Raksha Bandhan

Event Name : Raksha Bandhan
Venue : India
the festival that reinforces the bond between a brother and sister is Raksha Bandhan. Every sister waits to tie the sacred thread, called ‘Rakhi ‘on her brothers’ wrist every year. This festival is celebrated on the Full moon day in the month of Shravan. It is one of the most popular festivals of India. There are many stories related to the origin of this festival.
If we go back to where this festival started from, it was not to mark the love between a brother and sister but for victory in a war.
According to the Hindu mythology, the story goes like this. Long ago,a battle ensued between the Gods and the Demons, which carried on continuously for 12 long years at the end of which the Demons won. The Demons not only captured the throne of the King of the Gods-Indra, but also the entire three Worlds. When Indra lost the battle, He went to the spiritual teacher of the Gods-Brihaspati-and sought his advice. Brihaspati advised Indra to chant some mantras that would provide Him protection. Brihaspati initiated the process of chanting the mantras in the month of Shravan on a Full Moon day. During this ceremony of reciting of mantras, a thread was tightly tied around a small packet ‘containing ‘the blessings. After the ceremony, this small packet containing the protection blessings was tied by Lord Indra’s wife, Shachi, who is also called Indrani, on Indra’s right wrist. Because of these blessings, Lord Indra got back His strength to defeat the Demons and reclaim back His lost kingdom.
Currently, this festival has become synonymous with the love and bond between brothers and sisters and it can be said that it’s a festival that reinforces and reaffirms the love between a sister and brother. While on one hand, the brother promises to look after his sister and protect her all his life, on the other hand, the sister prays for the long life of her brother.

How Raksha Bandhan is celebrated?
Rakhi essentially celebrates the bond between brothers and sister. Indeed the word Raksha Bandhan signifies the bond of protection. There's a fully fledged ceremony on the day in the presence of all the members of the family. Everyone dresses to look the best and then it all begins.
Sisters prepare the Rakhi Puja thali beautifully and put sweets, Roli Chawal, Rakhi and Diya inside the thali. The put on Tika on their brothers' forehead, tie Rakhi on their brothers' wrist, feed them with sweets and then perform the Aarti ritual. Brothers' in return present wonderful gifts along with a promise to protect their sisters in every circumstance.
The most suitable time for carrying out the Rakhi tying ritual is during afternoon (as per the Hindu division of the day), or Aparahna. In case of the unavailability of the Aparahna time, it may also be performed during Pradosh time.

Raksha Bandhan 2024 - When is the auspicious time of Rakshabandhan festival in 2024
The festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated every year on the full moon day of the month of Shravan; Therefore, it is also called Rakhi Purnima. This festival is a festival of love for sisters and brothers. On this day, sisters tie colorful ashes on their wrists for the prosperity of their brothers, while the brothers promise to protect them. In some parts this festival is also known as Rakhri. It is one of the biggest festivals of Hindus. This year Rakshabandhan will be celebrated on 3 August.
The most popular festival of sisters is Raksha Bandhan. The sisters wait eagerly for this day as Rakshabandhan deepens the love of siblings even more. Please tell that this time Rakshabandhan is falling on 3rd August i.e. on Independence Day. We will tell you the auspicious time of the day of Rakshabandhan 2024, but before that know why Rakshabandhan is celebrated. Listening to the narration of some of the stories related to it, you will come to know the reason behind making the bond.

Importance of Rakshabandhan
According to the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna once suffered an injury to his hand. After which Mata Draupadi had torn her lap and tied it on Shri Krishna's hand. During that time Lord Krishna pledged to protect Draupadi throughout her life, since then the sacred bandh was also celebrated as Rakhi Bandhan. According to another historical legend, Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to King Humayun and asked for his promise of protection. King Humayun, keeping the honor of Karnavati, protected Queen Karnavati from the king of Gujarat and the tradition of Rakshabandhan started.

Auspicious time for Rakshabandhan 2024 festival
The festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated in the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar on the day on which the full moon falls in the afternoon. Also, it is important to keep these rules in mind as well:
1. If Bhado has climbed in the afternoon during the full moon, then Rakshabandhan should not be celebrated. In such a situation, if the full moon is in the first three Muhurtas of the next day, then the entire ritual of the festival should be done in the afternoon of the next day.

2. If the full moon is not in the first 3 Muhurtas of the next day, then Raksha Bandhan can be celebrated in the second half of the Pradosh period after the first day.

However, in some areas such as Punjab etc., the afternoon period is not considered to be more important, so there is generally a practice of celebrating the Rakhi festival before midday. But according to the scriptures, celebrating Rakshabandhan on Bhadra is completely forbidden, in any case.

Rakshabandhan is very special for sisters
On the day of Rakshabandhan, every sister prays to God for the longevity of her brother and pleases the brother in life by pleasing God. On this day, the sisters go to the temple and worship Lord Krishna, pleading with God to protect our brother. Let me tell you that on the day of Rakshabandhan, a sister ties rakhi to her brother. In the same way, brothers give beautiful gifts, promising to protect their sister.

Rakhi Poornima Pooja
On the day of Raksha Bandhan, the sisters tie the Raksha-sutra i.e. Rakhi on the wrists of their brothers. She also wishes for the longevity, prosperity and happiness of the brothers.

A mantra is read while tying the Rakhi on the wrist, which the Pandit can also tie the Raksha-sutra to the Yajamans by reading it, that mantra is:

ॐ Yen Badho Bali Raja Danvendro Mahabalah.
Then walk in the bad name of defense.

There is also an important story behind this mantra, which is often recited during the worship of Rakshabandhan. Once, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira expressed his desire to listen to such a story from Lord Krishna, which can get rid of all the sufferings and difficulties. In response to this, Shri Krishna told him this story:

In the mythological period, there were 12 consecutive years of war between the Suras and the Asuras. It seemed that the victory of the Asuras in the war is certain. The king of the demons had captured the three worlds and declared himself king of Trilok. Devaraj Indra Guru, persecuted by demons, then reached the shelter of Jupiter and prayed for protection. Then Shravan Purnima was completed early in the morning.

In this legislation, Guru Brihaspati recited the above mentioned mantra; Simultaneously, Indra and his wife Indrani also repeated this mantra back and forth. Indrani's wife Indrani transmitted power to all Brahmins in the Raksha-sutra and tied it on the wrist of Indra's right hand. With the powers derived from this sutra, Indra defeated the Asuras and recovered his lost kingdom.

Another method of celebrating Raksha Bandhan is also famous. On this day, women prepare for worship in the morning and put golden legs on the walls of the house. After that they worship her with Archana Sevai, Kheer and sweets. Then they tie a thread on gold. Women who put wheat earrings on Nag Panchami, keep that plant for worship. After tying a rakhi on her brothers 'wrist, she puts these earrings on the brothers' ears.

Importance of sacred thread
The sister ties the sacred thread on the brother's hand. The brother promises to protect her throughout her life. It is not a tradition but a very sacred bond, which is also wrapped in a thread of rites. Rituals that promote brotherly love for sister and sister towards brother. There is a tradition of tying Raksha Sutras to trees since ancient times. Worshiping the banyan tree with thread, worshiping her with lilies, sandalwood, incense and lamps, praying for her husband's longevity. Many such trees are recognized to be wrapped with thread. In the same way, a thread tied by a sister also has so much power that it fills happiness in the life of the brother.