Raksha Bandhan, also Rakshabandhan, or simply Rakhi, is a festival of the Indian subcontinent, or by people originating from the Indian subcontinent, and centred around the tying of a thread, talisman, or amulet on the wrist as a form of bond and ritual protection. The festive ritual is one principally between brothers and sisters, observed both before and after she gets married thereby marking her continued relationship with her natal home and brothers. The rite is also found between priests and patrons, and sometimes by individuals to real or potential benefactors. Differing versions of the rite have been traditionally performed by Hindus in northern India, western India, Nepal, and former colonies of the British Empire to which Hindus had emigrated from India in the 19th-century, and have included, in addition, rites with names rendered as Salerno, Silano, and Rakhi. The rituals associated with these rites, however, have spread beyond their traditional regions to much of India and have been transformed through technology and migration, the movies, social interaction, and promotion by politicized Hinduism, as well as as an occasion of national solidarity and state tradition.
 |
| A rakhi being tied during Raksha Bandhan |
Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, ritually affirming the bond and support of her brothers, receiving a gift from them in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care. The expression "Raksha Bandhan," Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care," is now principally applied to this ritual. It has also applied to a similar ritual in which a domestic priest ties string bracelets on the wrists of his patrons and receives gifts of money. A ritual associated with Salerno includes the sisters placing shoots of barley behind the ears of their brothers.
 |
| A sister facing her brother, and holding an aarti tray with rakhis. |
Of special significance to married women, Raksha Bandhan is rooted in the practice of territorial exogamy, in which a bride marries out of her natal village or town, and her parents, by custom, do not visit her in her married home. In rural north India, where territorial exogamy is strongly prevalent, large numbers of married Hindu women travel back to their parents' homes every year for the ceremony. Their brothers, who typically live with the parents or nearby, sometimes travel to their sisters' married home to escort them back. Many younger married women arrive a few weeks earlier at their natal homes and stay until the ceremony. The brothers serve as lifelong intermediaries between their sisters' married- and parental homes, as well as potential stewards of their security.
 |
| A woman shopping for the rakhi thread |
Among women and men who are not blood relatives, there is also a transformed tradition of voluntary kin relations, achieved through the tying of rakhi amulets, which have cut across caste and class lines, and Hindu and Muslim divisions. In some communities or contexts, other figures, such as a matriarch, or a person in authority, can be included in the ceremony in ritual acknowledgement of their benefaction. Raksha Bandhan is also celebrated by Hindu communities in other parts of the world. Although rooted in Hindu culture, the festival has no traditional prayers unambiguously associated with it. The religious myths claimed for it is disputed, and the historical stories associated with it considered apocryphal by some historians. More recently, after enactment of more gender-neutral inheritance laws in India, it has been suggested that in some communities the festival has seen a resurgence of celebration, which is serving to indirectly pressure women to abstain from fully claiming their inheritance.
Etymology
 |
| Rajendra Prasad, the first president of the Republic of India celebrating Raksha Bandhan at the presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, 24 August 1953 |
According to R. S. McGregor's Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, 1993, the name of the festival, the masculine Hindi noun rakśābandhan is composed of the Sanskrit loanword rakśā, a feminine noun, which means, "protection," "preservation," or "care." and a second Sanskrit loanword Bandhan, a masculine noun, which means "fastening," or "tying together." According to V. S. Apte's Revised Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1957–1959, रक्षा pronounced rakṣā means, "protection," "preservation," or "guarding;" बन्धन pronounced, "bandhana," means "The act of binding, fastening, tying."
 | |
|
According to McGregor, the Hindi feminine noun, rākhī, (which is compared etymologically to rakśā described above) is a "protective talisman: a piece of thread etc., with a rosette, tied ceremoniously round a protector or patron's wrist on the full moon of the month Srāvan: especially by a sister round a brother's wrist, when the brother gives a small gift of money." In contrast, Apte defines one of the secondary meaning of रक्षा (rakṣā) to be: "A piece of silk or thread fastened round the wrist on particular occasions, especially on the full-moon day of Śrāvaṇa, as an amulet or preservative; (रक्षी (rakṣī) also in this sense).
