Raksha Bandhan
Raksha Bandhan ( Hindi , m., रक्षाबंधन, rakśā bandhan, lit. "protective connection") also called Rakhi Purnima (Purnima lit: full moon ) or simply Rakhi , is an important holiday in Hinduism . According to the Hindu lunar calendar , it is particularly popular in the north of India on a full moon day in the month of Shravana , and according to the western calendar usually at the beginning of August.
The party
The day is mainly celebrated as a celebration of fraternal union. Women and girls ritually tie a blessed ribbon, a rakhi, around the wrist of their brother. With this mostly decorative cotton or silk ribbon, which has previously been on the house altar for some time, she expresses sisterly love and her blessings. She dabs a blessing point on his forehead and waves an oil light in front of him in a blessing. He, on the other hand, gives her a small present and promises her his support in life. If the brother is far away, for example in another city, he receives his rakhi with blessings in the mail.
Bhai Dooj, Bhau Beej and Bhai Phota
As with all Indian holidays, there are also variations of Raksha Bandhan : In some areas this festival is celebrated as Bhau Beej (in Marathi ) or Bhai Dooj (in Hindi ) on the second day after Diwali , the festival of lights in autumn. Bhai means brother, Dooj is called the second day after the new moon. In the Indian state of Punjab, for example , only the ribbon is tied for the Raksha Bandhan in August, but a separate day, Bhai Dooj , is dedicated to the solemn award of the blessing point on the forehead . In a tika ceremony, the sister dabs saffron and rice flour as a point on her brother's forehead, swings the oil light in a blessing and speaks her blessings. In Bengal, too, the brother-sister festival is not celebrated in August, but as Bhatri Dwitya or Bhai Phota two days after Diwali. Only on this day does the brother receive a rakhi and the sister's blessing with a point of kajal, the soot of burned butter, on his forehead.
meaning
Not only the biological brother, but also cousins count as brothers. Women and girls have the right to "bind" any boy or man they choose in this way. The tape makes them a rakhi brother and rakhi sister forever. According to an ancient custom, it obliges him to protect her for life. A rakhi is said to protect not only from physical harm, but also from sickness and sin. Since the ribbon symbolizes purity at the same time, the rakhi relationship excludes a love affair or romantic feelings on an erotic level. That is why women still often use it today as a symbol when they want to maintain a friendship but not accept a love story.
The “protective connection” through a rakhi is not basically limited to a brother-sister relationship. In some traditions, such as in Nepal , believers, women as well as men, receive the protective bond from their priest or guru on this rakhi purnima . In the Indian independence movement it was even used as an instrument for peace. For example, the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore organized Raksha Bandhan events in 1905 so that the divided Hindus and Muslims should tie each other around a rakhi and thus emphasize brotherhood and solidarity.
History and mythology
Indian poets deal with the poetry of these brother-sister relationships in innumerable romantic stories, songs and poems. We know stories of kings who even sacrificed their lives to protect their rakhi sisters. Some seem to be historical events like the popular account of a princess:
- Rani Karnavati, the princess of Chittor, is said to have sent a rakhi to the Muslim ruler Humayun in the 16th century in the face of a hostile threat. He immediately rushed to her support. But since he came too late and their empire was destroyed, Rani Karnavati committed suicide.
- The great importance of this custom in the past is also illustrated by the tradition of Alexander the Great , who came to India in the fourth century and spread his reign of terror. His wife is said to have sent a rakhi to King Porus in a hopeless situation, who then promised her help. He finally refrained from killing the hated Alexander in battle, although he would have had the opportunity to do so.
Various myths tell how even the gods were dependent on sisterly blessings.
- According to this, Indra , the king of heaven, could only achieve victory over his greatest enemy, the demon Vritra , after his wife Sachi had knotted him a rakhi ribbon and blessed him.
- Krishna , according to the epic Mahabharata , received from Draupadi a strip of silk that she had torn from her sari and tied around his wrist to stop the blood on his injured finger. Although Draupadi was the daughter of a powerful king and the common wife of five princes, Krishna was the only one whose help she could ultimately count on.
- It is also said that Yama , the Lord of Death, celebrated the Raksha Bandhan ritual with his sister Yamuna . Out of gratitude and love, Yama declared that he would overcome death who would receive a rakhi from his sister and the promise of her protection.
Web links
- Rakhi Festival. In: RakhiFestival.com. (English).