RAKHI

August 17, 2008

jai shri krishna,

I am a member of this group and feeling very happy to join this

group. I want to share this mail with all the members of this group.

this mail is about the Festival of Rakhi..

Raksha Bandhan in History

Rani Karnawati and Emperor Humayun

During the medieval era, Rajputs were fighting Muslim invasions.

Rakhi at that time meant a spiritual binding and protection of

sisters was foremost. A famous incident relates how rakhi by then

had broken the religious barriers.

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.

Alexander The Great and King Puru

The oldest reference to the festival of rakhi goes back to 300 B.C.

at the time when Alexander invaded India. It is said that the great

conqueror, King Alexander of Macedonia was shaken by the fury of the

Indian king Puru in his first attempt. Upset by this, Alexander's

wife, who had heard of the Rakhi festival, approached King Puru.

King Puru accepted her as his sister and when the opportunity came

during the war, he refrained from Alexander.

The Legends of Rakhi

Origin

The Shravana or the monsoon month carries all hues and shades of

nature and emotions. Religiously speaking Shravan is a pious month

and full moon of this all-important month is considered to be a very

holy day. It is celebrated in different ways for different reasons

almost throughout the country.

For the siblings it is the eternal tie of love, for Brahmins the day

to take the pledge of Brahmanik rites and for those who depend sea

and monsoon, it is the beginning of the new season.

Indian festivals are based on the weather changes and their

significance in the lives of people but they do have a story to

support the celebrations. 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. The

festival finds a mention in most of the epics and its origin can be

traced back to the mythological Pouranik times.

The legend in the Bhavishya Puran

The legend refers to a war between the Gods and the Demons. The

demon King Brutra was advancing and the Gods lead by lord Indra,

were on verge of defeat. The king of Gods, Indra approached Guru

Brihaspati to find a solution to the situation. Brihaspati asked

Indra to tie a sacred thread on his wrist, powered by the sacred

mantras on the Shravan Purnima. Lord Indra's Queen Sachi also called

Indrani, empowered the thread and tied it on to his hand on the

decided day. The power of the sacred thread called Raksha helped the

Gods to victory.

The tradition of thread tying still continues. It is a gesture of

goodwill.

The legend of King Bali and Goddess Laxmi

According to another legend Demon King Bali was a great devotee of

Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom

leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Laxmi wished to be with

her lord back in her abode. She went to Bali disguised as a Brahmin

woman to seek refuge till her husband came back.

During the Shravan Purnima celebrations, Laxmiji tied the sacred

thread to the King. Upon being asked she revealed who she was and

why she was there. The king was touched by her goodwill for his

family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He

sacrificed all he had for the Lord and his devoted wife.

Thus the festival is also called Baleva that is Bali Raja's devotion

to the Lord.It is said that since then it has been a tradition to

invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony or

the Raksha Bandhan

Yama and the Yamuna

It is said that the Raksha Bandhan was a ritual followed by Lord

Yama (the Lord of Death) and his sister Yamuna. Yamuna tied rakhi to

Yama and bestowed immortality. Yama was so moved by the serenity of

the occasion that he declared thar whoever gets a rakhi tied from

his sister and promised her protection will become immortal.

In the Epics

Raksha Bandhan finds a mention in Mahabharata when Lord Krishna

advised Yudhishthir to perform the ceremony to protect himself and

the army from the dangers of the war. It is said that Kunti, the

mother of the Pandavas tied rakhi to her grandson Abhimanyu and

Draupadi to lord Krishna.

Meaning & Significance of Raksha Bandhan

The Festival

The relationships are the essence of celebration. This holds true

for any Indian festival. Each festival brings the families together.

That mere togetherness is celebration. It calls for a total festive

environment. The celebration of one such relationship is Raksha

Bandhan; the celebration of brother sister relationship. The sibling

relationship is nowhere so celebrated as in India. The brother

sister relationship is no where so worshiped as here. It is this

affection and love that is celebrated on the Raksha Bandhan.