According to Jack Goody, rakśābandhan is "cognate with the Sanskrit name for marriage, saṃbandhan, where the common element bandhan (Sanskrit: bandhá) refers to the act of tying. The ceremonies are complementary. Marriage (sam, reciprocally) ties spouses;
 |
| a sister and brother with thread and gift |
The typical Raksha Bandhan festival as observed between brother-sister starts with the sister(s) selecting a colourful rakhi, a form of a woven bracelet, ahead of the festival. On the day of the festival, she meets her biological brother(s), cousins, or adopted brother-like friend, along with the whole family. In parts of north India, women may travel to visit their brothers, typically their natal homes. She ties the rakhi on his wrist on the Raksha Bandhan day. After the band is in place, the brother and the sister pray. The sister applies a tilak (tikka), a colourful mark on the forehead of the brother. After the tilak, she performs an aarti wishing him a long healthy life. In return, the brother pledges to protect her and take care of his sister under all circumstances. The brother may give his sister(s) gifts or some money, and they may also feed each other with sweets, dry fruits and other seasonal delicacies. According to Jack Goody, these traditional rituals connote "a symbol of mutual dependence and a mark of respect" between the brother and the sister. The brother, states Goody, may wear the rakhi thread for many weeks through the Diwali, or just for the day or two.
Myths and legends
The literary works of Hinduism are peppered with stories of rakhi and Raksha Bandhan. Some of these include:
Indra Dev
According to Bhavishya Purana, in the war between gods and demons, Indra – the deity of sky, rains and thunderbolts – was disgraced by the powerful demon King Bali. Indra’s wife Sachi consulted Vishnu, who gave her a bracelet made of cotton thread, calling it holy. Sachi tied the holy thread around Indra wrist, blessed with her prayers for his well being and success. Indra successfully defeated Bali and recovered Amaravati. This story inspired the protective power of the holy thread. The story also suggests that the Raksha Bandhan thread in ancient India were amulets, used by women as prayers and to guard men going to war and that these threads were not limited to sister-brother like relationships.
King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi
According to Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, after Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali, Bali asked Vishnu to stay with him in his palace, a request Vishnu granted. Vishnu's wife, Goddess Lakshmi did not like the palace or his newfound friendship with Bali and preferred that her husband and she return to Vaikuntha. So she went to Bali, tied a rakhi and made him a brother to her. Bali asked her what gift she desired. Lakshmi asked that Vishnu be freed from the request that he live in Bali's palace. Bali consented, as well accepted her as his sister.
Santoshi Maa
Ganesha had two sons, Shubha and Labha. The two boys become frustrated that they have no sister to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with. They ask their father Ganesha for a sister, but to no avail. Finally, saint Narada appears who persuades Ganesha that a daughter will enrich him as well as his sons. Ganesha agreed, and created a daughter named Santoshi Maa by divine flames that emerged from Ganesh's wives, Riddhi (Amazing) and Siddhi (Perfection). Thereafter, Shubha Labha (literally "Holy Profit") had a sister named Santoshi Maa (literally "Goddess of Satisfaction"), to tie Rakhi over Raksha Bandhan.
Krishna and Draupadi
In the epic Mahabharat, Draupadi tied a rakhi on Krishna, while Kunti tied her rakhi on her grandson Abhimanyu, before the great war.
Yama and the Yamuna
According to another legend, Yama, the God of Death, had not visited his sister Yamuna for 12 years. The Yamuna was sad and consulted Ganga. Ganga reminded Yama of his sister, upon which Yama visits her. The Yamuna was overjoyed to see her brother and prepared a bounty of food for Yama. The god Yama was delighted and asked the Yamuna what she wanted for a gift. She wished that he, her brother should return and see her again soon. Yama was moved by his sister's love, agreed and to be able to see her again, and made river Yamuna immortal. This legend is the basis for a Raksha Bandhan-like festival called Bhai Duj in some parts of India, which also celebrates brother-sister love, but near Diwali.
History
Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival of the Indian subcontinent, and its history dates back thousands of years.
 |
| Rakhi threads for sale in India |
Raksha Bandhan is an ancient festival of the Indian subcontinent, and its history dates back thousands of years.
