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Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan (also known as Sawan) every year; that is why it is also known as Rakhi Purnima. It is the day to celebrate the brother-sister love. Sister ties the Rakhi on brother’s wrist wishing him a prosperous life and brother pledges to protect his sister. The day is also known as Rakhri in some regions. It is one of the main festivals of India.
If Bhadra falls in the Aparahan Kaal on Purnima, Raksha Bandhan rituals cannot be performed in this duration. In such case, if on the next day, Purnima is prevailing in the first 3 Muhurats of the day, the rituals can be performed in the Aparahankaal of the second day. It is because at that time, Sakalyapadit Purnima will exist.
If Purnima is not prevailing in the first 3 Muhurats of the next day, Sakalyapadit Purnima will also not exist. In such situation, Rakshabandhan can be celebrated on the first day after Bhadra in the latter half of Pradosh.
Aparahankaal is not considered important at many places like Punjab. Hence, they celebrate the festival before Madhyahn, i.e. usually during early morning. But, our scriptures completely prohibit Raksha Bandhan celebrations during Bhadra, no matter what the situation is.
During Grahan Sutak and Sankranti (transit of Sun), this festival is celebrated without any restriction.
On the festival of Raksha Bandhan, sisters tie a Rakhi on the wrist of their brothers. They wish for the long life, prosperity, happiness, etc. of their brother(s).
A little packet of protection (Potli) carrying Akshat (Rice), yellow mustard seeds, golden wire, etc. must be tied on the right hand of the brothers by sisters. Same can be done by Brahmans to their Yajmans.
The above Mantra has a story behind it. It is the Katha that can be recited during the Puja. Let's know it:
Once Yudhishthir asked Lord Krishna to tell him the story that can take away all the pains of human life. The story told by Krishna goes like this:
In ancient times, Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) fought for 12 years continuously. The Asuras were winning the war. King of the Asuras brought all 3 Lokas (worlds) under his control and announced himself the Lord of the universe. Being tortured by the Asuras, Lord of the Gods, Indra consulted Guru Brihaspati (Mentor of the Devas) and requested him to do something for their protection. On Shravana Purnima, early in the morning, Raksha Vidhan (process to form protection) was accomplished.
Guru Brihaspati had chanted the above given Mantra for the Raksha Vidhan. Indra, along with his wife, recited the Mantra with Guru Brihaspati. Indrani, the consort of Indra, got Raksha Sutra validated by all the Brahmins and Purohits; and then tied it on the right hand of Indra. With the help of this Sutra, Lord Indra could win over the Asuras.
There is another unique way of celebrating Raksha Bandhan. Women get ready in the morning for Puja and then put gold on the walls of their home. Further, they worship this gold with vermicelli dessert (Sevaiyan), sweet rice porridge (Kheer), and sweets. They stick the Rakhi threads on the gold with the help of those sweet dishes. Those women who sow wheat on Nag Panchami, keep these little plants in this worship, and after tying Rakhi on the wrists of their brothers, they put these plants on their ears.
Some people keep fast a day before this day. On the day of Rakshabandhan, they celebrate Rakhi following the Vedic rituals. Also, they perform Pitru Tarpan (homage to the departed souls of the family), and Rishi Pujan or Rishi Tarpan (homage to the saints).
In some regions, people also perform Shravan Pujan. It is performed to pay the homage to the Shravan Kumar, who had died by the hands of King Dashrath by mistake.
On Raksha Bandhan, brothers give nice gifts to their sisters to make them happy. If one doesn't have his own sister, Rakshabandhan can be celebrated with a cousin or anyone who is like a sister.
The festival of Raksha Bandhan is observed as a symbol of duty between brothers and sisters. The occasion is meant to celebrate any type of brother-sister relationship between men and women who may not be biologically related.
On this day, a sister ties a rakhi around the wrist of her brother in order to pray for his prosperity, health and well-being. The brother in return offers a gifts and promises to protect his sister from any harm and under every circumstance. The festival is also celebrated between brother-sister belonging to distant family members, relatives or cousins.
The festival of Raksha Bandhan is known to have originated centuries before and there are several stories related to the celebration of this special festival. Some of the various accounts related to the Hindu mythology are described below:
According to the ancient legend of Bhavishya Purana, once there was a fierce battle between Gods and demons. Lord Indra- the principle deity of sky, rains and thunderbolts who was fighting the battle on the side of Gods was having a tough resistance from the powerful demon King, Bali. The war continued for a long time and did not came on a decisive end. Seeing this, Indra's wife Sachi went to the Lord Vishnu who gave her a holy bracelet made up of cotton thread. Sachi tied the holy thread around the wrist of her husband, Lord Indra who ultimately defeated the demons and recovered the Amaravati. The earlier account of the festival described these holy threads to be amulets which were used by women for prayers and were tied to their husband when they were leaving for a war. Unlike, the present times, those holy threads were not limited to brother-sister relationships.
As per an account of Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, when Lord Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali, he asked by the demon king to stay beside him in the palace. The Lord accepted the requested and started living with the demon king. However, Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Lord Vishnu wanted to return to his native place of Vaikuntha. So, she tied the rakhi around the wrist of demon king, Bali and made him a brother. On asking about the return gift, Goddess Lakshmi asked Bali to free her husband from the vow and let him return to Vaikuntha. Bali agreed to the request and Lord Vishnu returned to his place with his wife, Goddess Lakshmi.
It is said that the two sons of Lord Ganesha namely, Shubh and Labh were frustrated that they had no sister. They asked for a sister from their father who finally obliged to their sister on the intervention of saint Narada. This is how Lord Ganesha created Santoshi Maa through the divine flames and the two sons of Lord Ganesha got their sister for the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Based on an account of Mahabharat, Draupadi, wife of Pandavas tied a rakhi to Lord Krishna while Kunti tied the rakhi to grandson Abhimanyu before the epic war.
Another legend says that the death God, Yama did not visit his sister Yamuna for a period of 12 years who ultimately became very sad. On the advice of Ganga, Yama went to meet his sister Yamuna who has very happy and performed hospitality of her brother, Yama. This made the Yama delighted who asked Yamuna for a gift. She expressed her desire to see her brother again and again. Hearing this, Yama made his sister, Yamuna immortal so that he could see her again and again. This mythological account forms the basis of festival called "Bhai Dooj" which is also based on the brother-sister relationship.
Some legends are already given above in the pursuit of explaining certain Puja Vidhis. Rest of the associated legends are mentioned below:
As per the mythologies, on this day, Draupadi had tied Krishna's wounded hand with a piece of her Saree. Being grateful, he made a promise to Draupadi that he will protect her. That is why, Krishna came to the rescue of Draupadi during Cheer-Haran by Dushasana.
There is another legend in history of the Queen of Chittor, Karmavati. She had sent Rakhi to the Mughal Emperor Humayun in order to seek help from him. Humayun kept the respect of her Rakhi and sent forces to fight for the respect of his sister from the Emperor of Gujarat.
On this day only, Goddess Lakshmi had tied Rakhi on the wrist of King Bali, after his polite request.
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