Raksha Bandhan is a festival celebrating the bond of affection

between brothers and sisters. The day when the siblings pray for

each others' well being and wish for each others' happiness and

goodwill. As the name 'Raksha Bandhan' suggests, 'a bond of

protection', Raksha Bandhan is a pledge from brothers to protect the

sister from all harms and troubles and a prayer from the sister to

protect the brother from all evil.

The festival falls on the Shravan Purnima (full moon day of shravan

month) which comes generally in the month of August. The sisters tie

the silk thread called rakhi on their brother's wrist and pray for

their well being and brothers promise to take care of their sisters.

The festival is unique to India creates a feeling of belongingness

and oneness amongst the family.

The Significance

Though now it is considered as a brother and sister festival, it was

not always so. There have been examples in history where in rakhi

has just been a raksha or protection. It could be tied by wife, a

daughter or mother. The Rishis tied rakhi to the people who came

seeking their blessings. The sages tied the sacred thread to

themselves to safe guard them from the evil. It is by all means

the 'Papa Todak, Punya Pradayak Parva' or the day that bestows boons

and end all sins as it is mentioned in the scriptures.

Rakhi for many centuries encompassed the warmth shared between the

siblings but now it goes way beyond it. Some tie rakhi to neighbors

and close friends signifying a peaceful co-existence of every

individual. Congregations like Rakhi Utsavs, popularized by

Rabindranath Tagore, promote the feeling of unity and a commitment

to all members of society to protect each other and encourage a

harmonious Social life.

The day has a deeper perspective in today's scenario. The occasion

holds for a life long pledge to practice moral, spiritual and

cultural values. The values and the sentiments attached to the

rituals of this festival are worth inculcating by the whole human

race, the sentiments of harmony and peaceful coexistence.

Raksha Bandhan assumes all forms of Raksha or protection, of

righteousness and destroyer of all sin. The rakhi tying ritual has

become so much a part of the families that come what may brothers

and sisters try to reach out to each other on this particular day

bringing back the oneness of the family, binding the family together

in an emotional bond.

wish you all happy rakshabandhan,

regards,

veena

August 17, 2008

Happy Raksha bandhan to Veena for an excellent article and hope you

would bring such articles on all the festivals and at some stage bring out

in one book of Hindu festivals with spiritual,cultural,historical,social,

economical,moral,educational signification in uniting all Hindus for

one Hindu and one Hindu for all Hindus as sons and daughters of Bharat mata

mother of us all.

vandemataram-vandebharatmataram.

with best wishes.

Dr.S.Sharma

From: veenamoondraDate: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:03:16 +0000 RAKHI

