Posted on Sunday, 12th July 2009 by admin
The Festival and it’s significance
Raksha Bandhan which literally means bond of protection is a Hindu festival celebrating the relationship between brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on the full moon of the month of Shraavana. It has since become a festival celebrated between all religions in India for it’s purity of thought and simplicity.
The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or a holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The elder brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to protect her while an elder sister returns offers to her younger brother. The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets or mithai. The uniqueness of this festival and so also the Indian minset is that the rakhi can be given not only to a brother by birth but any male can be “adopted” as a brother by tying a rakhi on the person, whether they are cousins or a good friend.
History behind the festival
Indian history is a testimony to women asking for protection, through rakhi, from men who were neither their brothers, nor Hindus themselves. Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to the Mughal Emperor Humayun when she was threatened by Bahadur Shah to annex her kingdom. Humayun abandoned an ongoing military campaign to ride to her rescue.
One famous incident from the Indian epic Mahabharata is the one that relates to Lord Krishna and Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. She had torn a strip of silk off her sari immediately after she saw lord Krishna’s wrist flow with blood and tied that cloth to it to stop the flow of blood. Lord Krishna was so touched by her action that he found himself bound to her by brotherly love. He promised to repay the debt many fold and then spent the next 25 years doing just that.
Krishna repaid the debt of love several years later during Vastra haran of Draupadi. Vastra haran literally means stripping clothes off somebody for It was done in the assembly of King Dritrashtra by Dussasan, one of the Kauravas, when Yudishter, her husband, lost her in gamble to the Kauravas. At that time Krishna gave her saree through divine intervention without actually intruding directly to save her.This is how he paid his debt towards rakhi tied to him by Draupadi.
Another legend the Demon King Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Lakshmi wished to be with her lord back in her abode. She went to the Demon Bali masquerading as a Brahmin woman seeking refuge till her husband came back.
Goddess Lakshmi tied the sacred thread to the King during the Shravan month celebrations. Finally she revealed who she was and why she was there. The king was touched by her goodwill and solidarity for his family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He sacrificed everything for the Lord and his devoted wife.
Since then the festival is also called Baleva which means Bali Raja’s devotion to the Lord. It is said that since then it has been a tradition to invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony or the Raksha Bandhan
The rakhi may also be tied on other special occasions to show solidarity and kinship , as was done during the Indian independence movement. Even today, many women send rakhis to the the soldiers at the borders to show their loyalty and as a means to show respect for protecting the country from outside danger.
Celebrations of Raksha Bandhan in India
The single most important way of celebrating Raksha Bandhan is by tying the rakhi. A sister ties a rakhi to the wrist of her brother. The tying of a rakhi signifies her asking of her brother for his protection and love for the sister. The brother in turn, accepts the rakhi, confirms his love and affection for his sister and shows this with gifts and money. It is a family event where all members of family are present with their best traditional clother. The tying of rakhi is followed by a family food fest.
On this day the sisters also tie a ‘loomba’ to the bangle of their brother’s wife. A loomba is a loop of string with a charm or some other item attached to the loop of string. This charm or item then dangles from the bangle. The sisters then receive money from their sister’s in law.
Raksha Bandha is also celebrated or known as Rakhi Purnima in North India, nariyal pournima in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa; in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, this day is celebrated as Avani Avittam; in central parts of India such as Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkand and Bihar this day is celebrated as Kajari Purnima.
Gifts for Raksha Bandhan
Although many fortunate brothers and sisters stay close to each other and hence celebrate the festival of Raksha Bandhan, a large number of them stay away and hence miss out on the festivities. Due to the intervention of internet ecommerce, it is possible to send Raksha bandhan gifts from miles away.
The designs and variety of `Rakhi Thread’ has evolved over a period of time and become more fashionable and trendy today and highly commercialised. It flaunts the amalgamation of tradition and modern lifestyle of people. Modern `rakhi’ is available in different shapes, sizes and materials. One can send rakhis of different shapes, design, sizes and make to anywhere in India. There are pearl rakhis, diamond rakhis also available. There are also many varieties of gift thalis or hampers which can be gifted. They contain rakhis, mithais, a puja thali, pen, goddess laxmi’s silver idol, etc.
When gifting for raksha bandhan is concerned, one can gift perfumes, sarees, salwaar kameez, crockery, home decor pieces, dry fruits, mithai or sweets, chocolates, mens or womens accessories, jewellery gifts like pendants, necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, handbags,etc.
