Pages

Friday, August 12, 2011

WHAT DOES 'RAKSHA BANDHAN' MEAN ..


The name  'Raksha Bandhan'  suggests 'a bond of protection'. On this auspicious day, brothers make a promise to their sisters to protect them from all harms and troubles and the sisters prays to God to protect their brother from all evil. The festival falls on the Shravan Purnima which comes generally in the month of August. Sisters tie the silk thread called ' Rakhi ' on their brother's wrist .
Raksha Bandhan celebration is the festival to express the immaculate love between brothers and sisters. Raksha Bandhan is also a day to celebrate the sacred relation of a brother and
a sister.
Around mid-August, Hindus all over the world celebrate Raksha bandhan. The words "Raksha" means protection, and "bandhan" means bound or binding. It is so good to have a brother or sister, the ones  don't realize how lucky they are.  Sure,  brother and sister may  fight a lot, but to know that there's always somebody there, somebody that's family. Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet, is a 
cute quote.
There are historical evidences of Raksha Bandhan celebration from the Indian history. 
Rani Karnawati and Emperor Humayun, read on .
The story of Rani Karnavati and Emperor Humayun is the most significant evidence in the history. During the medieval era, Rajputs were fighting Muslim invasions. Rakhi at that time meant a spiritual binding and protection of sisters was foremost. When Rani Karnawati the widowed queen of the king of Chittor realised that she could in no way  defend the invasion of the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayun. The Emperor touched by the gesture started off with his troops without wasting any time…
Lord Krishna killed the evil King Shishupal  to protect the good people.  Krishna was hurt during the war and left with bleeding finger. Seeing this, Draupati had torn a strip of cloth from her sari and tied around his wrist to stop the bleeding. Lord Krishna, realizing her affections and concern for him, declared himself bounded by her sisterly love. He promised her to repay this debt whenever she need in future. Many years later, when the pandavas lost Draupathi in the game of dice and Kauravas were removing her sari, Krishna helped her divinely elongating the sari,  so that they could not remove it…
The practice of tying the  thread was prevalent among the Rajputs and our history is full of instances related to the significance of this tradition
At the time of war when the brave Rajput soldiers prepared to go to the battlefield, the women folk followed this  ritual of tying a thread around their wrist .
The rich Indian mythology provides a religious reason to celebrate the day in a specific way.
Many epics are related to the day and the origin of Raksha Bandhan.

No comments:

Post a Comment