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Raksha
Bhandan
Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection in Hindi) is a
Hindu festival, which celebrates the relationship between
brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on the full moon of the
month of Shraavana.
The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread
by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The brother in
return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her.
The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets.
It is not necessary that the rakhi can be given only to a
brother by birth; any male can be "adopted" as a brother by
tying a rakhi on the person, that is "blood brothers and
sisters", whether they are cousins or a good friend. Indian
history is replete with women asking for protection, through
rakhi, from men who were neither their brothers, nor Hindus
themselves. Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to the
Mughal Emperor Humayun when she was threatened by Bahadur Shah
of Mewar. Humayun abandoned an ongoing military campaign to
ride to her rescue.
A sample of rakhis, tied by sisters on
the wrists of brothers in celebration of Raksha
Bandhan
The rakhi may also be tied on other special occasions to show
solidarity and kinship (not necessarily only among brothers
and sisters), as was done during the Indian independence
movement.
The origin of the festival is mostly attributed to one of
following mythological incidents:
1. Indra's fight with Vritra - Indra, the king of devtas
(gods), had lost his kingdom to the asura (demon) Vritra. At
the behest of his Guru Brihaspati, Indra's wife Sachi[citation
needed] tied a thread around her husband's wrist to ensure his
victory in the upcoming duel.
2. Draupadi and Krishna during the Rajsuya yagya - After
Shishupal's death, Krishna was left with a bleeding finger.
Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, had torn a strip of silk
off her sari and tied it around Krishna's wrist to stop the
flow of blood. Touched by her concern, Krishna had declared
himself bound to her by her love. He further promised to repay
the debt many fold. Many years later when Draupudi was about
to be shamed by being disrobed in front of the whole court by
her evil brother-in-law Duryodhana, she called on Krishna to
help her, and he did by divinely elongating her sari so it
could not be removed. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raksha_Bandhan
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