Raksha Bandhan celebrates the love between a brother and a sister. This festival strengthens their bond. Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is an extremely popular festival in the Hindu culture. In this festival, the sister ties a rakhi or a sacred thread on the wrists of her brother and he takes a vow to always protect her. The sister also receives a gift from her brother, as a token of love.
This Raksha Bandhan try something different. Don’t just give a gift for the sake of giving. Put some thought and effort into it. Think back and identify what she likes best. Some great gift ideas for your sister are; cosmetics, assorted goodies basket, sports kit, jewellery, gemstones, etc. You can easily buy anything and everything online. From clothing to spiritual shopping, online has it all. From a wide range of supreme quality products to select from, it is a one-click shop.
How did this festival come into existence?
According to the legend, once upon a time, on the day of Sankranti, Lord Krishna cut his little finger while handling a sugarcane. His wife Rukmini saw this and immediately asked the hired help to get some bandages. His other consort, Satyabhama, she herself rushed to look for bandages. All this while, Draupadi, the wife of five Pandavas, was watching this. She simply tore her sari and bandaged Lord Krishna’s finger. Hence, he promised to protect her all times during any distress, in return for her selfless deed.
Another legend says, Yamuna (the river) tied a rakhi to Yama (Lord of death). He gifted her a boon of immortality. Also, when the Yamuna tied the rakhi, Yama was deeply touched and it moved him. Therefore, he declared that whenever a Rakhi is tied on the wrists of a brother and if he fulfils his duties in protecting his sister, he will be blessed with a very long life.
How to celebrate this festival?
This festival is celebrated on the Shravana Purnima day. This day, all the members of the family wake up early. It is important to cleanse your body before anything else. The important part of the celebration includes arranging the pooja thali to perfection. A lot of them even decorate their thali beautifully before arranging all the Pooja Samagri.
You can go online for pooja accessories. This way, you can do your shopping even late at night and in the comfort of your own house. The pooja thali consists of roli, thilak, grains, Rakhi, sweets, incense sticks, akshata, diya, coconut, a glass of water, and flowers.
Vidhi of Raksha Bandhan:
- Everybody must dress up in traditional attire.
- Both the brother and the sister must observe a fast until the Pooja vidhi is completed.
- The pooja thali must be decorated and arranged properly.
- The sister first applies the tilak on her brother’s forehead and does the aarti.
- She then ties the rakhi and feeds her brother sweets and vice versa.
- On this day, people prepare festive delicacies and feast with all the members of the family.
Have a blessed Raksha Bandhan!!