The Rakhi festivity falls in the holy month of
Shravan. The origin & history of Rakhi can be dated back to the
mythological Pouranik times. Most of the Indian epics have made a
mention about this festivity. There are many interesting legends
associated with the Rakhi history. Read further to know the complete
Raksha Bandhan story.
Legends of Rakshabandhan Festival
War between the demons and Gods
There is an interesting legend related to the war between the demons
and Gods. The mention of this story is made in the Bhavishya Puran. In
the war between the devils and the Gods, the Gods were on the verge of
defeat. Once it happened that, Lord Indra who was leading the Gods, went
to meet Guru Brihaspati for finding a solution to this problematic
situation. The Guru asked Lord Indra to tie a pure thread on his wrist
that was powered by the holy mantras chanted on the Shravan Purnima.
The queen of Lord Indra, who is more often referred to as Indrani,
empowered the thread with the sacred mantras and then tied it on his
wrist on the decided day. It was the power of the sacred thread known as
Raksha that helped in protecting the Gods from the clutches of the evils
and paved way for their victory. Since then, the tradition of tying a
thread is going on as a gesture of concern.
Legend of King Bali and Goddess Laxmi
King Bali was a great worshipper of Lord Vishnu. Seeing the devotion of
King Bali, Lord Vishnu decided to protect his kingdom. He even left his
abode that was located in Vaikunth. It was Goddess Lakshmi's desire to
be with him in his abode at Vaikunth. Disguised as a Brahmin woman,
Lakshmiji went to meet King Bali and asked him, if she could take refuge
till her husband comes back. During the celebration of Shravana Purnima,
Lakshmiji tied a sacred thread on the wrist of king. When the king
enquired, she revealed her identity and her purpose of visiting him.
The king was touched by her concern for Lord Vishnu. Seeing this, he
requested Lord Vishnu to accompany her. It is due to the extreme
devotion of King Bali towards Lord Vishnu that, the festivity is
sometimes also known as Baleva. Since then, the tradition of calling
upon the sisters on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan for the thread tying
ceremony started. People are of the say that, the tradition of Raksha
Bandhan was also followed by Yama, the Lord of death and his dear sister
named Yamuna.
