Raksha Bandhan & Indian Mythologies
The country’s festival of love and security is Raksha Bandhan. Popularly known as Rakhi festival which is celebrated with much fervour across north India and has also spread to south India over the last five decades. The festival celebrates the bond between brother-sister and emphasizes on the fact that brother is there not just to share love to his sister but also provide the much-needed security.
Raksha Bandhan is a festival that has been popularized by Bollywood. We see in Hindi films of the 60s and 70s where the hero breaks all odds to make it a point to visit his sister on this day to get Rakhi tied. In fact, most of the country started believing that Rakhi is an important ritual that every brother-sister should follow. To a large extent, south India should thank Bollywood for making Rakhi and Holi famous.
It is said that when Alexander was defeated at the hands of the great Hindu King Purushottam of Punjab, Alexander’s wife tied a Rakhi to Purushottam to protect her husband from being slain.
During the days of Emperor Humayun, it is believed that Rani Karnavati (Queen of Chittor) had sent a Rakhi to emperor Humayun in order to get protection from Bahadur Shah who was invading her kingdom. Inspite of being of a different religion, he rushed to her help.
Mythical Connection
Delving into our scriptures and mythology, one can trace the origin of this pristine festival which is particularly observed all over north India. According to the Bhavishya Purana, war broke out between the Devatas (the Gods) and Asuras (the demonic forces). Lord Indra, monarch of the Devatas and also deity of the sky, rains and thunderbolts led the forces of the Devatas against the Asuras.
The King of Gods was vanquished by the malevolent emperor Bali; a disgraced Lord Indra sought refuge in his consort the pious Sachi Devi. Sachi Devi was herself a ginormous believer in the prowess of Lord Vishnu. The protector of Cosmos, Lord Vishnu, in his munificence gave Sachi Devi a bracelet made of cotton thread. He baptized the thread and singularly claimed that it would ward off all fiendish forces.
The pious woman tied the holy thread around the wrist of her husband, Lord Indra and resolutely prayed for his triumph. In the battle that ensued, the egoistic King Bali was defeated and Amravati (the bone of contention between the Devatas and the Asuras) reclaimed.
The prowess of the sacred thread or “Raksha Bandhan” was thus established. Significantly, the nugget also indicates that the Raksha Bandhan thread in ancient India was essentially a sort of amulet, deployed by women as prayers to guard men proceeding on war and that these threads were not merely limited to sibling relationships.
Even a Master in Gurukul tied a thread to his tutee upon completion of his tutelage. There is yet another riveting tale about Raksha Bandhan in the Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana.
After Lord Vishnu conquered all three worlds back from King Bali, he requested the Lord to stay with him in his palace. The Preserver of the Universe acceded to this request. However, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu’s consort was not amused at the turn of events. She also despised Bali’s luxuriant palace and prevailed upon her husband that they return to their abode, Vaikuntha. In order to extricate them, she tied a thread, (Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi) on the wrist of the defeated King Bali and made him her brother. In return, the vanquished demon emperor asked Goddess Lakshmi what gift she desired. Lord Vishnu’s consort spelt out that the Divine couple is freed from the promise Lord Vishnu had made to the defeated king.
Bali acceded to the request and the celestial couple returned to Vaikuntha and simultaneously referred to Goddess Lakshmi as his sister.
The Mahabharata has several instances of a Raksha Bandhan being invoked. Draupadi tied a rakhi to Lord Krishna seeking his sanctuary during woebegone situations. Kunti tied a rakhi on her grandson Abhimanyu, before the battle of Kurukshetra.
Hence Indian mythology, scriptures and epics are replete with anecdotes and incidents symbolising the sanctified shield bestowed by the Raksha Bandhan.
Must read The True Meaning Of Rakshabandhan : Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
