Pan-India · July–August
Also known as Rakhi · Rakhi Purnima · Saluno
When it’s celebrated
The exact date shifts each year — it’s fixed from the panchang. Cast your free kundli or check the calendar for this year’s muhurat.
Significance
Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love and protection between brothers and sisters. A sister ties a sacred thread (rakhi) on her brother's wrist, praying for his wellbeing, while he pledges lifelong protection and care — a ritual of mutual duty, affection and familial loyalty that has come to symbolise protective bonds of all kinds.
The story
Several legends underpin Raksha Bandhan. The most cited is from the Mahabharata: when Krishna cut his finger, Draupadi tore a strip from her sari and bound his wound, and Krishna vowed to protect her — a debt he repaid during her disrobing in the Kuru court. Another tells of Goddess Lakshmi tying a thread on King Bali to free Vishnu from his pledge, establishing the rakhi as a bond of protection.
Rituals
Across India
While the brother-sister rakhi is pan-Indian, the full-moon day carries other observances: in coastal and western India it coincides with Narali Purnima, when fishermen offer coconuts to the sea god Varuna, and in parts of North India it is Kajari Purnima. In the South it overlaps with Avani Avittam, when Brahmin men renew their sacred thread (yajnopavita).
Questions
Raksha Bandhan celebrates the bond of love and protection between brothers and sisters. The sister ties a rakhi on her brother's wrist and prays for his welfare, while he vows to protect and support her throughout life.
Raksha Bandhan literally means 'the bond of protection'. The sacred rakhi thread symbolises a sister's prayers for her brother and his pledge to safeguard her, representing mutual duty and affection.
Raksha Bandhan is observed on the full moon (Purnima) of the month of Shravana, usually in July or August. The rakhi is tied during an auspicious window free of the Bhadra period, and the date changes each year with the Hindu lunar calendar.
Sisters tie a decorated rakhi on their brothers' wrists, apply tilak, perform aarti and pray for their wellbeing. Brothers give gifts and promise protection, and families share sweets and a festive meal.
A popular legend tells how Draupadi tore her sari to bandage Krishna's bleeding finger, and in return Krishna vowed to protect her always — establishing the rakhi as a bond of protection.
Book a pooja in your name, find the muhurat, or read the day’s panchang — bring the festival into your own practice.
