We all know that in the Shravan month of every year, there comes a festival i.e. Raksha Bandhan after 11 days of Hariyali Teej. The festival has great significance in the Hindu culture in India and over the world. But do we even know how did the celebration of this festival get initiated? Who was the first person who tied rakhi? Let us read this article till last and know the history and all ifs and buts about Raksha Bandhan.
Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan month as per the Hindu calendar. It is the festival of love in brothers and sisters. On this day, sisters tie rakhi on their brothers’ wrists to secure them against evil and even pray for their long life and happiness. In return, brothers give gifts to their sisters and say a promise that they will protect their sisters from getting harm. It is celebrated not only amongst Hindus in India but even people following Jainism and Sikhism celebrate it in Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Mauritius.
The origination of the festival was centuries ago and there are so many stories associated.
Indra Dev and Sachi
According to Bhavishya Purana, once a fierce battle took place among gods and demons where Lord Indra (deity of rain) was fighting against the powerful fiend king Bali. The war continued constantly for several years and no final decision was visible. To this, Sachi, the wife of Lord Indra, asked for help from Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu gave Sachi a holy bracelet-like thing made up of threads that she tied on the wrist of her husband, Indra. Lord Indra was then able to win the fight over evils and recovered Amravati. After this incident, this sort of thread was used by women who tied this on the hand of their husbands leaving for war.
Goddess Laxmi and King Bali
When Lord Vishnu was successfully able to win the three loks i.e. Trilok from the evil king Bali, Lord was asked the demon to stay in the palace beside him. God Vishnu accepted the urge of the demon king and they started living together at the same place. But when Goddess Laxmi, wife of Lord Vishnu, wanted to come back to Vaikuntha Dham, she tied the rakhi to the wrist of the demon king and made him her brother and when Bali asked her for a gift, she spelled out her wish to set her husband free from his vow of living with the lord. Bali agreed to this and set Lord Vishnu free and returned from Vaikuntha.
Krishna and Draupadi
According to Hindu mythology, Draupadi who was the wife of 5 Pandava brothers (Yudhishtir, Bheem, Arjun, Nakul, and Sahdev) once tied a piece of cloth tearing from her own saree to the wounded hand of lord Krishna that was bleeding badly. This developed a bond of brother-sister among Draupadi and Krishna. Krishna to this incident promised Draupadi to come and help her when she will be in dire need.
Yama and Yamuna
We all know Yamraj is a death Lord, there was a time when he was unable to visit his sister the Yamuna even once in 12 years and becomes sad. At the suggestion of Ganga, he decided to visit his sister and to which the Yamuna got excited and happy and begun planning for his welcome. Seeing the efforts and love shown by his sister, Yama asked the Yamuna to demand any gift she wants, so the Yamuna wished to see him again and again. This also led to the rise of another festival similar to Raksha Bandhan i.e. Bhai Dooj.
Santoshi Maa
Once the two sons of Lord Ganesha became upset as they were not having any sisters. They asked their father to get them a sister and Lord Ganesha agreed to their request after the appearance of Lord Narada Muni. This led to the creation of the daughter of Lord Ganesha and the sister of Shubh and Labha named Santoshi Maa. This made the two sons happy that they have their sisters by their side for the Raksha Bandhan.
