Rakhi Festival for Harmony

Rakhi Festival for Harmony

August 9, 2014 at 10:16pm: Reproduced from earlier notes

Tomorrow is the full moon day of Shravana.  Rakhi will be celebrated throughout the country cutting across all classes of the society. On this auspicious day Malabar region observes Nariyal Purmimal festival. Here,  Coconut is offered to the Sea representing the deity of Varun. In the South Rakhi is commemorated as Avani Avittan while in North India as Rakhsabandhan.

The day  witnesses  joy & excitement everywhere in different forms,cultures and customs.  The common focus is the well being and protection of the man-kind.

Rakhi has many legendary stories. In Mahabharata  Krishna was tied with thread by Drupadi. Inturn Lord Krishna escaped her from the humiliation of undressing by the Kouravas. In another legendary, Laxmi put rakhi onto Baliand freed Lord Bishnu from his territory.

In Jain literature Rakhi /Rakhsabandha has been mentioned several times. It is pompously being celebrated by Jains since long time back.

Apart from mythological sayings,it is said that wife of the Great Alexander tied rakhi on Pru-the mighty king of India.In reorganization of rakhi Puru did not hurt Alexander and who returned safely.

The first recorded  Rakhi between two communities was found duringthe Moghal period under the regime of Humayun.  Katharina-the queen of Merwar sent Rakhi tothe King Humayun to protect her kingdom from  the invader Bahadur Sah . Interestingly, Humayun reached Merwar as soon as he received Rakhi-gift and  recovered the kingdom from Sah. Thishistorical evidence made Rakhi popular in Rajasthan.

 I may quote Rakhi popularity among non-Hindus written by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in his memoirs,Tuzk-eJahangiri:
‘[On the occasion of the Raksha Bandhan festival] Hindu nobles would tie rakhis on my father’s hand, decorated with rubies, pearls and other precious jewels. When this became too much to bear, my father instructed them to tie only a simple silk thread on his hand. In my time the [Hindu] nobles also did the same, and then I also issued an order that they tie only a silk thread on my hand.’
Rakhi became a national festival during the reign of Akbar. From Al Badaoni’s account in Muntakhabut-Tawarikh,we learn that rakhi meant an amulet formed out of twisted linen rags andthe festival was celebrated by almost everyone in the emperor’s court. On theday of the festival, the courtiers and others adorned the Emperor’s wrist withbeautiful strings of silk, bejeweled with rubies, pearls and gems of great value. Jahangir described the festival as "Nighadasht" and celebrated it like his father.
Rakhi got community  festival irrespective of religion in Bengal by the hands of Rabindranath Tagore. He called upon both Hindus & Muslims on Rakhi day to revolt against Bengal Partition during 1911. Rakhi was exchanged irrespective of religion faith. Partition was annulled.
Let us observe Rakhi in asocial sense without hurting anybody and strengthen our society.