Last Updated on August 13, 2024 by Tejaswini

The Purnima, the full moon day, of the Shravan month has the following four activities associated with it,

Shri Hayagriv Jayanti – Shri Hayagriv is an avtar of Bhagwan Vishnu who is the source of all wisdom. He was manifested to destroy the Asur Madhu and Asus Kaitabh who had stolen the Ved. And he is also associated with the Shri Vidya /Tantra, eg the Shri Lalita trishati is described by Devi Lalita to Shri Hayagriv. Every serious aspirant who desires Moksh, will, at some point of his journey, have do intense pujas of Shri Hayagriv. So on this day we all worship Shri Vishnu (Satva gun) in this form and request his blessings. ‘Haya’ is the ‘carrier of the deities’ or the number 7 or the ‘urge onwards’, and ‘griv’ means neck in Sanskrit.

Narali Purnima – We worship the Samudra devata as the primordial deity. Everything in this universe originates from the Samudra. Devi Laxmi is the daughter of the ocean. Chandradev, the deity of the Moon has also originated from the ocean. And the Samudra Manthan allegory is basically the churning of the divine waters in search of immorality. On this day, people who live on the coasts worship the ocean, offer coconuts as Bali to him and request his protection and blessings. ‘Narali’ is derived from Narikela which is coconut in Sanskrit.

The Yajnopavit sutra is changed. Men who wear the Yajnopavit sutra will change the sutra formally once a year on this day. The procedure varies as per family traditions, the Ved shaka followed, gotra etc, ie it can be a simple 10min procedure or a long 2 hr special puja on this day.

Raksha Bandhan – On this day women tie a Raksha Kavach, commonly called a ‘Rakhi’ to their brother’s wrists. The intention is that the women protect their loved ones with their spiritual power. In these modern times, there is a huge confusion on who is protecting whom. So let’s refer to our books,

1. The Raksha kavach was first tied by the Indrani, Devi Sachi to her husband Indradev when he was going to war. She intends to protect her husband with the power of her intention/ spiritual strength as he goes to fight the Asur armies. And the Kavach is the symbol of her power to protect him. It is the Indrani who intends to protect Indradev and not the other way around.
2. Devi Laxmi had tied a Raksha kavach to Raja Bali as a promise that she would protect him. This incident occurs during the Shri Vaman avtar.
   In short. Bhagwan Vishnu is very pleased with Raja Bali’s generosity and wants to give him a boon. Raja Bali requests that Shri Vishnu always physically stay with him to protect him. Shri Vishnu agrees and goes with him to Patal-lok. But Devi Laxmi feels that Shri Vishnu should come back to his realm Vaikunth. So she goes to meet Raja Bali and asks him to release Shri Vishnu from his promise. And instead she gives him her own promise of protection. As a symbol of her power, she ties a Raksha kavach on Raja Bali’s wrist. Here the Rakhi symbolises Devi Laxmi protecting Raja Bali and not the other way round.
   This incident is the origin of the mantra which we recite while tying the Raksha kavach,
   “Raja Bali, the most generous and the most powerful, was tied with such a Raksha. I am tying such a Raksha on you. Or Raksha kavach never move, never move.”
   येन बद्धो बली राजा दानवेन्द्रो महाबलः।
   तेन त्वाम् अभिबध्नामि रक्षे मा चल मा चल॥
3. After major anushthans or after major pilgrimages, etc the people participating in the puja will get a Raksha kavach tied to their wrists by the Brahmins. The Brahmin will recite this same mantra while he ties the Raksha threads. The Raksha Kavach symbolises the power of the deity channelised through the Brahmin protecting the devotee. It represents the power of the deity which protects the devotee and not the other way round.
4. On this day, when a woman ties a Raksha kavach on her brother, it represents her power to protect her brother. Not the other way round as the media is trying to propagate. (There was a question on this, thus this mini-post).
   If you are a woman tying the Rakhi on your brother’s wrist, then this means that you are supposed to charge it with your spiritual power and the blessings of the deity you worship. You are promising to protect your brother and not the other way round.

The Raksha kavach is a red and yellow cotton thread wrapped thrice around the right wrist and tied with three knots. Modern Rakhis are very elaborate, with decorations etc which look very attractive. But try to buy Rakhis with red and yellow coloured threads and tie it with three knots while reciting the mantra above. If you can make the Raksha kavach then it will be even more powerful. (I buy beautiful cotton threads, red, yellow, gold and then elaborately knot them together, using the mantras I know, each knot has one mantra in it. And then tie them to my son, husband, father and post them to my brothers.)

A Raksha Kavach can be tied by a spiritually evolved person or a genuine Brahmin or a man or a woman to anyone who desires protection. It is not limited to a sister tying it for her brother. The person who is tying it is doing the protecting and the one who gets it tied is the one being protected. Not the other way round.

The beauty of our Bharat and our Sanatan Dharma is that our festivals are all celebrated with the same happiness and joy all over the land. Every woman, young and old, on this day throughout our nation, east, west, north south, goes shopping to buy the most beautiful Rakhis and then ties it with intention on her loved ones. Then gets gifts in exchange. And this one day is pure happiness spent with the ones you love the most.

Either way you celebrate it with, either with Shri Vidya / Vedant or with the Samudra devata or with the Gayatri mantra or with the Raksha kavach, Shravan purnima is one of the most powerful days of the year. And everyone should try to make use of its energy.