeto daityeshu Chandramaa:

Tejasvini tathaa Sukre teshaam cha balinaam gurou

Abhayam cha dadou tasmai kripayaa Bhrigunandana:

Gurum jahaasa devaanaam suvipaksham Brihaspitam

Sabhaayaam jahasur hrishtaa balino ditinandanaa:

Abhayam cha dadu: tasmai bheetaaya cha kalankine

Sateesateetva dhvamsena paapishta Chandra mandale

Babhoova sasaroopam cha kalankam nirmale malam

We find another reference to the rabbit on the moon in no less exalted portion of the scripture than
the Bhishma Parva of Sri Mahabharata. To the blind king Dhritarashtra, his trusted aide Sanjaya
explains that one portion of the moon looks like a rabbit, while the other resembles a Pippala tree:
and these are seen as plainly as seeing one’s face in the mirror:

Yathaa hi purusha: pasyet aadarse mukham aatmana:

Evam Sudarsana dveepa: drisyate Chandra mandale

Sri Peyazhwar too subscribes to the legend of the rabbit on the moon. He says the swift leopard of
Tirumala hills, plagued by unsatisfied hunger and consequent rage, looking up at the full moon and
finding the form of the rabbit in it, stares at it long and hard, perhaps contemplating ways of having
it for dinner. Here is the beautiful verse, which has a deft mixture of devotion and poetic imagery:
Saarndu agadu teyppa thadaaviya kottucchi vaai

Oordiyangum ven madiyin on muyalai, serndu

Sina vengai nokkum Tirumalaye, Aayan

Puna vengai naarum poruppu (3rd Tiruvandadi- 75)

Where lyrical expression is concerned, can Sri Kalian be far behind? This Azhwar too speaks
of the rabbit forming an indelible mark on the moon. This rabbit in turn makes Chandra look
so beautiful that he causes Parankusa Nayaki (Sri Tirumangai Azhwar in a feminine frame of
mind) to pine away from the separation of her beloved, resulting in her becoming
emaciated and the bangles on her hand falling away:
Kuyilaalum valar pozhil soozh than Kudandai kudamaadi
Thuyilaada kanninayen ninninaindu thuyarveno
Muyalaulum ilamadikke valai izhanderkku idu naduve
Vayalali Manavaala! kolvaayo mani nirame (Periya Tirumozhi 3.6.8)
We thus see that the rabbit on the moon has won recognition and even eulogy from
distinguished devotees like Azhwars, attesting to the concept having been around for
several millennia.
It is therefore of no surprise to us to learn that the legend has spread far and wide and is
quite popular in China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, etc. Buddhist Jaataka tales have it
that the rabbit made the ultimate sacrifice of jumping into the fire, in order to provide a
meal to a hungry human guest, who was none other than Indra in disguise. Moved by the
animal’s selflessness, Indra is supposed to have placed the rabbit on the moon permanently.
There are specific festivals which celebrate the legend of the rabbit on the moon, like the
Mid-autumn festival of China, Tsukimi of Japan and Chuseok of Korea. Chinese folklore
portrays the rabbit as a companion of the moon goddess, pounding the elixir of life for her.
The Japanese and Koreans consider the rabbit to be pounding ingredients for a rice cake.
Expanding on our chosen theme slightly, shall we see in what other contexts the rabbit
figures, in our scripture?
For purposes of comparison, the rabbit appears to figure somewhat low on the totem pole.
It is picturized as a symbol of weakness, cowardice and lowliness. This is the sense in which
Sri Sita Piratti uses the term rabbit, when comparing Ravana with Sri Rama, identifying the
latter with a mighty elephant and the former with a lowly rabbit—
Yatha driptascha maatanga: sasascha sahitou vane

Tahtaa dviradavat Rama: tvan neecha sasavat smrita : (Sundara Kandam 32-
16).
Rabbit flesh is reported to be extremely delicious. In comparison, that of a crow is practically
unpalatable. With a rabbit near at hand and already caught, would anyone forsake that and
go after a crow flying off in the distance? First of all, catching the crow is doubtful, while the
rabbit is already in the net. And even if the crow were to be caught, it is hardly delicacy
enough to hanker after, vis-à-vis the tasty rabbit.

Comparing the distant, unseen and inaccessible Sri Vaikuntam to crow's flesh, Sri Kalian
points out how much easier and delectable it is to have one's fill of the Lord in His arccha
form, as He manifests Himself in various temples in this world. Eraar muyal vittu kaakkai
pin povade remarks Azhwar, making fun of people who ignore the treat they have on hand
in the form of the arccha moorthy and crave for experiencing the Lord of Paramapatham,
who is for all practical purposes a distant dream .

