Raksha Bandhan: What, Why, When, How

What it is

Raksha Bandhan, "the bond of protection", is kept on the full moon of Shravana, in late summer. A sister ties a rakhi, a decorated thread, on her brother's wrist, puts a tilak on his forehead, prays for his well-being and feeds him a sweet. The brother gives her a gift and a promise of care and support. Today cousins, friends and sisters tie rakhis to each other too, and many families first tie one to Krishna or Ganesha.

The same full moon carries other observances. In South India and among many Brahmin families it is Avani Avittam or Upakarma, when men renew their sacred thread and begin the year's study of the Veda. Coastal Maharashtra keeps Narali Purnima, offering coconuts to the sea at the end of the monsoon. Bengal and Odisha end the swing festival of Radha and Krishna (Jhulan Purnima) and Odisha also keeps Gamha Purnima for cattle and Balarama. In Nepal it is Janai Purnima.

Why it is kept

Indra and Shachi. The texts on festival rules quote the Bhavishya Purana for the story of the protective thread. Indra's wife Shachi (Indrani) tied a protective amulet on his right hand, and with it Indra, king of the gods, defeated the asuras. On the full moon of Shravana the same texts have a raksha tied while saying a verse that begins "yena baddho Bali raja", "the thread with which the great king Bali was bound", and priests still say it today.

Lakshmi and Bali. A popular telling links that verse to King Bali. Vishnu, after taking Bali's kingdom as Vamana, promised to stay and guard Bali's new home in the underworld. Lakshmi missed him, so she came to Bali as a guest, tied a thread on his wrist as a sister, and, when he offered her a gift, asked for her husband's return. Bali agreed.

Krishna and Draupadi. Another much-loved telling says that when Krishna cut his finger, Draupadi tore a strip from her sari to bind it, and Krishna promised to protect her. Families connect this to the Mahabharata's dice-hall scene in the Sabha Parva, where Draupadi's honour is protected when she calls on Krishna; the cut-finger story itself is a popular telling, not part of the epic's text.

A thread for everyone. Through these stories, the rakhi became a sign that people who love each other promise care and protection. Many families now see it as a promise both ways, from sister to brother and from brother to sister.

The texts behind the story

• Raksabandhana on the Shravana full moon: Hemadri quotes the Bhavishyottara Purana (137) for Indrani's amulet on Indra's right hand, by which he defeated the asuras, and for the verse "yena baddho Bali raja" said as the raksha is tied; the coconut offered to the sea on the Konkan coast the same day. Read in P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, part 1 (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1958). Kane died 1972: cited, not quoted. Only the opening words of the verse are given, in our own rendering. (vol. 5, part 1, pp. 127–128)
• A Prose English Translation of Srimadbhagavatam, Books VII–XII bound in one, edited and published by Manmatha Nath Dutt (Calcutta: Elysium Press, 1895–96) (Book VIII, chapters XXII–XXIII: Bali to live in Sutala, p. 78 (leaf n365); the Lord promises to protect him and to be seen near him with his mace, pp. 79–80 (leaves n72–n73))
• The Lakshmi and Bali rakhi story and the Krishna and Draupadi cut-finger story: popular tellings, not found in the texts. Summarised in our own words.
• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose (K. M. Ganguli), published by Protap Chandra Roy: Sabha Parva and Vana Parva (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1884) (Sabha Parva (Dyuta Parva), Section LXVIII, pp. 182–183 (leaves n193–n194): Draupadi calls on Govinda, and Dharma, unseen, covers her with robe after robe)

When it is kept

Raksha Bandhan is kept on Shravana Purnima, the full moon of Shravana, and the rakhi is tied outside Bhadra (Vishti karana), a half-tithi that the texts on festival rules keep clear of this rite. The day is the one on which Purnima is present at sunrise at your location, if Purnima lasts at least three muhurtas after that sunrise (a muhurta here is a fifteenth of the daytime, so three are a fifth of it); otherwise it is the day before, after Bhadra has ended. If Purnima touches no sunrise, it is the day on which Purnima falls, after Bhadra. This is the rule of the Vratraj as Smarta panchangs apply it. The app shows the time window outside Bhadra.

