Raksha Bandhan - What It Is And Why Do We Celebrate It?

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Raksha Bandhan - What It Is And Why Do We Celebrate It?

Raksha Bandhan is primarily a Hindu festival which relates to the bonding and protectiveness in siblings or males and females. According to the Hindu mythology, this bonding festival comes on Purnima Tithi (full moon day) in Shravan, a Hindi month that usually falls around August every year. On this occasion, a sister ties a thread on her brother’s right wrist and requests him for her protection. In return, her brother takes an oath to protect her at any cost during her life.

What is Raksha Bandhan?

Raksha Bandhan is made of two separate words/terms Raksha and Bandhan. The first term Raksha means to protect or protection while the 2nd term Bandhan means to tie, bond or knot. It means Raksha Bandhan denotes an occasion or festival on which a person can tie a bond or thread to request for protection from evil or bad things in life. As per many rituals, traditions, and myths, Raksha Bandhan is not only a festival to tie a thread on a brother’s wrist. It is a festival of bonding between two parties with a promise of protection. These two parties could be: a brother and a sister, a man and a woman, a boyfriend and a girlfriend, a husband and wife or any persons with a bonding.

Why Do We Celebrate Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Every Year?

In general, we celebrate Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi to protect our sisters and take it as a festival of brothers and sisters, or siblings. It encourages the bonding between brothers and sisters or siblings. Through its celebration, we comprehend the importance of bonding and protection among siblings or persons around us.

Historical and Mythological Stories on Raksha Bandhan Celebration

We usually take Raksha Bandhan as a festival of brothers and sisters. But having a look at several historical and mythological facts on why we celebrate Raksha Bandhan makes our common thinking wrong.

Talking about its historical fact, its celebration goes back to the Mughal Era in India. Rani Karnawati of Chittor was a widow and unable to protect her kingdom from the Gujarat sultan, Bahadur Shah. So, she sent a thread called a Rakhi to Humayun, the Mughal Emperor, and requested him to protect her kingdom. The emperor got impressed by the received thread and sent a team of his soldiers to protect her kingdom.

Another historical fact relates to King Puru and Alexander. At the time of his India invasion, Alexander was afraid of King Puru. His wife approached King Puru and requested him not to kill Alexander in the war after tying a thread on Puru’s wrist.

Several mythological stories also relate to the celebration of Raksha Bandhan. One goes back to the era of the Pandavas and relates to the bonding between Shri Krishna and Draupadi. The Pandavas called Shri Krishna to attend the event and requested to christen Indraprastha as Yudhisthir’s kingdom. On the occasion, Shishupal insulted Lord Krishna a lot. Lord Krishna took out his Sudarshan Chakra and killed king Shishupal. The returning of the Sudarshan Chakra to his finger made a deep wound. Draupadi tore a part of her clothing and tied it on Lord Krishna's wounded finger to make him feel relaxed. In return, Lord Krishna protected her when Dushashana was taking down her sari in the court of the Kauravas.

A mythological story behind the celebration of Raksha Bandhan relates to Yama and the River Yamuna. Yamuna was very sad as Yama did not visit her for 12 years. Ganga knew it and advised Yama to visit his sister, Yamuna. She was very happy to see her brother and did hospitality very well. On return, Yamuna tied a bond on Yama’s wrist. This made Yama very happy, and Yama requested her for a gift. Yamuna asked his brother to come to see her every year.

Another mythological story is about Indra Dev and Sachi. As per the Bhavishya Purana, there was a tough battle between gods and devils. On account of gods, Lord Indra Dev was fighting with the demon king Bali. This war continued for a longer period. Sachi, Indra Dev’s wife, approached Lord Vishnu and requested him to provide advice on how to save her husband from the demon king. Lord Vishnu gave a bracelet, made of cotton thread, to her and asked her to tie it on her husband's wrist. This bracelet made Lord Indra Dev to defeat demons with their king Bali. As per this story, this celebration was not only for brothers and sisters.

Two other mythological stories relate to Santoshi Maa and Goddess Laxmi and King Bali. According to the first one, Lord Ganesha had two sons - Labh and Subha. They requested their father to have a sister. Lord Ganesha agreed to fulfill it but he could not do it due to Saint Narad’s intervention. And Lord Ganesha produced Santoshi Maa through his divine flames and on Raksha Bandhan and requested his sons to regard her as their sister.

As per Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana, Lord Vishnu got all the three worlds by conquering the demon king, Bali. After his loss or defeat, Bali requested Lord Vishnu to live beside him in the palace. Lord Vishnu accepted the request. However, Goddess Laxmi was not happy with it. She wanted Lord Vishnu to come back to vaikuntha, the native place of Lord Vishnu. Goddess Laxmi approached Bali, made him her brother, and requested him to make her husband, Lord Vishnu, free from his vow. In return, Bali fulfilled his promise made to Laxmi.

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#Raksha Bandhan
# Rakhi