The Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, or “the bond of protection” is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan, the fifth month of the Hindu calendar.
This year Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 10. It is said that when Hindu deities went to war with demons, Sachi, the wife of Indra, who is the head of the pantheon of Hindu gods, tied a sacred string on her husband’s wrist and consequently the gods triumphed in the ferocious battle.
Another legend goes that once Vishnu sent Airavat, his beloved elephant, on an errand to fetch a few lotus flowers. Just as the elephant was about to come out of the water after gathering the flowers in its trunk, a crocodile caught its leg. A fierce and lengthy tug-of-war ensued. When the elephant finally became exhausted and started panicking, it made an offering of the lotus flowers to Lord Vishnu and prayed for help. Thus manifested the mighty God and protected the elephant from the hostile crocodile.
This festival is also known as Slono, which in Persian means “the new year’s day”. On this day in contemporary India, sisters tie rakhi on their brothers’ wrists with the belief that the sacred thread will protect them from all kinds of dangers and mishaps.
When Alexander invaded ancient India, he sent his sister Helen to the court of Porus, the most illustrious Indian king of the time, and she tied a rakhi on Porus’ wrist, extracting a promise for protection from the morally upright king. In the brutal fight that followed, Alexander was taken captive by Porus’ army, but was eventually released unharmed in the light of the Hindu king’s promise to his Greek sister.
Similarly, when a Hindu queen sent a rakhi to Humayun, he honoured the sanctified string and went ahead to safeguard her from her enemy.
This is the day that Hindu brahmins (traditionally the priest class) change their janeyu (consecrated thread tied across their torso). In Maharashtra, people submerge coconuts in the sea as offering to the gods; hence the day is also called naariyali purnima. It is also generally considered auspicious to start any new endeavour by breaking coconut. The Parsis also offer coconuts. When a sister ties a rakhi on to her brother’s wrist, he promises to always protect her.
Sant Rajinder Singhji, head of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, works towards promoting inner and outer peace.
He can be contacted at www.sos.org
