Question
Why is “Chandra” added in the name of Lord Rama?
Answer
There is no such story. But there are two reasons:
- Lord Rama was the first child after a long wait, in King Dashratha's family, so he was very dear and close to King's heart so they called "Chand sa beta" in Hindi or "Chandra" in Sanskrit.
- Lord Rama was born on "Chaitra" Month of Indian calendar in suda 9(or Ramanavmi), which is the ninth day of the bright-half of the Indian month Chaitra. From birth, his face was as brilliant/glare as the chandra (moon) on Purnima (the full-moon day). While only a baby, he captured the moon (from its image in a dishpan), and was thus also named Rama+chandra=RamChandra.
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