RAKSHABANDHAN- ETERNAL LOVE OF SISTER AND BROTHER RELATIONSHIP
In India we celebrate many festivals, each festival has its significance and a story about them. After ashadam, shravanam is considered to be an auspicious month for marriages and festivals. The season starts with the Raksha Bandhan festival which is celebrated in India and countries like Nepal to symbolize the love between a brother and a sister. It falls on the full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar in the month of Shravan which falls in the August month of the Gregorian calendar. As we discussed earlier, every festival has a reason to proclaim. We all know Raksha Bandhan symbolizes the eternal love of the brother-sister relationship which does not mean just the blood relationship only. it is also prominent among cousins, bhabhi – devar, bua and bhatija, and other such relations.
Few Mythical stories associated with Rakshabandhan:
Krishna and Draupadi
According to Mahabharata, on one occasion Krishna sniped his finger, on seeing this Draupadi who was present there tore off a part from her saree to tie on his finger. Touched by this action, Lord Krishna said ‘ Akshyam’ which meant “may be unending’. During ‘Vastraharan ‘, her saree became endless and saved her from embarrassment from being disrobed in front of everyone present on Drishtrastra’s court.
Bali and Lakshmi
According to Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, when Lord Vishnu won the 3 worlds from the demon king Bali, he was asked by the demon king to stay beside him in the palace. Lord Vishnu accepted Bali’s request, however, it didn’t go down well with Goddess Lakshmi. She went to Bali in disguise and tied a Rakhi on his wrist. When Bali asked Goddess Lakshmi about what she wanted in return as a gift, she asked to free her husband from his request to stay with him in his palace. Bali kept his promise to his now-sister Lakshmi.
Humayun and Rani Parvathi.
Rani k Parvathi who is the widowed queen of King chitttor realized that she could not protect her land from invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadhur shah, she sent a Rakhi to Humayun asking for his help. In return , he set off immediately but then the Sultan had already conquered Fortress But he made her son Vikramjit to the throne. After learning about all these stories, this festival has not only had a legendary history but also is more than a ritual of trying rakhi which has got sacred value. It is about keeping promises.
It is about safeguarding your sisters and blessing brothers with good health and successful life.its all about brotherly love and this festival restores the faith in relation ships. The best way to celebrate this festival is in an eco-friendly manner. Use hand-made cotton rakhi with beautiful artifacts and stone glitters and say no to synthetic materials, by minimizing the non-biodegradable remains of plastic rakhis and replacing them with rakhis made of biodegradable materials.
