Thursday

Raksha Bandhan - the bond of love

Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of the love and trust between brother and sister. When the sister ties rakhi on the right wrist of her brother she prays for her brothers safety and prosperity at all times and in return the brother vows to protect his sister at all times.



I was told two stories by two ppl today (on Raksha Bandhan day). Both - felt right


‎Story 1


Draupadi once tore a strip of silk from her sari and tied it to Lord Krishna's bleeding wrist, he was touched by her gesture and declared Draupadi as his sister.

Years later Lord Krishna helped Draupadi in protecting her honour. Thus, a small strip of silk became that raakhi which Hindus started following as Raksha Bandhan.

Its a brothers vow *to respect & protect his sister/s*


Story 2
The essence and spirit of Rakshabandhan - or the secret if you will, is that when a sister ties the thread on her brother’s wrist, it is a gesture of her saying to him “I will protect you at all times”. So it is the sisters who pray and wish for the protection and well-being of their brothers. This is what Rakshabandhan truly means. 

A woman is often considered as weak and fragile, how can she hence, protect a man and give him moral strength and support?

Women possess a very unique power within themselves – the Sankalpa-Shakti (the power of will and determination) - it is this will power and inner strength that helped Savitri get her husband Satyavan back from Lord of Death.

Inner strength implies -the power of intellect and also the strength of will and emotions. A woman possesses the unique and beautiful combination of both these. Hence some say, that on the day of Raksha Bandhan, it is the ladies who take a vow to protect the men (by tying a sacred thread on the wrist of the brother).


Each of them stories, resonates. Afterall it is about smiles, laughter, silliness, spats, arguments, jokes, pokes, tears, hugs... between a brother and a sister ...  *the* bond of love

6 comments:

melinda said...

Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival, and has many myths and historic legends linked to it. For example, the Rajput queens practiced the custom of sending rakhi threads to neighbouring rulers as token of brotherhood. For being safegaurded in an eventuality.

Shweta said...

Did you know the word Raksha Bandhan in Sanskrit means "the tie or knot of protection"

Rajj said...

Yeh din bahut hi khaas hain
Behna ke liye kuch mere pas hai Tere sukoon ki khaatir o behna.. Tera bhaiya humesha tere sath hai

sheila said...

The beauty about our festivals is there are so many stories surrounding them. Wondering how many parents know these and in turn pass them onto the kids who are doggedly into their gaming consoles or phones:)

ashish said...

On some festivals like KarvaChauth and Deepavali we have panditji who comes home and narrates the story/prayers- so we all gain more knowledge. I didn't know about the Krishna Draupadi story (only knew about the help she seeks from him- didn't know the preceding story)- so thanks a bunch for sharing this.

gita said...

As many folklores as there may be, as many stories as we may hear, I love this festival for its most basic truth. Loving, protecting siblings is our inherent value system. What more does it need to qualify as tops?:)