There are great stories behind the festival of Raksha Bandhan ? Why is it that reason behind women ties a perfect band on the wrist of their brothers? Well as you might have by now guessed, there are loads of stories in the Indian history that bring up stuff about this event and festival, each with a related moral, however, diverse contexts. Here’s a set of the most well-known stories behind the majestic festival of Rakhi.

Rakhi Day Festival History

Krishna and Draupadi

In all prospects, the extremely popular story in Indian mythology is that of Draupadi (wife of the five Pandavas) and Lord Krishna. The story came into the picture while the festival of Makar Sankranti. Krishna cut his little finger when dealing with sugarcane. His Queen, Rukmini right away sent an official to get bandages. In the meantime, Draupadi, who was watching the complete incident, cut off a bit of her Saree and tied on Lord Krishna’s finger to discontinue the bleeding. In return, Krishna assured to assist her out when needed. That is the story behind the help Krishna offered while the unceremonious disrobing of Draupadi, Krishna came and made her saree never ending, saving her from the shame by giving her a shield when she required it the most.

King Humayun and Rani Karnavati

Another eminent version of the history of Rakhi is of Rani Karnavati and King Humayun. Karnavati was the administrator of Mewar after the death of her husband Rana Sanga. She ruled with her elder son Vikramjeet. Bahadur Shah based out of Gujarat hit Mewar for the second time. He had defeated Vikramjeet previously. The Queen contacted different kingdoms for support. Also, Karnavati wrote to Humayun for assistance. She sent him a Rakhi and wanted protection. Intriguingly, Humayun's father Babur had beaten Rana Sanga when he leads a merger of Rajput armies against him in 1527. The Mughal emperor was in the middle of other military campaigns when he arrived at the call for aid.

Regrettably, he did not make it on time as the Rajput army was overpowered in Chittoor. However, the queen had before now set herself on fire to keep away from the mortification of falling in the hands of the emperor Bahadur Shah. The emperor, however, could not go any auxiliary and had to turn away from Chittoor as Mughal army arrived soon after. Humayun then reinstated the kingdom to Karnavati's son, Vikramjit.

Yama and the Yamuna

As per another legend, the ritual of Raksha Bandhan was a tag along by Yama (lord of death) and Yamuna (the river in India). The narrative goes that when the Yamuna tied a Rakhi to Yama, the lord of death settled her immortality. And so moved he was by the nod, he is said to have affirmed that any brother who has tied a Rakhi and presented to protect his sister would also turn immortal.

Birth of Santoshi Maa

This take on the event of Rakhi is a story of the birth of Santoshi Maa. On this promising day, Lord Ganesha's sister Manasa visited to tie him a thread of Rakhi. On observing this, Ganesha's sons started persisting on having a sister. With their demands, Ganesha created goddess Santoshi from the divine flames that are said to have materialized from his consorts Riddhi as well as Siddhi.

Roxana and Emperor Porus

An additional legend has it that when Alexander the Great attacked India in 326 BC, his wife, Roxana sent Porus a blessed thread and asked him not to hurt her husband on the war field. Dedicatory to the request, when he tackled out Alexander, he refused to execute him. Sooner or later, Porus lost the war of the Hydaspes River but would put on Alexander's admiration and respect. In due course, after his death, Porus would become a very devoted Macedonian satrap.

King Bali and Goddess Laxmi

As part of a pledge; Lord Vishnu had been shielding his devotee and the demon King Bali, covered up himself as his doorman. Rear in Vaikuntha, the dwelling of Vishnu, his consort Laxmi has been missing him. Disguising herself as a woman in quest of shelter to live in, as her husband has been left; she advanced to Bali for help. The big-hearted king opens the doors of his palaces for the women.

As Laxmi, the goddess of prosperity and richness enters the house, Bali started prospering. On the full moon day of in the divine Shravana month, Laxmi ties a thread of dyed cotton on Bali's wrist and requests for contentment. Bali asks her what she wishes to fulfill it. Laxmi plainly points to the gatekeeper who now discloses his real personality.

The goddess pursues suit and Bali keeps his swear as he appealed Vishnu to return to his home with his companion. In homecoming, Vishnu promised to return and be with Bali for 4 months of every year.

Moving Forward

The Rakhi event is popular all over the globe not just India with some or the other stories depicted above in this blog post. You can now purchase Rakhis online on our web portal at OnlineRakhiStore.com.

We offer designer Rakhis for your siblings meant for the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and popular Rakhi Day. To make things straightforward, you just need to place an order online on our website to send Rakhis and Rakhi gifts across India.