Festival story · 3 tellings · East India, Pan-India
Ganesha curses the Moon
The Moon laughs at Ganesha and is cursed, which is why the moon is not looked at on Ganesh Chaturthi; the Syamantaka story is the remedy; Mithila worships the moon that night.
Ganesha, full of sweets from his birthday offerings (or from Kubera's feast), rides home on his mouse at night. A snake crosses the path, the mouse shies and Ganesha falls; his belly bursts, the sweets spill, he stuffs them back and ties the snake round his belly. The Moon laughs. Ganesha breaks off a tusk, throws it at the Moon and curses him: he shall never be whole, and nobody is to look at him on Ganesh Chaturthi on pain of a bad name. The dark mark on the moon is where the tusk struck. Anyone who looks by mistake is freed by hearing or telling how Krishna cleared himself over the Syamantaka jewel.
Ganesha roams Kailasa on his mouse; Chandra laughs at his strange form and shows off his own beauty. Ganesha curses him to be ugly and anyone who sees him to bear a false stain. Chandra repents and is forgiven, but the curse remains for the Chaturthi night. So in Mithila the moon is worshipped that evening: women fast, draw aripan in the courtyard, set out kheer, fruit and curd on banana leaves and offer them to the moon to be kept from false blame. The custom is said to have spread in the 16th century after King Hemangad Thakur, jailed by the Mughals, computed eclipses for 1088 years, was freed by Akbar, and Queen Hemalata declared the moon of Mithila free of stain.
What is different here:
The night is kept by worshipping the moon instead of avoiding it; the Moon mocks Ganesha's form with no fall; adds the Hemangad Thakur history.
Brahma brings Shiva a divine fruit; Ganesha and Kartikeya quarrel over it; on Brahma's advice it goes to Kartikeya. Ganesha, enraged, takes a terrifying form. Chandra appears and laughs. Ganesha curses that whoever sees him will be ruined. The gods plead that night would become fearful; Ganesha limits the curse to part of the year. Chandra then performs austerities for twelve years with Ganesha's one-syllable mantra and praises him in a hymn. Ganesha reduces the ban to Bhadrapada bright Chaturthi and exempts those who keep his vow that day.
What is different here:
Cause is a quarrel over a fruit, not a fall; no mouse, snake or tusk; the Moon earns the reduction by twelve years of austerity and a hymn; the remedy is Ganesha's own vow, not the Syamantaka story.