Rakshabandhan

1. RAKSHA BANDHAN
Rakshabandhan is a popular, traditionally Hindu, annual rite, or ceremony, which is
central to a festival of the same name, celebrated in South Asia, and among people
around the world influenced by Hindu culture. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a
talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically
protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a
share of the responsibility of their potential care.
Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month
of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha
Bandhan," Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care," is now
principally applied to this ritual. Until the mid-20th-century, the expression was more
commonly applied to a similar ritual, also held on the same day, with precedence in
ancient Hindu texts, in which a domestic priest ties amulets, charms, or threads on the
wrists of his patrons, or changes their sacred thread, and receives gifts of money; in some
places, this is still the case. In contrast, the sister-brother festival, with origins in folk
culture, had names which varied with location, with some rendered as Saluno, Silono,
and Rakri. A ritual associated with Saluno included the sisters placing shoots of barley
behind the ears of their brothers.
Of special significance to married women, Raksha Bandhan is rooted in the practice of
territorial or village exogamy, in which a bride marries out of her natal village or town,
and her parents, by custom, do not visit her in her married home. In rural north India,
where village exogamy is strongly prevalent, large numbers of married Hindu women
travel back to their parents' homes every year for the ceremony. Their brothers, who
typically live with the parents or nearby, sometimes travel to their sisters' married home
to escort them back. Many younger married women arrive a few weeks earlier at their
natal homes and stay until the ceremony. The brothers serve as lifelong intermediaries
between their sisters' married and parental homes, as well as potential stewards of their
security.
In urban India, where families are increasingly nuclear, the festival has become more
symbolic, but continues to be highly popular. The rituals associated with this festival
have spread beyond their traditional regions and have been transformed through
technology and migration, the movies, social interaction, and promotion by politicized
Hinduism, as well as by the nation state.
Among women and men who are not blood relatives, there is also a transformed tradition
of voluntary kin relations, achieved through the tying of rakhi amulets, which have cut

2. across caste and class lines, and Hindu and Muslim divisions. In some communities or
contexts, other figures, such as a matriarch, or a person in authority, can be included in
the ceremony in ritual acknowledgement of their benefaction.
Usually made from a few colorful cotton or silk threads, or sometimes from silver and gol
d threads, the rakhi symbolizes protection against evil during the coming year. According
to legend, when Sultan Babar, the Mohammedan Emperor at Delhi, received a portion of
a silken bracelet from the Rajputanan princess who was in grave danger, he immediately
rushed to help her. Such a relationship was considered to be like that of brother and sister,
and it became customary in India for men who had received rakhis to risk their lives, if n
ecessary, to help their "sisters" and rescue them from danger.Another legend says that Sa
chi, the consort of the Hindu god Indra, tied such a thread bracelet around the right wrist
of her husband when he was disgraced in battle by the demon forces. Indra fought the de
mons again and was victorious this time. Old, worn-
out rakhis must be discarded in the water of a pool, sacred tank, or river.
Celebrated on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Sravana (July/August), this
festival celebrates the love of a brother for his sister. On this day, sisters tie rakhi on the
wrists of their brothers to protect them against evil influences, and pray for their long life
and happiness. They in turn, give a gift which is a promise that they will protect their
sisters from any harm. Within these Rakhis reside sacred feelings and well wishes. This
festival is mostly celebrated in North India. The history of Rakshabandhan dates back to
Hindu mythology. As per Hindu mythology, in Mahabharata, the great Indian epic,
Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas had torn the corner of her sari to prevent Lord Krishna's
wrist from bleeding (he had inadvertently hurt himself). Thus, a bond, that of brother and
sister developed between them, and he promised to protect her.
It is also a great sacred verse of unity, acting as a symbol of life's advancement and a
leading messenger of togetherness. Raksha means protection, and in some places in
medieval India, where women felt unsafe, they tie Rakhi on the wrist of men, regarding
them as brothers. In this way, Rakhi strengthens the bond of love between brothers and
sisters, and revives the emotional bonding. Brahmins change their sacred thread (janoi)
on this day, and dedicate themselves once again to the study of the scriptures.