Rakshabandhan - The Bond of Love and Protection
Rakshabandhan is a Hindu festival, comprised of 2 sanskrit words “Raksha” meaning “protection” and “Bandhan” meaning “bond”. So, Rakshabandhan literally translates to “a bond to protect”. The festival represents the bond of love and protection between a brother and a sister.
On this day, sisters tie a Rakhi (Raksha Sutra) on the wrist of their brother as the symbol of their love. The brothers, in return, are bound to protect them from the evils of the world.
Rakshabandhan is celebrated on the eve of Poornima in the lunar month of Sharvan (Savan) as per the Hindu Calendar. This year, the festival of Raksha Bandhan will be observed on 11 August as per the Gregorian Calendar.
In the present times, the festival of Rakshabandhan is representative of siblinghood, it did not started as such. There are a lot of stories related to this festival, regarding its origin, changes and widespread acceptance. Some of which are :-
The First Raksha Sutra
The most fundamental ritual associated with the festival of Raksha Bandhan, is the tying of Rakhi. It was known as Raksh Sutra in the ancient times. In the beginning the “Raksha Sutra” was considered a blessing, that is meant to protect the person it was tied to, quite unlike the present times.
The first Raksha Sutra was tied by a wife on the wrist of her husband. There is an interesting story behind the origin of the tradition of “tying of Rakhi”.
According to the ancient legend of Bhavishya Purana, once a great battle ensued between the Gods and the Demons. Lord Indra, the king of all deities was fighting a battle with demon king, Bali and was facing tough resistance. The war continued for a very long time and didn’t came to a decisive end.
Seeing this, Indra’s wife Sachi went to Lord Vishnu seeking help. Lord Vishnu gave her a holy bracelet made up of cotton thread. Sachi tied the holy thread around the wrist of her husband, Lord Indra and with the blessing and protection of Lord Vishnu, Indra finally managed to defeat the demons.
That cotton thread bracelet was the first Raksha Sutra. These cotton threads were later used as amulets for prayer by women. Subsequently, those amulets were tied to their husbands, when they left for war. Unlike, the present times, those holy threads were not limited to brother-sister relationships.
The First Change
As, we are now aware, that the festival of Raksha Bandhan does not originate as we know it in the present times. There has been various changes and adaptation that were made and accepted, that led to the modern tradition of today.
As per an account of Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, Lord Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali. After the battle, King Bali requested Lord Vishnu to stay by his side in the palace, to which he agreed and started to live with the King at this palace.
However, Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Lord Vishnu wanted her husband to return to his native place of Vaikuntha. So, she tied the Rakhi around the wrist of the King Bali and made him her brother. On asking about the return gift, Goddess Lakshmi asked Bali to free her husband from the vow and let him return to Vaikuntha. Bali agreed to the request and Lord Vishnu returned to his place with his wife, Goddess Lakshmi.
The Widespread Acceptance
Rakshabandhan Pooja
The Pooja rituals on Rakshabandhan widely differs from the other festivals and no moorti pooja is usually done during the festival rituals. Instead, the drawings of various auspicious symbols are worshiped on this day. These drawings of auspicious symbols are referred to as Soouns.
Making the Soouns
“Soouns” refer to pictures, simple or intricate, representing auspicious symbols believed to protect us from evil energy and welcome good forces and guardian spirits in the house – reflecting the very soul of Raksha Bandhan.
In Hinduism, these auspicious symbols can consititute the Swastik, the Sun God, Ram Ram etc. amongst many others.
The “Soouns” that are worshiped are traditionally hand drawn on the walls of the homes. The process of drawing these Soouns is known as “Maandana” which is a custom native to the state of Rajasthan. Although the process of “Maandana” has been taken over by pre-printed pictures all over the country, the people of Rajasthan still follow the traditional practice in the most authentic manner.
However, when you come to the cities, there is a visible contrast. Here, cow dung is absent and so is direct engraving. Instead, paper steps in for the canvas and geru for the ink. Sooun drawings are made on these papers with a red colored powder called geru and these pictures papers are then stuck on the walls and entrances.
Besides the hand painted ones, today, one can also find ready made soouns easily in the market.
Sooun Pooja - Sooun Jimana
Guess who gets precedence over the brothers on the day of the festival? It’s them – the soouns! Similar to the Hindu belief of offering prayers to Lord Ganesha for good luck before the start of any auspicious activity, sooun jimana or the sooun pooja, done prior to rakhi tying ceremony, is considered as act of good luck and prosperity. As part of sooun jimana, the soouns are offered jaggery or any other sweet along with roli, chawal, the red sacred threat – mouli, drops of water coupled with wishes for a happy and prosperous life for the entire family.
Rakshabandhan Celebration
Rakshabandhan - Rakhi Tying Vidhi
- The tilak must be applied to the forehead, followed by the akshat.
- The brother may then cover the crown of his head with a piece of cloth.
- Then a whole coconut with its husk must be given as a present to the brother.
- The sister then secure the Rakhi.
- Subsequently, a sweet preparation must be offered to the brother, and in the end the sister must do aarti to remove all the negatives.