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The bonding between a brother and a sister is simply unique and is beyond description in words. The relationship between siblings is extraordinary and is given importance in every part of the world. However, when it comes to India, the relationship becomes all the more important as there is a festival called "Raksha Bandhan" dedicated for the sibling love.
This is a special Hindu festival which is celebrated in India and countries like Nepal to symbolize the love between a brother and a sister. The occasion of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar in the month of Shravana which typically falls in the August month of Gregorian calendar.
Meaning of Raksha Bandhan
The festival is made up of two words, namely "Raksha" and "Bandhan." As per the Sanskrit terminology, the occasion means "the tie or knot of protection" where "Raksha" stands for the protection and "Bandhan" signifies the verb to tie. Together, the festival symbolizes the eternal love of brother-sister relationship which does not mean just the blood relationships only. It is also celebrated among cousins, sister and sister-in-law (Bhabhi), fraternal aunt (Bua) and nephew (Bhatija) and other such relations.
Importance of Raksha Bandhan among various religions in India
Hinduism- The festival is mainly celebrated by the Hindus in the northern and
western parts of India along with countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Mauritius.
Jainism- The occasion is also revered by the Jain community where Jain priests give
ceremonial threads to the devotees.
Sikhism- This festival devoted to the brother-sister love is observed by the Sikhs as
"Rakhardi" or Rakhari.
Origin of Raksha Bandhan Festival
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:
Indra Dev and Sachi- 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.
King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi- 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.
Santoshi Maa- 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.
Krishna and Draupadi- 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.
Yama and the Yamuna- 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
based on the brother-sister relationship.
Reason for the celebration of this festival
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
