Raksha Bandhan: Iron Bond of Love

The auspicious festival of Raksha Bandhan depicting the love between a brother and sister It falls in the month of Shravana, the month when the rains are receding, sea is calming down and weather is pleasant. The month is important to the farmers, to the fishermen and to the voyagers and businessmen. And in India all such days and months are a matter of celebration. These celebrations are in other words a kind of thanks giving to the Gods and is celebrated with great fervour and excitement all over India, particularly North India.

On this day sister’s tie a scared thread called 'Rakhi' around her brother's wrist. She prays to God for the safety of her brother and to lead him on a good path. The brother in return feeds her sweets and blesses her with good wishes and accepts the responsibility of protecting her. In Indian tradition the frail thread of Rakhi is considered stronger than iron chains as it binds brothers and sisters in an inseparable bond of love and trust. Raksha Bandhan is meant not just for siblings, but for protection of any loved one. 'Raksha' means protection and 'bandhan' means bond.

However, today we find people are being led away from the true meaning of such occasion because they mindlessly follow traditions, instead of finding the true meaning and base of these traditions. Does any one really know why Raksha Bandhan is celebrated ? The roots of most of the Hindu festivals can be traced to Hindu Mythology.

The ancient treatise Bhavishya Purana narrates the story of Indra and Indrani. It states that once Lord Indra was facing reverses in battle against demons led by King Bruta. At this stage Indra sought the help of Guru Brihaspati. The Sage advised him to tie a sacred thread powered by mantras on the auspicious day of Shravan Purnima. Following the suggestion, Indra's consort Indrani tied the sacred thread on Indra’s wrist for protection and assurance on the decided time. The Rakhi helped Gods win the battle against the demons. Raksha Bandhan is also mentioned in our epics as a festival of Gods. It is said that Yamuna, the sister of Yama, the lord of Death used to tie rakhi to her brother on every Shravan Purnima. Yama was so impressed by the occasion that he declared that who ever got a Rakhi tied from his sister would become immortal. From that day onwards girls tie rakhi to their brothers wishing them a long life and while tying the rakhi, the girls chant "Yena baddho, Balee raajaa daanavendro mahaabalah tena twaam anubadhnaami rakshe maa chala maa chala" meaning "I am tying a Rakhi on you, like the one on mighty demon king Bali. Be firm, O Rakhi, do not falter." The Brothers in turn bestow their blessings by promising to take care of the sisters through thick and thin.

The legend relates that the mighty Demon King Raja Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. When Lord Indra could not counter Bali in war, he went to Lord Vishnu for help. Vishnu pushed Bali to the neither world (Patala Lok). But Lord Vishnu promised King Bali immortality, till he had crowned Indra and also queitly decided to guard the kingdom of Patala leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Laxmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, wished the Lord to be back at Vaikunth. Disguised as a Brahmin woman she went to Bali to seek refuge till her husband returned home, after finishing all his important tasks. On the Shravan Purnima Day Goddess tied the sacred thread to Bali and prayed for his well being. Bali was touched by this gesture. He accepted her as his sister and requested her to make a wish. At this she revealed herself and told him that it was Lord Vishnu himself guarding his Kingdom. King Bali immediately requested the Lord to return to his abode. Which the Lord did so. Thus due to the Rakhi came all happiness and wealth to Goddess Laxmi. All auspicious things happened. From that day onwards, girls tie rakhi to their brothers and seek their blessings.

There is also an historical reason for this wonderful festival. During the invasion of Alexander the Great. It is said that Puru was a mighty king. Alexander had to face stiff resistance from him. Worried about her husband's fate, Alexander's wife seeked audience with King Puru. She requested him to accept her as his sister. Puru obliged her and promised not to harm Alexander. The Rakhi on Puru's hand is said to be the savior of Alexander.

In the medieval times, rakhi meant a call for help. The Rajput kingdoms were being attacked by the Muslim rulers. The Royal ladies solicited help from the fellow Rajput rulers sending them Rakhi. The Rajputs considered it their responsibility to respond to the request and help them. A famous incident relates how the widowed queen of Chittor, Rani Karnawati sent rakhi to Emperor Humayun to help her save the honor of the dependent Ladies. Humayun immediately followed the request and reached there with his troops. He despite all his efforts reached there late and the royal ladies had already performed the Jauhar.