Sri Kalian might consider the rabbit to be a delicacy, but consumption of the same brought
ruin on the head of an heir-apparent of the Ikshvaku Dynasty. One of the ancestors of Sri
Rama in the Solar lineage was named the consumer of rabbit flesh—Sasada, though his
original name was Vikukshi. When he was young, he was sent to the forest to fetch meat for
the sacrifice performed by his father Ikshvaaku. Vikukshi did hunt and kill several animals
and was bringing them back to his father, when hunger forced him to consume one of the
killed rabbits. Though Vikukshi himself did not say anything, Sage Vasishtta could sense what
he had done, which had the effect of rendering the entire meat he had brought unworthy as
an offering in the sacrifice. Enraged, Ikshvaku banished Vikukshi to the jungles, where he
remained till his father’s demise, whereupon he returned to become the Emperor. The
famous Kakutsttha (also known as Puranjaya) was Vikukshi’s son.

Sri Sita Devi might consider the rabbit a lowly one, but for Sri Parasara Bhattar, it ranks quite
high in its wisdom regarding Prapatti as a strategy for achieving goals. The Acharya was once
going through a forest and when night fell, he stayed in the cottage of a hunter. The hunter
looked extremely hungry and in response to a query, told Sri Bhattar that he had not been
able to catch any prey that day. He had indeed caught an infant rabbit and was returning
home with his mouth watering in anticipation of the delightful feast it would make. The
mother of the rabbit, frantic with worry, ran and stood boldly before the hunter, beseeching
him with its pleading eyes to let the small one go. Despite his bestial nature, the hunter felt
pity welling up in his heart for the desolate mother and freed the infant rabbit from the net,
watching with relief as it bounded into the embrace of its mother.

Hearing this from the hunter, Sri Bhattar was extremely moved and fell unconscious. When
he recovered, he said wonderingly, “Neither did the mother rabbit know the glory of
Saranagati (not having uttered Dvayam, the formula for surrender, nor having appealed like
Vibhishana—nivedayata maam kshipram), nor was the hunter aware of the characteristics
of a savior (having never heard of maam ekam saranam vraja or abhayam sarva
bhoothebhyo dadhami). However, without a single word of prayer or benefaction having
been uttered here, Prapatti has borne fruit. Hence it is not the actual words that make a
Prapatti effective, but the appropriate mental makeup, a gesture of incapacity and
destitution and absolute faith in the saviour”

Just as the rabbit is famous for its quality for being extremely fast, one of its fictitious body
parts too is held out as an example—its horn. I can imagine you staring in disbelief; “since
when did rabbits have a horn?’ you ask. That is the very point. The rabbit’s horn is held out
as an example of a non-existent object or concepts. Sasa Vishaanam or the rabbit’s horn
signifies the paradigm of atyanta abhava. There are several types of abhava or non-
existence. One is Anyonya Abhava. This means that one thing is not another. For example, a
pen is not a pencil and so too, a pencil is not a pen. When something is different from
another, the two mutually exclude each other, which is known as mutual non-existence or
Anyonya Abhavam. There is also Pragabhava, which refers to the non-existence of a
particular thing before its coming into being. For instance, before its manufacture, the pen
was not there at all. Though it exists now, it did not earlier, which is the concept of
Pragabhava, according to the Vaiseshikas. The third and the one which we are citing as the
basis for Sasa Vishanam or hare’s horn in Atyanta Abhava or absolute non-existence, now
or ever. Such a thing has not been there at all and will never be, in future too. Thus, the
hare’s horn is used to illustrate cases of eternal non-existence.

Rabbits are now regarded as pests by farmers, for digging up tubular plants like carrot,
cabbage, etc., and consuming them by the kilos, causing losses. However there was a time
when all the fields, especially at Tirukkannapuram, were inhabited by these ubiquitous
creatures, if we are to go by Periya Tirumozhi (8.7.3):
Puyaluru varai mazhai pozhithara maninirai
Mayalura varaikudai eduviya nediyavar
muyal thular milai muyal thualavala vilai vayal
Kayal thulu Kanapuram adigal tham idame (Periya Tirumozhi 8.7.3)

When farmers are hard at work removing weeds from their fields, rabbits jump up in their
face from the small holes in which they were hiding in the fields of Tirukkannapuram, which
is host to a variety of fish too, says Sri Tirumangai Mannan in this verse.
The saga of the rabbit has crossed the originally intended length. Much as it is tempting to
continue, I cry a halt here for fear of testing the readers’ patience.