The date, from the calendar engine

• Raksha Bandhan 2027: Rakhi falls on Monday, August 16, 2027 in Washington DC (computed for this city). In New Delhi it falls on Tuesday, August 17, 2027.

The date depends on your city. Every city we cover is on the year page.

Traditions and regional customs

• Smarta (Vratraj): Shravana Purnima, outside Bhadra
• South Indian and many Brahmin families: Upakarma (Avani Avittam) on the same full moon, by each Veda's own rule
• Marathi and Konkani coast: Narali Purnima
• Bengali and Odia: Jhulan Purnima; Odia: Gamha Purnima
• Nepali: Janai Purnima

Why the day can differ

Because sunrise and Bhadra are local times, cities can keep Raksha Bandhan on different days, and in some years the good time for tying the rakhi is only in the afternoon or evening. When Bhadra covers much of the day, families often wait until it ends; others follow their own custom, so ask your family priest if the window is short.

The Upakarma of each Veda follows its own rule. Families of the Yajur Veda keep it on this full moon, while Rig Veda families take the day of the Shravana nakshatra and Sama Veda families a day in the next month, so they can fall on different days. Siblings in different countries often tie or send their rakhis on different days; a rakhi sent by post, or tied over a video call with a parent's help, keeps the same meaning.

How to keep it at home

1. Prepare a plate (thali) with the rakhis, kumkum or roli, unbroken rice, a small lamp, sweets and a little water. Many families first tie a rakhi to Krishna, Ganesha or the family deity.
2. Within the time shown in the app, the brother sits facing east, often with a cloth or cap on his head. The sister puts a tilak of kumkum and rice on his forehead, ties the rakhi on his right wrist, waves the lamp in an aarti and feeds him a sweet.
3. The brother gives a gift and a promise of care. Younger siblings touch the feet of elder ones, and everyone greets the elders of the family.
4. Families keeping Upakarma: men bathe, change the sacred thread (yajnopavita) with the prescribed mantras, often at a temple or with a priest, and many recite the Gayatri mantra the next day. Coastal Marathi families offer a coconut to the sea or to running water.
5. Abroad, send rakhis early enough to arrive. If you cannot meet, tie the rakhi over a video call: a parent or friend can tie it while the sister says the prayer.

Fasting

Raksha Bandhan is not a fast day for most families. Some sisters keep a fast until they have tied the rakhi, and then eat together with the family.

Food

Sweets are the centre of the day: ghevar in Rajasthan and Delhi, kaju katli, laddoos, barfi and kheer across North India, and coconut sweets on the Konkan coast, where Narali Purnima brings narali bhaat, sweet coconut rice. Families cook the brother's favourite meal for the afternoon.

For children

Long ago, when the goddess Lakshmi missed her husband Vishnu, she went to visit good King Bali, whose home Vishnu was guarding. She tied a thread on his wrist and became his sister. Bali was so happy that he wanted to give her any gift she asked for, and she asked for Vishnu to come home. Bali kindly said yes. On Raksha Bandhan, sisters and brothers tie a thread too, to say: "I care about you, and I am here for you."

Something to do together

Make a rakhi together from coloured thread, beads and a paper flower. Tie it on a brother, a sister, a cousin or a friend, or post it to someone far away with a drawing.

Sources

• Panchang engine rule raksha-bandhan (packages/panchang/data/festivals.json), with the sources it lists, including the Vratraj for the Bhadra and three-muhurta rule.
• K. M. Ganguli (tr.), The Mahabharata, Sabha Parva (Calcutta, 1884), Section LXVIII. Ganguli died 1908: public domain.
• Upakarma: the Grihya Sutras differ on its day (Asvalayana: the Shravana nakshatra in Shravana; Apastamba: the Shravana full moon; Gobhila and Khadira: in Bhadrapada, or Hasta); Rig Vedins prefer the Shravana nakshatra, Yajur Vedins the full moon and Sama Vedins Hasta in Bhadrapada. Read in P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 2, part 2 (Poona, 1941). Kane died 1972: cited, not quoted. (vol. 2, part 2, pp. 807–809)
• Wikipedia, "Raksha Bandhan" (the last day, the full moon, of the lunar month of Shravana).

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