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Raksha Bandhan is a festival which celebrates the bond of a brother and sister. This festival is celebrated in the Hindu religion. It is one of their most important festivals. In addition, sisters and brothers wait eagerly for it all round the year. People celebrate it with abundant zeal and enthusiasm in India.

Similarly, it does not matter if you are a kid or an adult. Brothers and sisters of all ages celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Furthermore, it strengthens the bond between them as well. ‘Raksha’ translates to the protection and ‘Bandhan’ translates to bond. Thus, this explains the meaning of this festival.

Importance of Raksha Bandhan

As we all know, siblings carry a special place in our hearts. However, the particular bond of a brother and sister is very unique. The care they have for each other knows no bounds. The love they share is beyond compare.

No matter how much they fight with one another, they always stand behind them in support. Brothers and sisters fight with each other over trivial matters. In other words, they share a bond which is full of teasing and love.

Brothers and sisters help us grow. At every stage of our lives, the bond between them grows stronger. They stand with each other through thick and thin. The elder brothers are very protective of their sisters. Similarly, elder sisters care a lot for their younger brothers. The younger ones look up to their elder siblings.

Raksha Bandhan is all about celebrating this bond. It is a symbolism of the unique and special relationship shared by the two. This day has been rightly recognized to have a good time and focus on this beautiful bond.

Occasion of Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is a time for pampering for the sisters. On this auspicious occasion, the sisters tie a sacred thread i.e. rakhi, on their brother’s wrist. It is done so with the intent to wish good health and long life.

On the other hand, the brothers, in turn, bless their sisters and pledge to protect them and care for them all their lives. The sisters receive a lot of love and pampering on this day. It is in the form of chocolates, gifts, money, dresses and more.

The bonding between a brother and a sister is simply unique and is beyond description in words. The relationship between siblings is extraordinary and is given importance in every part of the world. However, when it comes to India, the relationship becomes all the more important as there is a festival called "Raksha Bandhan" dedicated for the sibling love.

This is a special Hindu festival which is celebrated in India and countries like Nepal to symbolize the love between a brother and a sister. The occasion of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar in the month of Shravana which typically falls in the August month of Gregorian calendar.

Meaning of Raksha Bandhan

The festival is made up of two words, namely "Raksha" and "Bandhan." As per the Sanskrit terminology, the occasion means "the tie or knot of protection" where "Raksha" stands for the protection and "Bandhan" signifies the verb to tie. Together, the festival symbolizes the eternal love of brother-sister relationship which does not mean just the blood relationships only. It is also celebrated among cousins, sister and sister-in-law (Bhabhi), fraternal aunt (Bua) and nephew (Bhatija) and other such relations.

Importance of Raksha Bandhan among various religions in India

• Hinduism- The festival is mainly celebrated by the Hindus in the northern and western parts of India along with countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Mauritius.
• Jainism- The occasion is also revered by the Jain community where Jain priests give ceremonial threads to the devotees.
• Sikhism- This festival devoted to the brother-sister love is observed by the Sikhs as "Rakhardi" or Rakhari.
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Origin of Raksha Bandhan Festival

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is known to have originated centuries before and there are several stories related to the celebration of this special festival. Some of the various accounts related to the Hindu mythology are described below:

• Indra Dev and Sachi- According to the ancient legend of Bhavishya Purana, once there was a fierce battle between Gods and demons. Lord Indra- the principle deity of sky, rains and thunderbolts who was fighting the battle on the side of Gods was having a tough resistance from the powerful demon King, Bali. The war continued for a long time and did not came on a decisive end. Seeing this, Indra's wife Sachi went to the Lord Vishnu who gave her a holy bracelet made up of cotton thread. Sachi tied the holy thread around the wrist of her husband, Lord Indra who ultimately defeated the demons and recovered the Amaravati. The earlier account of the festival described these holy threads to be amulets which were used by women for prayers and were tied to their husband when they were leaving for a war. Unlike, the present times, those holy threads were not limited to brother-sister relationships.
• King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi- As per an account of Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, when Lord Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali, he asked by the demon king to stay beside him in the palace. The Lord accepted the requested and started living with the demon king. However, Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Lord Vishnu wanted to return to his native place of Vaikuntha. So, she tied the rakhi around the wrist of demon king, Bali and made him a 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.
• Santoshi Maa- It is said that the two sons of Lord Ganesha namely, Shubh and Labh were frustrated that they had no sister. They asked for a sister from their father who finally obliged to their sister on the intervention of saint Narada. This is how Lord Ganesha created Santoshi Maa through the divine flames and the two sons of Lord Ganesha got their sister for the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
• Krishna and Draupadi- Based on an account of Mahabharat, Draupadi, wife of Pandavas tied a rakhi to Lord Krishna while Kunti tied the rakhi to grandson Abhimanyu before the epic war.

Reason for the celebration of this festival

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is observed as a symbol of duty between brothers and sisters. The occasion is meant to celebrate any type of brother-sister relationship between men and women who may not be biologically related.

On this day, a sister ties a rakhi around the wrist of her brother in order to pray for his prosperity, health and well-being. The brother in return offers a gifts and promises to protect his sister from any harm and under every circumstance. The festival is also celebrated between brother-sister belonging to distant family members, relatives or cousins.