Raksha Bandhan is celebrated as the day where a sister ties a thread around her brother's wrist as a symbol of protection while the he promises to protect and take care of her.
Here are five more things you need to know about this auspicious occasion:
1. The origin of
Raksha Bandhan comes from the ancient times when
Indrani tied a thread given to her by
Lord Vishnu around her husband
Lord Indra's wrist to protect him from demons during the war between the Gods and demons.
2. Another story believes that demons won the war and captured heaven.
Lord Indra, who was unhappy about this, complained to
Brihaspati (guru of the gods), who then prepared a
raksha sutra and told him to wear it for protection.
3. The promise of protection was seen in the
Mahabharat too. It is believed that once
Lord Krishna cut his finger and was bleeding profusely. Seeing this,
Draupadi tore a part of her sari and tied it around his finger. This is believed to be the reason why he saved her during her
cheerharan by
Kaurava.
4. Rakhi saved
Alexander The Great's life. When he had invaded India, his wife
Roxana had sent a
rakhi to the
Katoch King Porus and he had vowed to protect her and her husband. So, on the battlefield when he was about to kill
Alexander he saw the
rakhi and refrained from killing him.
5. The most significant story of the dedication of a brother's promise if that of Emperor
Humayun who went with his troops to
Mewar when
Rani Karnavati who ruled the region then asked for his help.
Mewar had been attacked twice by
Bahadur Shah and as a ray of hope she sent a letter to
Humayun with a
rakhi asking for his help. The emperor who was between a military campaign then left everything to go and protect her.
