🌼Raksha Bandhan Stories🌼
The story of King Bali and Mata Lakshmi:
A mythological story of Raksha Bandhan is associated with Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, and King Bali.
The king of demons Bali became invincible after completing 100 yagyas. After establishing his empire on earth, he started preparing to get the throne of heaven. Knowing this, Devraj Indra became worried and reached the refuge of Lord Vishnu.
Indra prayed to Lord Vishnu to save the throne of heaven. Then Lord Vishnu, taking the form of Vaman, went to the court of King Bali and requested alms from him. King Bali was a generous person. He promised Lord Vishnu in the form of Vaman that whatever he asks for in alms, he will be given.
Lord Vishnu asked for three steps of land in the Alms. King Bali, keeping his promise, donated three steps of land to Lord Vishnu in the form of Vaman and told him to measure three steps of land.
Lord Vishnu measured the earth in the first step and heaven in the second step. Even before the third step, King Bali had realized that Vamana present in front of him was no ordinary person. He bowed his head in front of Lord Vishnu in the form of Vamana and requested him to place the third step on his head.
Lord Vishnu did the same. In this way, King Bali lost his entire kingdom and was forced to live in Patal Lok. Before going to Patal Lok, on the prayer of King Bali, Lord Vishnu came in his real form. He was very happy to see Bali’s generosity. He asked him to ask for a boon.
King Bali said, “Lord! I have lost everything. My only prayer to you is that you should be in front of me every moment.”
Lord Vishnu said Amen and went to Patal Lok with King Bali.
When Goddess Lakshmi, who was waiting for Lord Vishnu in Vaikunth, got this information, she became worried. She called Narad Muni, consulted him, and asked for a solution to this problem. Narad Muni suggested to him that he should make King Bali his brother by tying a Raksha Sutra and ask for Lord Vishnu as a gift.
Goddess Lakshmi reached Patala Lok in the disguise of a poor woman and tied a Raksha Sutra on King Bali’s wrist as suggested by Narad.
Then King Bali said, “I have nothing to give you.”
Then Goddess Lakshmi came in her real form and said, “You have Lord Vishnu himself. I want only that.”
King Bali let Lord Vishnu go with Goddess Lakshmi. While leaving, Lord Vishnu told King Bali that he would stay in Patala Lok for four months every year. Those four months are called ‘Chaturdashi’ and start from Devshayani Ekadashi and continue till Devuthani Ekadashi.
The day Goddess Lakshmi tied the Raksha Sutra to King Bali was the full moon day of Shravan month. Since then, that day is celebrated as Raksha Bandhan, and on that day, sisters tie the Raksha Sutra/Rakhi on the wrists of their brothers, and brothers promise to protect their sisters.
The story of Lord Krishna and Draupadi:
This mythological story is related to the Mahabharata period. Yudhishthira organized the Rajsuya Yagya in his capital, Indraprastha. Shishupal was also present in that Yagya. During the Yagya, Shishupal insulted Lord Krishna, and Shri Krishna killed Shishupal with the Sudarshan Chakra.
While returning after killing Shishupal, Shri Krishna’s finger got slightly cut by the Sudarshan Chakra, and blood started flowing from it. Then Draupadi tore the pallu of her sari and tied it to Shri Krishna’s finger. At that time, Shri Krishna promised Draupadi that he would repay the debt of every single thread of this cloth.
When the Kauravas tried to disrobe Draupadi during the gambling game, then Shri Krishna, keeping his promise, extended the sari and protected Draupadi’s modesty.
The day Draupadi tied her pallu on Shri Krishna’s finger was the day of Shravan Purnima, and that day is celebrated as Raksha Bandhan.
The story of Yudhishthira:
This story is from the time of the Mahabharata war. One day during the war, Yudhishthira asked Shri Krishna, “Tell me a solution so that I can overcome all the troubles.”
Then Shri Krishna told Yudhishthira, “Tie a Raksha Sutra on the wrists of all the soldiers. It will ensure victory by removing all the troubles.”
Yudhishthira did the same and won the Mahabharata war. Raksha Sutra also contributed to this victory.
The day Yudhishthira tied the Raksha Sutra to all the soldiers was the full moon day of the month of Shravan. Since then, Rakhi is also tied to the soldiers on this day.
The story of Devraj Indra:
This story is mentioned in the Bhavishya Purana. Once for 12 years, there was a continuous war between the gods and the demons. In this war, the gods were defeated. Devraj Indra went to Amaravati with all the gods.
On the other hand, the demons captured the three worlds and established their kingdom and announced that in this kingdom, yajnas, reading of Vedas, worship, and religious rituals would not be done. In this way, religion started getting destroyed in all three worlds.
Sad and worried, Devraj Indra went to Guru Brahaspati. At that time, Guru Brahaspati’s wife Shuchi was also present with him.
Understanding the pain of Devraj Indra, she said, “Devraj! Tomorrow is Brahmin Shukla Purnima. I will give you a Raksha Sutra prepared as per the rules. Tomorrow, after getting the Raksha Vidhan done, get it tied on your wrist by the Brahmins. You will be victorious.”
On the morning of Friday, Shukla Paksha, Devraj Indra got the Raksha Sutra given by Shuchi tied on his wrist by the Brahmins, and due to its effect, the gods won the war. From that day onwards, the Raksha Bandhan festival is celebrated through the Brahmins.
Story of Alexander and King Porus:
When the Greek emperor Alexander, who had set out to conquer the world, reached India, he encountered the brave king Porus of the Puru dynasty of India. King Porus’ kingdom was located between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, and a large area of Sindh-Punjab came under his control.
A fierce battle took place between Alexander and Porus. Porus’s army gave a tough fight to Alexander’s army in the war. Alexander’s wife was aware of the Indian festival Rakshabandhan. She had seen the clouds of danger looming over her husband. She sent a Rakhi to Porus.
King Porus was surprised to see the Rakhi sent by Alexander’s wife. But he respected the Rakhi threads. There came a time in the war when Alexander’s horse had been killed by Porus’s brother, and Alexander was standing unarmed in front of Porus.
This was a great opportunity for Porus to finish off Alexander. But respecting the Rakhi, he did not attack the unarmed Alexander and left him.
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Story of Queen Karnavati and Humayun:
One story of Rakhi is associated with Queen Karnavati, the widow of Rajput King Sanga of Chittor, and Mughal ruler Humayun.
It was a tradition in Rajasthan that when Rajput kings went to war, women would put a tilak of kumkum on their foreheads and tie a silk thread on their wrists. They believed that the silk thread would make them victorious in the war.
In March 1534, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the ruler of Gujarat, attacked Chittor. Then the widowed Queen Karnavati of Chittor sent a Rakhi to Mughal Emperor Humayun and asked for his help.
At that time, Humayun was going to attack Bengal. But on receiving the Rakhi, he left his Bengal campaign and left for Chittor to help Queen Karnavati. Those were the days of elephants and horses. By the time Humayun reached Chittor, it was too late, and Rani Karnavati had committed Jauhar.
To fulfill the duty of Rakhi, Humayun fought with Bahadur Shah Zafar and, after defeating him, handed over the reins of Chittor to Vikramaditya, the son of his adopted sister Rani Karnavati.
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