tirthankaras/tk-08-chandraprabha.jpg · 1200×1600The pregnant queen longed to drink the moon. The king had the moon's reflection caught in a vessel of water and gave it to her to drink, and the longing was satisfied. The child was born white as moonlight, and named for it.
It is a small, tender scene, and it has made him one of the most widely worshipped Tirthankaras. Chandraprabhu temples are found from Rajasthan to Karnataka, and his white marble images are among the most recognisable in Jain art. Popularity among the twenty-four does not follow the length of a story; it follows a beloved image, a gentle emblem and a name that sits well in a hymn.
