You are here : home > Indian Culture > Indian Festivals and occassions > The history of Raksha Bandhan"RakshaBandhan"isanIndianfestivalthatcelebratesthesacredrelationshipbetweenbrotherandsister;itisthereaffirmationofarelationshipinwhichabrothermustloveandprotecthissisteraslongashelives.ThefestivaliscelebratedaccordingtotheHinducalendaronthefullmoondayinthemonthofShravana,whichoccurssometimeinJuly-August. LegendhasitthatShravana,apiousanddutifulsonofblindparents,setoutonedaytoalakeinthejungletofillapitcherofwaterforthemastheywerefeelingthirsty.KingDasharatha,LordRamasfatherwasouthuntinginthatveryjungle.Whenheheardthegurglingsoundofthewaterenteringthepitcher,hemistookittobeathirstydeer.Heshotoffanarrowinthatdirection.ThearrowpiercedShravanasheart.ItisbelievedthatShravanadidnothaveasistertotiearakhionhiswristtoprotecthimfromdanger. Accordingtoanotherlegend,Sachi,thewifeofLordIndra,tiedasilkenthreadaroundthewristofherhusbandwhenhewasgoingtofighttheasuras.Heeventuallywonthebattleandattributedittothetyingofthethread,whichhethoughtwasanauspiciousact. OnthedayofRakshaBandhan,everyoneinthehouseisupearlyandgetsdressedinfineclothes.Thepujaroomissweptclean. Apujathaalicontainingwater,rice,flowers,acoconutandrakhisisfirstplacedinfrontoftheGod. Themistressofthehousethenconductsthepujabybathingthedeityandtyingarakhionit.RicefromthethaaliisthenshoweredontheGodandtheritualthusends.Theremainingrakhisinthepujathaaliarethentiedtothemalemembersofthefamily. TocelebrateRakshaBandhan,thesistertiesarakhiontherighthandwristofherbrothertoprotecthimfromallevil.Shethenputsateekaonhisforehead.Withthisrakhi,thesisterbestowsblessingsonherbrotheranditisasymbolofthedeepaffectionbetweenbrotherandsister.AsisthetraditionwithmostHinducustoms,auspiciousoccasionsarenotcompletewithoutplattersofsweets.Thus,afterthesisterappliesteekatoherbrothersforehead,theyfeedeachothersweets.Thebrotheracceptstherakhiwithgraceandlove,andinreturnprovidesthesisterwithhisunstintedsupportandprotection.Hethengivesthesisteralittlegiftasatoken,oftenintheformofmoney. IfRakshaBandhanisaworkingday,thefamilymembersthencarryonwiththeirdailyroutine.Otherwise,thesefestivitiescontinuewithaheartymealandthefamilyspendstherestofthedaytogether.Mengenerallykeeptheirteekaandweartheirrakhistheentireday(someevenforthenextcoupleofdays),asitisamatterofpridetoshowthatoneislovedandcaredforathome. Mostofthelittleboysinthefamilyfeelreallybadiftheydonthavearakhitoshowoff. Rakhiscomeindifferentshapesandsizestosuiteveryonestaste.Thereareflashy,multicolouredrakhistosuitthemoreflamboyantandtheplainandunvarnishedvarietyforthesober.Therearewhiterakhis,bluerakhis,orangeandpinkrakhis,stripedrakhisand….thelistisendless.Rakhistranscendallagebarriers.Aseven-year-oldaswellasaseventy-year-oldsportsarakhiwithpride.RakshaBandhanissuchapopularcustomthatevengirlswhodonothaveabrotherwilladoptonefortheoccasioninordertoforgeabondofloveandprotection.(64555 views)Ilex Ceiselle.6 years agowow a great story behind the celebration of raksha bandhan. I have been coming to India since a long time and I am awre of many Indiuan festivals. I like all the festivals especially the vibrancy of Indian festivals. What i like about Rakhee is that it is a celebrsation of brother and sister love.Twang23.6 years agoRakhee is a festival of loving bond bertween brother and sister. It is a very sweet festival as even though the sister or brother may be far apart yet their love for each other is never dying.Manek Devla.6 years agoRaksha bandhan or Rakhee is widely celebrated in India but i think very few people are aware of its history. Its nice to know the history behind this festival. thank you for making us aware about the history'); //jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').html('');	//jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').css({'top':'15%','left':'30%','border':'1px solid','background':'#FFF'}); //jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').toggle();	}); var cookieName = getCookie("ip_subscribers"); if (cookieName != null && cookieName != "") { //alert(cookieName); var cookie = JSON.parse(cookieName); var i = 0; var j = 0; for (var k in cookie) { j = j + 1; cookie[k].article.cat_name = cookie[k].article.cat_name.replace(/\+/g, " "); //console.log(cookie[k].article.cat_name+' '+escape("Indian Festivals and occassions")); if (escape(cookie[k].article.cat_name) == escape("Indian Festivals and occassions")) { i = i + 1; } } var cookieIsLoggedToIp = getCookie("isLoggedToIp"); console.log(cookieIsLoggedToIp); if (cookieIsLoggedToIp != 'yes') { i = i + 1; } //alert(i); if (i == 0) { //hide popup 28-8-17 //jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').show(); } else { jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').hide(); } } else { //console.log(3); var cookieIsLoggedToIp = getCookie("isLoggedToIp"); console.log(cookieIsLoggedToIp); if (cookieIsLoggedToIp != 'yes') { setTimeout(function() { //jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').show(); }, 15000); } else { jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').hide(); } } jQuery1('#loginrtnmsg9').bind('DOMNodeInserted DOMNodeRemoved', function(event) { if (event.type == 'DOMNodeInserted') { jQuery1('#myformerr').html(jQuery1('#loginrtnmsg9').html()); } }); //lad call var cookieclose_art_lad = getCookie("close_art_lad"); if (cookieclose_art_lad == 'ok') { //do nothing } else { ladlightbox(); } //lad call }); //lad function function closeladbox() { display1(); document.getElementById('lad').style.display = 'none'; } function display1() { var now = new Date(); var time = now.getTime(); var expireTime = time + (3600 * 24 * 1000); now.setTime(expireTime); document.cookie = 'close_art_lad=ok;expires=' + now.toGMTString() + ';path=/'; } function ladlightbox() { var delay = 131000; //2 minute 11 sec setTimeout(function() { //document.getElementById('lad').style.display='block'; enableclose(); autocloseladbox(); //your code to be executed after 2 seconds }, delay); } function enableclose() { //alert(123456); var delay1 = 7000; //7 seconds setTimeout(function() { document.getElementById('closeimg1').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('closeimg2').style.display = 'block'; //closeladbox(); //your code to be executed after 20 seconds }, delay1); } function autocloseladbox() { //auto close after 10 sec	var delay1 = 10000; //10 seconds setTimeout(function() { closeladbox(); //your code to be executed after 10 seconds }, delay1); } //lad function function closeThankyou() { jQuery1('#thankyou').fadeOut(2000); jQuery1('#thankyou').remove(); } function closeSubscriber() { jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').hide(); checkCookie(); jQuery1('#sidFloatDiv').remove(); // new } function storeLoginCookie() { setCookie('isLoggedToIp', 'yes', '365'); } function setCookie(c_name, value, exdays) { var exdate = new Date(); exdate.setDate(exdate.getDate() + exdays); var c_value = escape(value) + ((exdays == null) ? "" : "; expires=" + exdate.toUTCString() + "; path=/"); document.cookie = c_name + "=" + c_value; } function checkCookie() { var cookieName = getCookie("ip_subscribers"); if (cookieName != null && cookieName != "") { //alert(username); var cookie = JSON.parse(cookieName); var i = 0; var j = 0; for (var k in cookie) { j = j + 1; cookie[k].article.cat_name = cookie[k].article.cat_name.replace(/\+/g, " "); //console.log(cookie[k].article.cat_name+' '+escape("Indian Festivals and occassions")); if (escape(cookie[k].article.cat_name) == escape("Indian Festivals and occassions")) { i = i + 1; } } if (i == 0) { cookie.push({ "article": { "cat_name": "Indian Festivals and occassions", "time": "1579404635" } }); setCookie("ip_subscribers", JSON.stringify(cookie), 1); } } else { var cookie = "[{\"article\":{\"cat_name\":\"Indian Festivals and occassions\",\"time\":\"1579404635\"}}]"; setCookie("ip_subscribers", cookie, 1); } } function getCookie(c_name) { var c_value = document.cookie; var c_start = c_value.indexOf(" " + c_name + "="); if (c_start == -1) { c_start = c_value.indexOf(c_name + "="); } if (c_start == -1) { c_value = null; } else { c_start = c_value.indexOf("=", c_start) + 1; var c_end = c_value.indexOf(";", c_start); if (c_end == -1) { c_end = c_value.length; } c_value = unescape(c_value.substring(c_start, c_end)); } return c_value; } function submitSubsForm() { var mailformat = /^\w+([\.-]?\w+)*@\w+([\.-]?\w+)*(\.\w{2,3})+$/; if (document.getElementById('floaterEmail').value.match(mailformat)) { document.getElementById('floaterEmail').focus(); jQuery1('#submitFloatEmail').trigger('click'); } else { document.getElementById('floaterEmail').focus(); } } function submitSubsFormright() { var mailformat = /^\w+([\.-]?\w+)*@\w+([\.-]?\w+)*(\.\w{2,3})+$/; if (document.getElementById('floaterEmailright').value.match(mailformat)) { document.getElementById('floaterEmailright').focus(); //alert('match'); jQuery1('#submitFloatEmailright').trigger('click'); } else { alert('Please Enter a valid Email'); document.getElementById('floaterEmailright').focus(); } } function showThank(what) { if (what == 'resetPass') { txt = 'An email has been sent to your email address.
