By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
In Hindu astronomy, the sky is divided into 28 parts or nakshatras, based on 28 different constellations, one of which is supposed to have disappeared so effectively that there remain only 27. These constellations or houses are visualised as Goddesses. It is said that the Moon God was married to all of them, but he preferred only one of his wives, which is the reason the 28th wife disappeared. The remaining 26 complained to their father, who got so angry with the Moon God for preferring one wife over the others, that he cursed the Moon God with tuberculosis, kshyayrog or wasting disease.
