Raksha Bandhan Festival is a special occasion, which celebrates and honors the love and relationship shared between sisters and brothers. It is celebrated in India and Nepal with massive joy and excitement. Its festivity includes a really unique Tikka ceremony, in which sisters apply Tikka on their forehead, tie Rakhi on their brothers? wrist, and pray for their successful life. In return, brothers present exciting gifts to them, and make this special day more exciting for them. This traditional knot, called Raksha Bandhan Festival, symbolizes immense love and protection.
It serves as a mark of the promise made by brothers to protect their sisters forever. After the Tikka ceremony, all the family members sit, have amusing discussions, and have lunch together, which produces a sense of togetherness. The Rakhi festival is, undoubtedly, one of the most awaited joyous occasions in India.
Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Shravan, which falls in August, as per the Gregorian calendar. It has been majorly considered as a non-religious occasion, as it is widely celebrated by people of all religions. This festival is more about celebrating human values and emotions than following old rituals, just to retain its traditional value Rajasthan Fair Festival.
RAKSHA BANDHAN 2022: DATE AND TIME
- Raksha Bandhan: Thursday, August 11, 2022
- Pradosh Time Raksha Bandhan Muhurat: 08:51 PM to 09:14 PM
- Duration: 00 Hours 22 Mins
- Raksha Bandhan Bhadra End Time: 08:51 PM
- Raksha Bandhan Bhadra Punchha: 05:17 PM to 06:18 PM
- Raksha Bandhan Bhadra Mukha: 06:18 PM to 08:00 PM
- Purnima Tithi Begins: 10:38 AM on Aug 11, 2022
- Purnima Tithi Ends: 07:05 AM on Aug 12, 2022
RAKSHA BANDHAN 2022: HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE
The history of this day lies in the Hindu mythological epic of ancient India, Mahabharata. During that period, Lord Krishna got his finger cut accidentally on the Sudarshan chakra. And princess Draupadi noticed it and tied a piece of cloth around the wounded part of the hand. Later, Lord Krishna was impressed by the actions of the princess and promised to protect her from all the evils in the world.advertisement Raksha Bandhan Festival.
He named it Raksha sutra. He protected her when Kauravas tried to shame her with the act of Chirharan. Krishna appeared out of nowhere and saved her from all the humiliation and dishonour she was facing. The day plays a significant role in the lives of brothers and sisters Rajasthan Budget Tours.
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 Raksha Bandhan Festival 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.
Origin of Raksha Bandhan Festival
The festival of Raksha Bandhan Festival 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 Festival.
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 also based on the brother-sister relationship.
Celebration of Rakhi across India
India is a renowned country around the world owing to its diverse culture and traditions. The festivals here are big celebrations with so much exhilaration and happiness. With India divided into different states, follows diverse culture and traditions leading to their celebrations in multifarious ways. Such is the case with the festival of Raksha Bandhan; the day of Rakhi Purnima is said to be very auspicious to carry out various rituals in the Hindu religion.
Apart from the regular rakhi tying ceremony observed on this festival, there are multiple customs and traditions followed by a diaspora of people celebrating this day in their own ways.
Raksha Bandhan in North India: Rakhi festival is another reflection of rich culture and traditions in the regions of North India like Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other states. Though the festival is celebrated in the traditional way in these states involving a Rakhi tying ceremony performed by sisters and brother, some states also observe other rituals as well based on their customs and traditions.
Uttarakhand: In Kumaon district of this state, the festival also observes men changing their “Janeyu” threads apart from the usual Rakhi celebrations.
Jammu: The celebrations of Raksha Bandhan commence a month before the actual day of Raksha Bandhan Festival in which people indulge themselves in the kite flying festival. The sky gets covered with colorful and beautiful kites that are flown with the help of the special strings “Gattu Dor” by the locals.
Rajasthan: The Marwari community of the state observes the tradition of Lumba rakhi in which a sister ties these beautiful Rakhis on the wrists of her brother’s wife or Bhabhi. As she is the one who takes great care and prayers for the well-being of her brother so that he can take good care of his sister, therefore, she deserves equal respect and loves just like him from sisters.
Haryana: The festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated as “salono” in this state in which an amulet is tied around the wrist of people by the priests of the temples. The usual ceremony of Raksha Bandhan Festival tying is also observed in this region, but the above ceremony is the main attraction of this state on Rakhi Purnima.
