When is Raksha Bandhan?
The answer
Tuesday, 17 August 2027
The full moon of Shravana.
Why that day
- The tithi it is
- Shravana Shukla Purnima
Read the ordinary way: the day whose SUNRISE this tithi is running at.
And after that
Saturday, 5 August 2028
Shravana Shukla Purnima
Friday, 24 August 2029
Shravana Shukla Purnima
How this date is worked out
A festival is a position, not a date. The lunar month is named by the sidereal sign the Sun stands in at the new moon that opens it, and the tithi is the Moon's distance from the Sun in twelve-degree steps. Both come from the same ephemeris this site casts birth charts with.
North India reckons a month from full moon to full moon, so the dark fortnight carries the next month's name — the same day is Shravana Krishna Tritiya in Pune and Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya in Delhi. These dates use the northern reckoning, and the tithi is printed above so there is nothing to take on trust.
Why it is kept
The full moon of Shravana — but the tying is not allowed through the whole day, and that is the important rule here: no rakhi during Bhadra. Bhadra is counted as Shani's sister and is barred for auspicious acts; one story says Shurpanakha tied Ravana's rakhi during Bhadra and Lanka ended. So in many years the rakhi is tied only after midday. Raksha Bandhan is not limited to brother and sister either — it is the thread that binds a promise of protection, which is why brahmins tied it for their yajman and priests for kings.
The story behind it
Draupadi and Krishna
When Shishupala was killed, the Sudarshan cut Krishna's finger. Draupadi tore a strip off her sari and bound it.
The promise
Krishna said: I will repay this cloth. That promise came due at the disrobing.
Indrani
In another, Indra was losing the war with the asuras and Indrani tied an empowered thread on his wrist, and he won. That is the oldest story of the raksha sutra — and it has a wife in it, not a sister.
Bali and Lakshmi
In the third, Vishnu had become Bali's gatekeeper. Lakshmi tied a rakhi on Bali, made him her brother, and asked for Vishnu as the gift.
The point
In all three the one tying the thread is not the weaker one — she takes a promise of protection, and it is the one who gives it who is bound.
What to keep ready
- The rakhi — silk thread; raw cotton is traditional too
- Roli, akshat, haldi and sandal for the tilak
- An aarti thali, a lamp, camphor
- A coconut and sweets
- A gift for the brother and one for the sister
- A janeu, for the Shravani Upakarma, for those who change it
- Kalava — priests tie it for their yajman on this day
How the puja is done
1
Check the hour
Look up Bhadra in a panchang first. The rakhi is tied only after it ends — the afternoon is usually the best window.
2
The thali
Rakhi, roli, akshat, lamp, sweets and a coconut on the thali. The thali is worshipped first.
3
Tilak and rakhi
Seat the brother facing east or north. Tilak, akshat, then the rakhi on the right wrist. As it is tied: yena baddho bali raja danavendro mahabalah.
4
Aarti
The aarti with the lamp, and a sweet.
5
The promise and the gift
The brother gives the promise of protection, and the gift. That is what the thread is for.
6
Shravani Upakarma
Those who wear the janeu change it today; that is this purnima's separate observance.
What to do
- Check Bhadra before tying — the strictest rule of this festival and the most ignored.
- Tie the rakhi on the right wrist.
- Seat the brother facing east or north for the tilak.
- The old rakhi comes off into water or under a tree, not into a bin.
- Anyone without a brother or sister can keep it — in the stories a wife, a priest and a friend all tie it.
What not to do
- Do not tie the rakhi during Bhadra.
- No black rakhi and no broken thread.
- Do not seat the brother facing south for the tilak.
- He eats nothing before it is tied, and nor does she before the tilak.
- No harsh words between them today; the thread is a promise, not a display.
The aarti
Om Jai Jagdish Hare
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥
येन बद्धो बली राजा, दानवेन्द्रो महाबलः।
तेन त्वाम् अभिबध्नामि, रक्षे मा चल मा चल॥
जो ध्यावे फल पावे, दुख बिनसे मन का।
सुख सम्पत्ति घर आवे, कष्ट मिटे तन का॥
मात-पिता तुम मेरे, शरण गहूँ किसकी।
तुम बिनु और न दूजा, आस करूँ जिसकी॥
भाई-बहन का नाता, तुमने ही रचाया।
रक्षा सूत्र के धागे, वचन में बँधवाया॥
दीनबंधु दुखहर्ता, ठाकुर तुम मेरे।
अपने हाथ उठाओ, द्वार पड़ा तेरे॥
The sky has a calendar. So do you.
The same engine reads your own birth moment — every house, every graha, every period with dates.