Alexander the Great and King Puru
According to one legendary narrative, when Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BCE, Roxana (or Roshanak, his wife) sent a sacred thread to Porus, asking him not to harm her husband in battle. In accordance with tradition, Porus, the king of Kaikeya kingdom, gave full respect to the rakhi. In the Battle of the Hydaspes, when Porus saw the rakhi on his own wrist and restrained himself from attacking Alexander personally.
Rani Karnavati and Emperor Humayun
Another controversial historical account is that of Rani Karnavati of Chittor and Mughal Emperor Humayun, which dates to 1535 CE. When Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of the king of Chittor, realised that she could not defend against the invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayun. The Emperor, according to one version of the story, set off with his troops to defend Chittor. He arrived too late, and Bahadur Shah had already captured the Rani's fortress. Alternative accounts from the period, including those by historians in Humayun's Mughal court, do not mention the rakhi episode and some historians have expressed scepticism whether it ever happened. Humayun's own memoirs never mention this and give different reasons for his war with Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1535.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
'The Raki' in 'The Zenana'. by L. E. L.
This is the story included by Letitia Elizabeth Landon in her long poem The Zenana within Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834.
Muslim commentators in modern era publications mention this story as evidence of Muslim-Hindu communal ties in the past.
Rabindranath Tagore and the Bengal partition of 1905
Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian Nobel Laureate for literature, invoked Raksha Bandhan and rakhi as concepts to inspire love, respect and a vow of mutual protection between Hindus and Muslims during India's colonial era. In 1905, the British empire divided Bengal, a province of British India on the basis of religion. Rabindra Nath Tagore arranged a ceremony to celebrate Raksha Bandhan to strengthen the bond of love and togetherness between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal and urge them to together protest the British empire. He used the idea of Raksha Bandhan to spread the feeling of brotherhood. In 1911, the British colonial empire reversed the partition and unified Bengal, a unification that was opposed by Muslims of Bengal. Ultimately, Tagore's Raksha Bandhan-based appeals were unsuccessful. Bengal not only was split during the colonial era, one part became modern Bangladesh and predominantly Muslim country, the other a largely Hindu Indian state of West Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore started Rakhi Mahotsavas as a symbol of Bengal unity, and as a larger community festival of harmony. In parts of West Bengal, his tradition continues as people tie rakhis to their neighbours and close friends.
One of Tagore's poem invoking rakhi is:
The love in my body and heart
For the earth's shadow and light
Has stayed over the years.
With its cares and its hope, it has thrown
A language of its own
Into blue skies.
It lives in my joys and glooms
In the spring night's buds and blooms
Like a Rakhi-band
On the Future's hand.
Sikh history
In the 18th century, states Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, Sikh Khalsa armies introduced the term Rakhi (Raksha Bandhan) as a promise of protection to peasant farmers from Afghan invaders, often in exchange for sharing a small cut of their farm produce.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder and ruler of the Sikh Empire, and he observed Raksha Bandhan festival. His wife Maharani Jindan sent a Rakhi to the ruler of Nepal, who accepted her as sister and gave her refuge in the Hindu kingdom of Nepal in 1849 after the collapse of the Sikh Empire and annexation of its territories by the British.
Sikhs have observed Raksha Bandhan festival and has sometimes been referred to as Rakhardi (literally, wristband) or Rakhari in historic Sikh texts. Like the Hindu tradition, the festival has involved the tying of the rakhi and giving of gifts. An annual fair is held on Raksha Bandhan at Baba Bakala in Amritsar district.
Multi-culturalism and activism
Some Muslims in India view it a secular, multicultural festival. Raksha Bandhan has also been adopted by the Christian community in India who view it as a festival of historical and social importance.
In 2015, men tied rakhis on women seeking protection from the ‘misuse’ of section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. "Society has gone through massive changes in the last few decades and men are now considered on the same platform with women. Why should laws show discrimination against them?" asked Amartya Talukdar, founder member of Hridaya, an NGO working for gender neutrality.
No comments:
Post a Comment