Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is held on the Purnima of Shravan. Because the bright fortnight belongs to the same month in both Amanta and Purnimanta calendars, the name and date are the same across India.

The timing within the day matters. Panchangs advise avoiding Bhadra, the inauspicious half of a tithi (Vishti karana), which often covers the first part of Purnima. Rakhi is ideally tied in Aparahna, the late afternoon portion of the day; if that is not available, Pradosh, the period after sunset, is acceptable. The Bhavishya Purana itself describes the protective bundles being prepared 'at the time of Aparahna' after the morning bath and offerings. When Bhadra lasts through the day, families wait until it ends, and local panchangs publish the exact window.

The oldest written account is in the Bhavishya Purana (Uttara Parva, chapter 137), where Krishna explains the rite to Yudhishthira. In an ancient war between the gods and the demons, Shachi (Indrani) tied a protective raksha on her husband Indra, and by its power the mighty demon-king was defeated. Krishna then describes the ceremony: on Shravana Purnima, after bathing and offerings to gods, ancestors and sages, little bundles of rice, mustard seeds and gold are wrapped in cloth, and the family priest ties the raksha on the king's wrist with a mantra. The text says it should be performed by people of every class, and promises victory, happiness, health and prosperity for the year. In this original form, the thread is a blessing of protection, not limited to brother and sister.

Popular tradition adds many other stories. One tells that when Vishnu went to guard King Bali's gate in the netherworld, Lakshmi tied a rakhi on Bali, called him brother and asked for her husband's return. Another says that when Krishna cut his finger, Draupadi tore her sari to bind it, and Krishna repaid the bond by protecting her honour in the Kaurava court. A well-known legend about Rani Karnavati of Chittor sending a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun is often told, though historians doubt its accuracy.

In 1905, Rabindranath Tagore called on Hindus and Muslims in Bengal to tie rakhis to each other as a sign of unity against the British partition of the province, giving the festival a wider civic meaning.

Family customs vary. A common sequence:

This verse from the Bhavishya Purana is recited as the thread is tied. It invokes the protective power that bound King Bali, the mighty lord of the danavas, and asks the raksha to hold firm.

There is no prescribed fast for Raksha Bandhan, but many sisters keep a light fast until they have tied the rakhi and eat only after the ceremony. The full moon of Shravan is itself a holy day: people bathe in rivers, give charity, and in many regions offer tarpan to the sages. Families in mourning may skip the festival that year according to local custom.

Shravana Purnima carries many observances. In the South and among Vedic communities elsewhere it is Upakarma (Avani Avittam in Tamil Nadu and Kerala), when men who wear the sacred thread renew it and begin the year's Vedic study with offerings to the rishis. On Maharashtra's and Goa's coast it is Narali Purnima: fishing communities offer coconuts to the sea to mark the end of the monsoon storms before boats go out again. In parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh it is Kajari Purnima, linked to sowing and women's songs. In Odisha it is Gamha Purnima, honouring cattle, and in Bengal and the Braj region the day closes the Jhulan festival of Radha and Krishna's swing. In Nepal it is Janai Purnima, when a protective thread is tied by priests. Some parts of Gujarat also call it Balev.

Sweets are central: ghevar in Rajasthan and the north, kaju katli, barfi, laddoos and coconut barfi, and narali bhaat (sweet coconut rice) on Narali Purnima. Rakhis range from simple red and yellow threads (mauli) to beaded and silver designs; children often get rakhis with cartoon figures. Sisters who live far away post rakhis weeks ahead, and many tie rakhis on soldiers, police, neighbours and trees as a gesture of care. Bhabhi rakhi (lumba) for a brother's wife is popular in Rajasthan and among Marwari families.

The festival honours a simple promise: that we will look after each other. It began as a protective thread blessed by a priest and has become one of the most loved celebrations of sibling affection, cousins, adopted brothers and sisters, and friends included. Many families now see the protection as mutual, with sisters equally pledging to stand by their brothers and sisters tying rakhis to each other. Tagore's use of the rakhi to unite Bengal reminds us that the thread can also bind neighbours of different faiths.