jai shri krishna,I am a member of this group and feeling very happy to join this group. I want to share this mail with all the members of this group. this mail is about the Festival of Rakhi..Raksha Bandhan in History Rani Karnawati and Emperor HumayunDuring the medieval era, Rajputs were fighting Muslim invasions. Rakhi at that time meant a spiritual binding and protection of sisters was foremost. A famous incident relates how rakhi by then had broken the religious barriers. 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. Alexander The Great and King PuruThe oldest reference to the festival of rakhi goes back to 300 B.C. at the time when Alexander invaded India. It is said that the great conqueror, King Alexander of Macedonia was shaken by the fury of the Indian king Puru in his first attempt. Upset by this, Alexander's wife, who had heard of the Rakhi festival, approached King Puru. King Puru accepted her as his sister and when the opportunity came during the war, he refrained from Alexander. The Legends of RakhiOrigin The Shravana or the monsoon month carries all hues and shades of nature and emotions. Religiously speaking Shravan is a pious month and full moon of this all-important month is considered to be a very holy day. It is celebrated in different ways for different reasons almost throughout the country. For the siblings it is the eternal tie of love, for Brahmins the day to take the pledge of Brahmanik rites and for those who depend sea and monsoon, it is the beginning of the new season. Indian festivals are based on the weather changes and their significance in the lives of people but they do have a story to support the celebrations. 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. The festival finds a mention in most of the epics and its origin can be traced back to the mythological Pouranik times. The legend in the Bhavishya PuranThe legend refers to a war between the Gods and the Demons. The demon King Brutra was advancing and the Gods lead by lord Indra, were on verge of defeat. The king of Gods, Indra approached Guru Brihaspati to find a solution to the situation. Brihaspati asked Indra to tie a sacred thread on his wrist, powered by the sacred mantras on the Shravan Purnima. Lord Indra's Queen Sachi also called Indrani, empowered the thread and tied it on to his hand on the decided day. The power of the sacred thread called Raksha helped the Gods to victory. The tradition of thread tying still continues. It is a gesture of goodwill. The legend of King Bali and Goddess LaxmiAccording to another legend Demon King Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Laxmi wished to be with her lord back in her abode. She went to Bali disguised as a Brahmin woman to seek refuge till her husband came back. During the Shravan Purnima celebrations, Laxmiji tied the sacred thread to the King. Upon being asked she revealed who she was and why she was there. The king was touched by her goodwill for his family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He sacrificed all he had for the Lord and his devoted wife. Thus the festival is also called Baleva that is Bali Raja's devotion to the Lord.It is said that since then it has been a tradition to invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony or the Raksha BandhanYama and the YamunaIt is said that the Raksha Bandhan was a ritual followed by Lord Yama (the Lord of Death) and his sister Yamuna. Yamuna tied rakhi to Yama and bestowed immortality. Yama was so moved by the serenity of the occasion that he declared thar whoever gets a rakhi tied from his sister and promised her protection will become immortal. In the Epics Raksha Bandhan finds a mention in Mahabharata when Lord Krishna advised Yudhishthir to perform the ceremony to protect himself and the army from the dangers of the war. It is said that Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas tied rakhi to her grandson Abhimanyu and Draupadi to lord Krishna.Meaning & Significance of Raksha Bandhan The FestivalThe relationships are the essence of celebration. This holds true for any Indian festival. Each festival brings the families together. That mere togetherness is celebration. It calls for a total festive environment. The celebration of one such relationship is Raksha Bandhan; the celebration of brother sister relationship. The sibling relationship is nowhere so celebrated as in India. The brother sister relationship is no where so worshiped as here. It is this affection and love that is celebrated on the Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is a festival celebrating the bond of affection between brothers and sisters. The day when the siblings pray for each others' well being and wish for each others' happiness and goodwill. As the name 'Raksha Bandhan' suggests, 'a bond of protection', Raksha Bandhan is a pledge from brothers to protect the sister from all harms and troubles and a prayer from the sister to protect the brother from all evil. The festival falls on the Shravan Purnima (full moon day of shravan month) which comes generally in the month of August. The sisters tie the silk thread called rakhi on their brother's wrist and pray for their well being and brothers promise to take care of their sisters. The festival is unique to India creates a feeling of belongingness and oneness amongst the family. The SignificanceThough now it is considered as a brother and sister festival, it was not always so. There have been examples in history where in rakhi has just been a raksha or protection. It could be tied by wife, a daughter or mother. The Rishis tied rakhi to the people who came seeking their blessings. The sages tied the sacred thread to themselves to safe guard them from the evil. It is by all means the 'Papa Todak, Punya Pradayak Parva' or the day that bestows boons and end all sins as it is mentioned in the scriptures. Rakhi for many centuries encompassed the warmth shared between the siblings but now it goes way beyond it. Some tie rakhi to neighbors and close friends signifying a peaceful co-existence of every individual. Congregations like Rakhi Utsavs, popularized by Rabindranath Tagore, promote the feeling of unity and a commitment to all members of society to protect each other and encourage a harmonious Social life. The day has a deeper perspective in today's scenario. The occasion holds for a life long pledge to practice moral, spiritual and cultural values. The values and the sentiments attached to the rituals of this festival are worth inculcating by the whole human race, the sentiments of harmony and peaceful coexistence. Raksha Bandhan assumes all forms of Raksha or protection, of righteousness and destroyer of all sin. The rakhi tying ritual has become so much a part of the families that come what may brothers and sisters try to reach out to each other on this particular day bringing back the oneness of the family, binding the family together in an emotional bond. wish you all happy rakshabandhan,regards,veena Make a mini you on ! Try it Now!