The 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival is set to commence soon and there are several egends surrounding Lord Ganesha's birth and life. In one such legend, it's said that Ganesh Chaturthi is the time when one should avoid looking at the moon. Majority of them refrain from looking at the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi to avoid Mithya Dosha. Mithya Dosha is a curse that could falsely implicate a person of stealing something. As per the legends, when Lord Ganesha was returning home along with his Vahana (a mooshak or a mouse) on a moonlit night on Chaturthi in the Bhadrapada month, the Moon God poked fun at the Lord's round belly, his elephant head and his vahana. Chandra, the Moon God, is known to be proud of his good looks.
An angry Lord Ganesha, cursed him saying that his light would never fall on earth. No one will worship the moon, Ganesha said, adding that if someone looked at the moon, they would face allegations and charges even if innocent which will in turn tarnish their reputation. Fearing for his existence, a shattered Moon God apologised, and he lost his proud and rude manner. He and other Gods prayed to Ganesha for forgiveness, but since Ganesha had already cursed him, he wouldn't repeal it entirely. He said that people can look at the moon at any time, except on 'Bhadrapada Chaturthi'. If one sees the moon on this day, they will face false allegations.