Dr K K Aggarwal

From Rakshabandhan to Janmashtami – A Spiritual Yagna

India is a land of diverse faith and myriad cultures. The festival of Rakhi, though rooted in mythology and ancient Indian history, has not really been understood for what it actually represents. We recognize Rakhi as a celebration of the bond of love between a brother and a sister. But how many of us have actually thought about what this tie entails?

First and foremost, Rakhi is synonymous with purity of the relationship and purity of the self and consequently of the soul. It is not merely a thread tied on the brother’s wrist by the sister whereby the brother pledges to protect her from any worldly harm. In a broader spectrum, it is a chance to free oneself from one’s internal enemies – the vices. A man is pulled down by his negative energies and the festival of Rakhi gives him a chance to retrospect and pull out of that dark side.

This multi colored thread with multiple decorations and motifs is tied not necessarily only by one’s sister, but can be tied by any woman who shares a platonic relationship with a man. There is a complete absence of a physical relationship and has no age or space barriers between the two connected by this sacred thread. Simultaneously, it is absurd to think that a mere child or one who stays miles away would be able to offer protection to his ‘rakhi’ sister. The issue which is of prime importance here is the bond of spiritual love established between two individuals of the opposite sex.

Eight days after Rakhi, we celebrate Janmashtami. The sacred thread tied during Raksha Bandhan connects us to Janmashtami, when we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. In this period of eight days between ‘Purnima’ and ‘Ashtami’ we get a chance of cleansing and purifying our soul and subsequently being reborn again.

This seven–day period, symbolic of the time taken for creation of the world by God can be likened to a recreation of the self by us. This period is to be seen as a time for penance when all negativism is purged to achieve the level of pure spirit. Needless to say, all forms of ‘spiritual downers’ should be abstained from, so that a free communion, free from all hindrances, with the soul is made possible. In fact, an ideal gift to one’s sister can be the shedding of a strong vice in that person.

The message of Rakshabandhan is that of love and purity. We can see it as a thread tied on behalf of God to set us on Godly ways. The initial representation of Rakhi as a pledge to protect the sister and her right to be protected by the brother has gained wide propagation due to the fact that in Indian history and mythology there have been instances when this facet of tying a thread on a man’s wrist has been highlighted. Rani Padmavati sent a rakhi to a Muslim king to ask for help when she was besieged by enemies. In the realm of the Gods, we have Indrani tying a rakhi on Lord Indra. There is also the tradition of tying rakhi by a Brahmin to a Yajman.

The connection between Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami is highlighted keeping in view the spiritual aspect of man’s life, which is the ladder that helps him to achieve oneness with God.

Subhadra in Hindu Mythology

Why Subhadra is worshipped along with Lord Krishna in Jagannath Yatra

In 2011 Jagannath Rath Yatra starts July 2nd and this yatra has a special significance when it comes to the relationship between brother s and sisters.

 The value of relation between brother and sister has been shown in many festivals and rituals in our country.

 Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj are two major festivals devoted to this sacred relationship. In Raksha Bandhan, the brother vows for the safety of his sister and sister prays for the long life of the brother. The Raksha Bandhan rakhi or the red thread ‘moli’ works as a reminder and is removed on the date of Janmashtami falling after Raksha Bandhan. When Bahadur Shah of Gujarat attacked Chittor, Rani Karnavati sent a Rakhi to Emperor Humayun, calling him a brother and requested for his help. Humayun did come to his Rakhi sister’s help.

 In the ritual of Bhai Duj, the sister anoints her brother’s forehead with vermilion and performs aarti. This festival is similar to that of Raksha Bandhan. Only the ritual of tying Rakhi has been replaced with tikka (vermilion spot on forehead).

In terms of symbolism, the brother-sister relationship is depicted in Jagannath Mandir in Puri and is one of the temples in the country where Gods and Goddesses are not worshiped in the form of husband and wife.

The other example is Ganesha and Lakshmi worshipped together as brother and sister. Goddess Lakshmi is symbolic of good fortune and wealth and Lord Ganesh is symbolic of the intelligence required to utilize the wealth that we have.

At the Jagannath temple, Subhadra, the sister, is depicted in the center and Krishna and Balram (Lord Balabhadra) are shown on the left and right side of Subhadra. Here, Krishna is worshipped along with his brother and sister. Subhadra was married to Arjuna and a brave boy Abhimanyu was born to them.

A synonym of Purushottam is Jagannath and his abode. Puri is known as Purushottam Kshetra, which is one of the four most sacred places in India for the Hindus. The famous festival related to the Jagannath temple is the Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, which occurs yearly in June or July. During this festival, the three deities are taken from the temple and placed in large chariots which are then drawn along Grand Road to the Gundecha temple, a few kilometers away. After they have stayed in that temple for seven days, the deities again ride the chariots back to their home temple. Then three idols are made of margosa (neem) wood.

Brother-sister relationship is always a sacred relationship in Indian law. Marriages or illicit relationship between brothers and sisters are prohibited. Consanguineous marriages are also known to end up with diseases. While in some religions, a marriage of the daughter with maternal uncle is allowed, but in no religion, a marriage between a brother and sister is allowed.  

Devaki and Kansa depict the extreme opposite of brother-sister relationship. Kansa was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna and brother of Devaki. There was a prediction that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. When Kansa came to know about that prediction he decided to kill all children born to his sister.

 All three festivals Jagannath Yatra, Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj are observed in the last six months of a year in the period of dakshinayana, which is the period with darker or the negative side of the mind. In Chaturmas the mind is more negative, violent, irritable and with more non fulfillment of desires. All festivals which relates to purity of relationship are thus observed in this period.