Raksha-Bandhan is a Hindu festival that celebrates the bond between siblings. Every year Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan Month. And this year, Raksha Bandhan is on 3rd August. In this festival, the sister ties a thread(Rakhi), marks a tilak to his brother and in return, the brother gives her a gift and a promise to protect her for life. The thread is considered to be a sacred thread that works as a Raksha Sutra i.e protection shield for the brother and blessings for a long and happy life.
This festival is celebrated all over India with zest and enthusiasm and is also one of the most loved festivals in the country. Raksha Bandhan is the only festival that is celebrated by almost everyone in the country irrespective of their religion. Many girls who do not have siblings tie Rakhi to someone who they believe or love as a brother. This festival unites everyone in the country.
There are many stories behind celebrating Rakshabandhan in Hindu mythology. One of the stories is from the epic Mahabharat. In one incident, Shri Krishna killed Shishupal by his Sudharshan Chakra, and during that he got hurt and started bleeding. While seeing that, Draupadi immediately tore a piece of cloth from her saree and tied it into the wrist of Shri Krishna. With this sweet gesture of Draupadi, Shri Krishna got touched and promised her to protect her whenever in need. After that incident, Shri Krishna fulfilled his promise by protecting her during ‘Cheerharan’. So this was one of the stories behind Raksha Bandhan.
Another story is from the time of Satyug when Lord Indra got defeated by a demon called Vitrasura. Lord Indra tried a lot but could not defeat that demon because he was blessed with a boon of not getting defeated by any weapon existing in the universe. Listening to the plight of Lord Indra, his wife Devi Sachi made a Rakshasutra and tied it to his wrist. ( that day was the full moon day of Shravan). After wearing Raksha Sutra and seeking help from the gods, he got victorious from the battle and gave a boon that whoever will tie Raksha sutra on this day will be victorious and will lead a long life. Therefore Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan month.
The story of Queen Karnavati and King Humayun is also one of the strong evidence of celebrating Rakshabandhan back in history. So once Queen Karnavti a widow sent the king Humayun a rakhi as a request to protect her from King Bahadur Shah who was going to attack her kingdom Chittorgarh. Touched by her gesture, King Humayun was in the middle of battle, left his troops to rescue Queen Karnavati. But sadly, he reached late and the queen already committed suicide. In the end, King Humayun did defeat Bahadur Shah and took revenge on behalf of the queen.
Hence these were some amazing stories behind RakshaBandhan.
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[…] Raksha-Bandhan is a Hindu festival that celebrates the bond between siblings. Every year Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan Month. And this year, Raksha Bandhan is on 3rd August. In this festival, the sister ties a thread(Rakhi), marks a tilak to his brother and in return, the brother gives her a gift and a promise to protect her for life. The thread is considered to be a sacred thread that works as a Raksha Sutra i.e protection shield for the brother and blessings for a long and happy life. […]