Chandrayana

(“moon’s path”) Penitential rite
(prayashchitta) lasting for one lunar
month in which the penitent’s food consumption mirrors the monthly course of
the moon. A person observing this rite
begins by eating fourteen mouthfuls of
food on the first day of the waning
moon, then one less mouthful on each
successive day until the new moon day,
when a complete fast (upavasa) is
observed. On each successive day during the waxing moon, the penitent eats
one more mouthful, finishing at fifteen
on the day of the full moon. This is a
fairly severe penance, given the scant
amount of food allowed in the middle of
the month. In the dharma literature,
this penance was prescribed as an
atonement for certain sorts of sexual
misconduct: sexual intercourse with a
woman belonging to the same gotra
(mythic lineage), marrying a woman
belonging to one’s maternal grandfather’s gotra, or marrying the daughter of
one’s maternal uncle or paternal aunt.