All this signifies that Rakhi was not always only a brother sister festival. It has to fulfill the basic need of protection. It was an un- maligned prayer for good will and protection. It is said that at one time the Sages tied the sacred thread for protection to themselves and their followers.

In Pre-independence India, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore started Rakhi Utsavas, a congregation signifying the harmonious relationship amongst the community. It was a vow for peaceful existence and commitment to all the members of society. This was Raksha Bandhan's universal outlook.

In today’s society Rakhi though celebrated, as a sibling's festival, if taken in true sense has a much broader perspective. The festival encompasses true sense of peace and brotherhood. The day is all about “Raksha” or protection, not just for self but for the dear ones, for peaceful existence of the human race The values propagated by the occasion if inculcated by all human beings can bring the much-needed relief from the ongoing violence and mistrust.

Lets me conclude with this small ancient poetic verse :

"May all be happy
May all be free from ills
May all behold only the good
May none be in distress."

This has always been the idea of an ideal Hindu society, which is the need of the hour in today’s violent times.

Goddess Mariyamma and Mogaveera Samaja

The history of Goddess Shree Maariyamma can be traced back to nearly about 500 years. As per ancient folklore and the sayings of ancestors, a person from the ‘Dulli Gurikara’ family living in the Moghaveera village of ancient Karnataka, had gone to the ghat area on business visit. While returning home, his body started shaking and shivering as if in a trance known as ‘Avesha’ meaning Goddess entering a human body and speaking through him. The ‘Avesha’ soon spread to his family members too. This continued for several days without any respite for him or his family members with the Devi refusing to leave their bodies and releasing them from their agony. The Devi through them kept chanting “I am Goddess Shree Maaridevi. I am ordering you all to perform daily poojas to invoke my blessings and according to the strength of your belief and faith I will grant you the ‘phala’ (fruit).”

After several days of agony, as a last resort all the family members and the villagers held a Meeting. And together they decided to pray to the Goddess and did that saying that since they were poor, they could not be able to perform daily pooja. The Devi accepted their wish and then assured them with a Abhaya Lastha … “I have come here to show you all the way, for earning your livelihood. I will show you a suitable place to make the prathishatapana (temple memorial).”

Consequently all the members of the seven pattanas (villages) of the Moghaveera Samaj held a meeting from Kudroli to Hosabettu. As per the decision taken by all, the Gram Patela of Boloor was made their head and he narrated the proceedings of the meeting and he also suggested a suitable place for construction of temple for the Devi. It was a vacant plot of land. In those days the Pottu Kumbaras used to perform poojas to Lord Eishwara (Shiva) in the nearby katte or gudi (monuments). And thus villagers of Moghaveera Pattanas installed the idol of Goddess Shree Maaridevi and started worshipping the Devi in the adjacent plot next to Eishwara Gudi.

Despite their poverty, all the fishermen parted with one share of their income for the development of the Devi Temple. From then onwards, it became a custom to collect vanthiye (monetary offerings) from the villagers of the pattanas. As proof of their devotion, their money was then utilized to decorate the Goddess with different varieties of gold coins on her neck. All the women, children without any age bar, co-operated in the construction of the Maaridevi Temple, by joining hands in this noble cause. They even carried bricks, stones and other building materials on their heads and walked all the way for one and half kms from Boloor.

From the time immemorial, whenever they faced a scarcity of fishes in the sea or any crisis, all the villagers of the seven paraganas meet at Yogettu and prayed to the Devi for a whole day, and miraculously the very next day they would get a bumper crop of fishes in the seas. To support this belief, they have a lot of evidence too. For instance whenever the sea became wild and rough and they could not venture into it for fishing, they would pray to Goddess Maariamma and miraculously she would bless her devotees and the tidal waves would recede back into the sea and calm down the waters. Even during heavy rains lashing the seas, the fishermen without caring for their lives would jump into the seas with the belief that Goddess Maariamma would protect them by not allowing any accident to occur and thereby protecting the entire Moghaveera Samaja.

Hence from the ancient times to this day, the Moghaveera Samaja has sacrificied everything at the feet of Goddess Maariamma. As proof of this Sridevi Maariamma has ordered the “Dulli” family to participate and perform all the religious ceremonies and rituals of the temple even when they have any “Sutakas” (bad omens). All the religious ceremonies even today are being conducted by the Moghaveeras of the seven pattanas in sequence one after the other, annually.