Last Updated on 29 August 2023 IST | Raksha Bandhan 2023: Raksha Bandhan is the day meant to celebrate the special brother-sister bond. In this Blog today, we’ll share with you the best Gift Idea for your sister along with some Raksha Bandhan Quotes for the day. You’ll also know about some lesser-known facts and stories of Raksha Bandhan in conjunction with the details about the Real Protector and Saviour of all living beings.

What Is Raksha Bandhan?

Raksha Bandhan is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in India, dedicated to the pious bond between a brother and a sister. This festival is celebrated in Shravana month during full moon day or Purnima day (generally August), which is also considered a very auspicious occasion by Hindus.

Raksha Bandhan 2023 India Date

The dates vary each year as per the position of the Moon. But, this year Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 30, 2023.

On this day, all girls dress in traditional outfits while the boys wear ethnic outfits and sisters tie sacred thread called Rakhi on their brother’s wrist in accordance with the auspicious timing. In return the brothers give gifts and promise their sister protection during difficult and hard times.

Why Is Raksha Bandhan Celebrated?

Raksha Bandhan is celebrated to praise and strengthen the bond of brother-sister love. Furthermore, this festival marks the uniqueness of this bond and gives them a day to celebrate their love and affection for each other.

Meaning of Raksha Bandhan

The festival is made up of two words, namely “Raksha” and “Bandhan.” As per Sanskrit terminology, the occasion means “the tie or knot of protection” where “Raksha” stands for the protection and “Bandhan” signifies the verb to tie. Together, the festival symbolizes the love of the brother-sister relationship which does not mean just blood relationships only as it is also celebrated among cousins.

What Does Rakhi Mean?

Rakhi means “tie or knot of protection” and this festival is also called Rakhi Poornima.

Ancient Stories Behind Celebration of Raksha Bandhan?

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is known to have originated centuries before and there are several stories related to the celebration of this special festival. Some of the various accounts related to Hindu mythology are described below

Queen Karnavati and King Humayun

Queen Karnavati tied Rakhi to King Humayun and sought his help as a brother to protect her kingdom. King Humayun fought the war on her behalf and handed over the kingdom to her son Vikramjit.

■ Read in Hindi: Raksha Bandhan in Hindi

Draupadi and Shri Krishna

While killing Sisupala, Lord Krishna accidentally injured his finger. Draupadi immediately tied a piece of her sari on his finger. It is believed that Lord Krishna saved her in Kauravas’ courtroom for that favour which is wrong. 

Lord Indra and His Wife Sachi

Sachi, the wife of Indra tied a sacred thread on the wrist of her husband to protect him from the Demons and win the war that was going on with them.

Goddess Lakshmi and King Bali

Another legend says that Goddess Laxmi tied a rakhi to King Bali and requested him to allow her husband Lord Vishnu to return to her, as he had asked Vishnu to live with him forever. King Bali understood the pain of a wife and allowed Vishnu to go with her in their world. Since then, the festival of Raksha Bandhan is said to be celebrated.

Why Is Raksha Bandhan 2023 Celebrated in India?

Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore initiated the celebration of Raksha Bandhan to inculcate a sense of mutual understanding and brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims in 1905.

Cultural Significance of Raksha Bandhan in India

The festival is celebrated every year as a custom to keep the sister – brother relationship life long. It inculcates a sense of responsibility in the brother from a very young age and makes a sister feel more protected and protective towards her brother.

■ Also Read: Raksha Bandhan-Myths and Facts 

As an obligation of visiting each other, it makes an opportune time to allow siblings to come together and forget bitter memories if any, and strengthen their relationship with love.

Facts Behind Raksha Bandhan

Hindus believe deeply in karmas. According to them, good karmas lead to blissful time and bad karmas cause one to endure misery and pain. The Hindu trinity; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva cannot make any change in an individual’s destiny. So technically, tying a Rakhi to your brother doesn’t guarantee protection.

If tying a Rakhi gives protection then this means that those girls who have a brother can feel protected and the girls who don’t have a brother cannot get protection of any kind. But is this really true? Kaliyuga, the present age is characterized by a lot of turmoil and adverse circumstances.

■ Also Read | Raksha Bandhan [Hindi]: रक्षाबंधन पर जानिए कौन है हमारा वास्तविक रक्षक?

Does tying a Rakhi to a brother guarantee protection for a sister? How can a brother protect his sister if he lives miles apart from her or if he is the one who in fact needs protection from his sister? Consider the present scenario: Will a brother be able to protect his sister if she has contracted with the Coronavirus (Covid-19)?

Raksha Bandhan 2023: Present Situation in India

In the current scenario, the brother-sister bond and the love within us have more or less faded in the limelight of sophistication. All the boys who behave very protective towards their sisters do not hesitate even a single bit to misbehave with a stranger girl. Even if a girl ties Rakhi to their brothers they still get molested, brutally raped, or even killed for dowry.

There are many examples of this, Nirbhaya, Unnao Victim, Dr. Preeti Reddy to name a few. Doesn’t this even ring a bell that tying a rakhi does no good whatsoever in protecting a girl? These instances clearly indicate that a human (brother) is never and can never be capable of helping another human (sister) during distressing times always.

Raksha Bandhan 2023 Gift – Connection to the Real God

The most important gift a brother can give his sister is the right guidance about the real protector and guardian of all beings and this guidance comes from True Guru. Take the refuge of a true enlightened Guru who provides true worship, so that Almighty Lord Kabir Sahib can protect you. And promise your sister that you will never take recreational drugs and intoxicants. So this Raksha Bandhan Gift the book “The Way of Living” to your sister written by Jagat Guru Rampal Ji Maharaj.

Raksha Bandhan 2023 Quotes

• “Essence of Rakshabandhan is the bond between the soul and the divine”
• “Create a thread (relation) with God which never breaks and you won’t feel like removing”
• “Blood relationships fade and we lose our loved ones over time, but our real hero Supreme God always lives with the soul”
• “Pious souls can always rely on Lord Kabir for protection in this Kaal lok”
• “There should be no other bond like the honest bond for Lord Kabir”
• “Lord Kabir is like a father, mother, brother, and a sister to a righteous soul”
• “Sweets, money, clothes, and human love are perishable but love with God is immortal”
• “This Rakshabandhan, tie a knot to Lord Kabir as a mark of protection by taking initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj”
• “Look around ! change your mindset, No human can guarantee you more security than Supreme God Kabir”

Raksha Bandhan 2023: Who Is the Real Protector?

Now the question arises who is really capable of giving us protection and granting us salvation? The only answer possible to this is that the true Almighty God is the only one capable of protecting us from anything and everything. He is the only one who can put a permanent end to all our sufferings by erasing all our bad karma which are a major cause for all the sufferings we endure during our lifetime.

Today, there is only one enlightened saint in this entire universe who is imparting the true knowledge of the True Almighty Kabir Saheb. His name is Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj. The teachings and sermons of Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj not only puts a soul on the path of righteousness and truth but at the same time, the way of worship imparted by Him helps the soul to get rid of all their past bad deeds which not only helps it to live a hassle-free and suffering-free life but at the same time attain salvation. To know the correct way of worship and know how to attain true Almighty, kindly listen to the Spiritual discourses by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj. To take initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj, please click here to fill the initiation form.

FAQs about Raksha Bandhan 2023