RAKSHA BANDHAN FALLS DURING THE MONTH OF SAWAN ON Purnima, i.e., the day of the full moon according to the Vikram calendar. As per the English calendar, this festival comes sometime in July or August. It heralds the arrival of the monsoon.Raksha Bandhan or Saluno represents one of the most sentimental festivals of India. It is based on the emotional ties that bind a brother and sister in a very close bond- the most sacred relationship of life, without any ulterior motive or demand of any kind- that nature has bestowed on mankind. A brother and a sister have shared similar joys and sorrows in the home and react in ways easily

understood by each other. The sharing can be so complete that no other relationship can compare with it, making Raksha Bandhan a day of festivity and pure joy.

Woman, having been regared as the weaker sex for ages past, had been dependent on one or the other male member of her family, and who else could she depend on for unstinted support but her brother? To symbolise this profoud relationship, the sister ties a rakhi on the right-hand wrist of all her brothers on this day and they acknowledge this relationship by accepting it with grace and love. With this rakhi, she bestows deep affection and blessings on her brothers so as to guard them against all harm, and prays to the Almighty to give the very best to them. These feeling are the ones that symbolise Raksha Bandhan. Gifts of money and/or other presents in kind given to a sister on this occasion are not of any consequence, but only a symbolic gesture. Still it is good to give such gifts.

Now we come to the celebrations at home, so as to bring about an atmosphere in keeping with the occasion. As is the custom for all festivals and pujas, the lady of the house dresses up early in the morning in fine clothes. All girls, whether married or not, wear clothes with a touch of zari and put a chonp on their foreheads. The lady of the house cleans and bathes the gods and the goddesses. The puja room is swept and cleaned with a wet cloth, and a chowk is laid out on the floor. (If the room is carpeted, one need not do this.)

The puja thaal- with water, roli aipun, rice, flowers, coconut, kalava, batashas, paans and rachis which have been received by post or brought in as teeka by sisters living in the same town-is placed before the gods. A rakhi should be tied onto or placed before the chief deity of the family. A daughter of the house must apply the teeka and tie the rachis on the wrists of the menfolk, if a sister is not present but has sent the rakhi and teeka to the brother's house.The unmarried daughter can perform the ceremony in the absence of her aunts or elder married sisters. The teeka is applied by the thumb on the forehead, along with roli, and then a little rice is stuck onto the roli. A small thaal should be arranged separately from the teeka thaal, with water, roli, aipun and rice, and passed around for everyone's convenience to do the individual pujan- first with water, then wuth aipun, then with roli and lastly with rice and flowers. This is done by dipping the third finger of the right hand in the liquids, and with the help of the thumb, sprinkling the contents onto the gods from afar- three times for each liquid. The dipping of the finger can be done once in each liquid but the spraying is done thrice, by holding the third finger by the thumb and then letting it go with a jerk. The rice is picked up and showered onto the gods. From the teeka thaal the sisters again put a teeka on the forehead of their brother, and then tie the rakhi. They also put some mithai in his mouth and bless him silently. However, if a brother is not present, a coconut is taken in the left hand a symbolic teeka put on its broader side.

The puja of Raksha Bandhan is performed in the morning as the family members disperse early for their places of work or study, it normally being a working day. The men hurry away with the rakhi and teeka intact, as it is a matter of pride to show that one is loved and cared for at home. If for some reason the puja cannot be arranged in the morning, then it can be done in the evening. Most of the boys really feel bad if no rakhi is tied onto their wrists, while others display half

an armful! Little kids going to school especially feel a sense of fulfillment and happiness if such attention has been paid to them. So, even if the puja has not been done in the morning, the rachis should be tied to the male members in any case.
The ones left behind sit down to hear the story told on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, which is usually narrated by the eldest lady of the house, and runs as follows:
Once upon a time there was a couple who wanted a child very much, and prayed to God to give them a son. Since they were both very pious and good in deed and word, God listened to them, and soon they were blessed with a baby boy. They were full of joy and named him Shravan Kumar. The boy grew up to be a very dutiful son, and fulfilled all the hopes and aspirations of his parents. The parents slowly grew old and feeble, and both of them lost their eyesight. They realized one day that they had not undertaken any pilgrimage, and asked their son, who was by now a strong young man, to take them to a holy place where the Ganga flowed, so that they could take a dip in its cool waters and wash away their sins. Gangaji is so pure and good of heart that she takes away the sins of mortals who come to bathe in her. The son wanted to fulfil his parents' last wish, and so he built a baingi (a long pole with two baskets hanging on both ends, one basket for carrying his father and one for his mother for they were feeble and could not walk far). So, it came about that Shravan carried his parents on his shoulders all the way. Soon it was time to rest and the parents felt thirsty, and asked their son for water. Shravan could hear a stream gurgling nearby, so he took a small pitcher and left his parents under a tree.

At this very moment, Raja Dashrath was out hunting. At that stage of life he was a very sad man as he had no children, although he had three wives. The king was also near the stream when Shravan went to fetch water. Dashrath heard some rustling in the bushes. He felt sure that it was a deer which had come to drink water, and did not wait to confirm this, but shot an arrow into the thicket. It was poor Shravan whom the arrow pierced near the heart.

Shravan cried out in pain, and King Dashrath realized that he had shot a man. He quickly ran to the man and saw him in the throse of death, with a lota lying nearby. Sloely and gently, he lifted Shravan and made his head rest on his knee. Shravan could hardly speak, but somehow managed to tell the king about his blind mother and father waiting for him to give them water to quench their thirst. The king offered to take the water to them, but Shravan was apprehensive as once they knew it was not their son, they would not drink the water. So he told the king not to speak to them but to give them the water first, and then only tell them about their son's death. And Shravan Kumar soon died on the lap of the king.
The king took the lota and filled it with water, and made his way towards the tree where the blind couple were sitting in their baskets. As the king approached them, they asked with one voice if it was Shravan who had come to give them water, and why he was so late? The king did not reply but still they persisted. The king handed them the pitcher filled with water, but they would not take it, and insisted on knowing who it was, for they knew that it was not their son Shravan. King Dasrath slowly told them what had happened. On hearing this terrible news, they pushed the pitcher from the hands of the king and cursed him thus: 'May your death also be due to agony of the heart while waiting for your son, so that you may know one day the pain that you have brought upon us.' Saying this they both fell down dead. King Dashrath was very sad because the words from such pure hearts always come true. On returning home he lay down on a couch as he was very upset about what had happened and was constantly thinking of the curse that the couple had cast on him. His wives came running to hom on hearing that he was in such anguish. They called the royal astrologers and wise men, and told them the full story. All of them shared the king's sorrow over the tragic incident that had taken place, but smiled when they were told about the curse, for it would surely bring children to the king- which was the greatest wish of the whole kingdom and not just that of the king. The king was very happy now and did not mind the prospect of agony at the last moment of his life. So it happened that Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughan later were soon born as sons of Dashrath. Ram and Lakshman later went into exile for fourteen years and that brought about the fulfillment of the curse, and Dashrath died of a broken heart.

The crux of the story is that Shravan did not have a sister and no one had ever tied a rakhi to protect him in time of danger. Therefore, everyone should have a rakhi tied, even by an adopted sister, for the truest protection comes from the truest prayers.

At the end of the story narration puja is completed and everyone sits down to eat and drink with joy in their hearts. Usually, it is lunchtime and karhi-chawal is made in addition to other dishes. As it is normally not a holiday, the celebrations can take place in the evening, and so ends another day of festivity.