Bhalchandra is a unique form of Ganesha in which he wears the moon on his forehead. Bhalchandra means the Ganesha with the moon on his forehead. Bhal means ‘forehead’ 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 lustre, 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 lustre.
The form of Ganapati in which he has the moon on the forehead is known as Bhalchandra.
A popular temple with the murti of Bhalchandra is found on the banks of Godavari River in Maharashtra. The temple of Bhalchandra is around 40 km from Parbhani.
 
*This original painting is 2ft x 2ft. My white watermark will not exist on the painting.