The Story of Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon of the month of Shravan. Traditionally, a sister prepares a plate with roli, rice, a lamp and sweets, marks her brother's forehead with tilak, does his aarti and ties a rakhi on his wrist. The brother promises to protect her and gives her a gift. In many homes the family priest also ties a raksha sutra on the wrists of the household, and Shravani Upakarma is performed on this day too.

A katha in the Bhavishya Puran tells that once the devas and asuras fought a long war, and the devas began to lose. Indra, king of the devas, went worried to his guru Brihaspati. Then Indra's wife Shachi, also called Indrani, said she would find a way.

On Shravan Purnima, Brihaspati prepared a protective thread with sacred mantras. Indrani tied it on Indra's right wrist. The katha says Indra then fought with new courage and the devas won. From then on, the custom of tying a raksha sutra on this day began.

Another popular katha is about King Bali. In his Vaman avatar, Bhagwan Vishnu asked Bali for three steps of land and made him king of Patal, the underworld. Pleased by Bali's devotion, Vishnu stayed there as his doorkeeper. Vaikunth, Vishnu's home, lay empty.

Then Devi Lakshmi went to Bali in the form of an ordinary woman, tied a protective thread on his wrist on Shravan Purnima and made him her brother. Bali asked his new sister what gift she wanted. Lakshmi asked for her husband back, and Bali gladly let Vishnu go. The story of Shri Krishna and the strip of cloth from Draupadi's sari is also dearly loved in folk tradition.