Love, affection, devotion, dedication
It’s not just the bond of blood relations
Rather
Rakshabandhan is that powerful sacred knot
That tightly binds humans and their emotions
As the legends point, this festival dates back to the Mahabharata period, where the bond was celebrated between Lord Krishna and Draupadi, his Sakha.
But contrary to the popular Bollywood theme of “Bhaiya mere rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana”(Dear brother, promise me never to forget this bond between us) or the show of brother’s strength in his vows to protect his sister always, the legend portrays a selfless bond between two close friends.
It wasn’t for getting some favor from Devkinandan (Krishna) that Yagyaseni (Draupadi) had tied rakhi to him but it was the care of a friend that couldn’t see her friend’s finger bleeding profusely.
The legend mentions Shri. Krishna using his sudarshan chakra to behead Shishupal in order to punish him for his wrong doings, in the process hurting his finger. On seeing his finger bleeding profusely, while his queens sent someone to get bandages but a friend’s heart could not tolerate the bleeding wound and she immediately tore off a piece of her saree to bandage him.
It wasn’t to get his favors in return but sheer selfless love and heartfelt emotion of helping her friend.
On the other hand it was the feeling of gratitude that made Vasudev return the favor by helping her when she was being humiliated in the court of Kauravas, after Pandavas lost her to them in the game of Chauser.
It wasn’t that Draupadi wasn’t strong enough to protect herself but her hands were tied….
—-By the relationships
— By her husbands deeds and
— By her womanhood
More than winning the game of Chauser, the Kauravas were interested in somehow getting a chance to insult and humiliate Draupadi to avenge her sarcastic comments that she’d made when Duryodhana had mistaken a pool for a solid floor in her palace and fallen down.
She prayed to everyone present in the courtroom, but all hung their heads in shame and watched with their tongues tied the cruelty that the woman suffered at the hands of men.
It was then at last that she prayed to Vasudev to help her if he valued her selfless love for him and Lord Krishna came to her rescue. It is said that the number of threads in the piece of torn saree that Draupadi had tied on his finger equaled the number of sarees that got wrapped around Draupadi to save her honor.
So this bond of selfless love became her protector and since then has continued this tradition of festival of Raksha Bandhan when on this auspicious day women tie beautiful holy threads on their brother’s wrist but now the vows to protect have changed into materialistic gifts in return.
Just like other festivals Rakshabandhan too has become a festival of pomp and show with costly vibrant designer rakhis adorning the shelves in the shops and equally costly return gifts waiting to be taken away.
The bond that those simple sacred threads created, that love, that affection, that devotion and that dedication.
Is it still there??
Or has it been replaced by materialism.
For sure yes otherwise don’t you think that
A Krishna could have arrived when nirbhaya died
Or a Vasudev could have easily saved a young doctor’s life
A woman could enjoy her freedom and rights
Moreover no parents would be left worrying
About their daughter’s honor and pride
A bond that was so pure, so magical
Needs to be revived
For the safety of our girls, sisters and wives.
Dear readers, on the occasion of this most auspicious festival of Raksha Bandhan let us all pledge
To revive the Krishna in us, who always favored the virtuous and right without caring about the society.
To revive the Vasudev in us, who unconditionally stands up to save a woman’s dignity.
To revive Devkinandan who fearlessly and fiercely fought his battles to establish morality
To revive Yashodanandan who cannot tolerate any type of criminality.
Let us pledge to turn this festival once again into that sacred bond of love that it started with, allowing our sisters to feel fearless and feel the presence of brotherhood around.
Let us all spread this message that Raksha Bandhan in not merely a bond between blood relations but a bond of emotions and exchange of vows between individuals to help each other with our love and commitment in times of need and distress rather than exchanging lifeless materialistic gifts
A very Happy Raksha Bandhan to all of you my dear friends.
Hope this Raksha Bandhan brings peace, happiness, and a feeling of safety and security in every sister’s life.
The Momma Clan 
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