Mercury Birth

Another story of the Moon God is that he fell in love with the wife of the planet, Jupiter. Jupiter is called Brihaspati in Hinduism. He is the guru of the gods of the sky or Devas. Brihaspati is an old man, serious and rational. He lacks the passion found in Chandra, who is the most handsome of all gods and is associated with emotions, romantic desires and moodiness. Brihaspati’s wife,  Tara, which also means star, grew bored of Brihaspati, and eventually eloped with Chandra.

This led to a crisis in the heavenly kingdoms, because Brihaspati went to Indra, the king of the sky, and demanded his wife be brought back. If Brihaspati did not perform any rituals for Devas, they were doomed to face defeat in battle. Indra had to fight Chandra and force him to let Tara go, who returned home pregnant, and everybody wondered whose child it was.

When asked, Tara refused to say anything. The child in the womb was a love child of Tara and Moon. This annoyed Brihaspati so much that he cursed the child to be born a genderless being. It was Mercury or Budh, the child of the star goddess and the Moon god. And therefore, Mercury is changeable, both male and female.