This folktale is part of the mythology of the Malai Malasar, a tribe of foragers that inhabits the jungles of the Western Ghats in Southwest India.

Suriyan (the sun) and Chandran (the moon) were brothers. They lived with their mother. One day, they were invited for a wedding feast. Both of them went to the feast, which was a grand spread of good food served on banana leaves, the traditional South Indian way of serving a feast.

As they sat down to eat, Suriyan washed his banana leaf. As he brushed the water off his leaf, his nails scored lines on the banana leaf, which can be seen even today on any banana tree. He had a good meal, and he ate his fill. However, his brother, Chandran, was thinking of their mother. He did not eat much, but he managed to secret a lot of food in the space between his fingers and his nails.

When they reached home, their mother greeted them, and asked them what they had done. Suriyan told her that he had had a hearty meal, and proceeded to describe the feast. After him, came Chandran. He told his mother, "Wash all the vessels in the house and bring them here." When she did that, he filled all of them with the food that he had concealed in his nails.

When she saw this, the mother cursed Suriyan to be hot and burning always, as he had forgotten her when he saw food. She blessed Chandran to be always cool, as he had remembered her and had brought food for her. That is why, even today, the sun is hot and fiery and the moon is cool.