Rakhi – A festival of brother and sister
Rakhi, also called Raksha Bandhan, is a brother and sister festival where both of them bestow undying love and care on each other. In this festival, the sister ties a sacred thread on her brother’s wrist. The thread is embellished with a sister’s love and care for her brother. The brother in return promises to always protect her and be with her sister in her problems. The festival is celebrated on a full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravana in India.
Preparations begin many days before the festival. The sisters buy gifts, puja thali, beautiful and eclectic bundles of vermilion and rice, holy cards with the name of God written on them, and the integral element of this festival: Rakhi, which is delicacy. The brothers also buy sweets and gifts for their sister.
On the eve of the Rakhi festival, the sisters pasted the holy cards on both sides of their front door. A large holy card with a particular ritual design is pasted on the wall of the house temple. The number and position of the cards is individually diverse.
At night, cards are worshiped with a sweet dish of noodles and red sacred thread. Basically, it is considered, the cards are being fed.
The day of the celebration begins with rituals by the brother and sister who are well dressed for the occasion. They adore the holy cards that were pasted the day before. For this, the red sacred thread of the noodles is used. After this, the sister ties Rakhi on her brother’s wrist with a rice and vermilion tika on her forehead. She repeats the same procedure with her sister-in-law, her nephew and her niece. She serves everyone sweets. In return, the brother not only gives her valuables as a souvenir of her, but also promises to always be by her side, especially in her troubles.
The emotion of love in the eyes of both is palpable for all those present. This is such a sublime festival that it results in a memorable family gathering. The beauty of this sacred thread, Rakhi, is that it not only strengthens the bond between true brother and sister, but also fills any boy’s heart with sisterhood for any girl who ties Rakhi on her wrist. For the aforementioned excitement, I would like to succinctly summarize a well-known fact.
In the famous epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna saved the esteem of his so-called sister Draupadi from her brother-in-law, who was trying to rip her sari in front of his crowded clan. Draupadi once tied a piece of cloth on Lord Krishna’s wrist as Rakhi. To maintain the respect of that relationship, Lord Krishna miraculously saved Draupadi’s esteem. The incident makes clear the image of the unbreakable bond between brother and sister for decades.