Bhai Dooj – Festival of the Beautiful bond Between Sister and Brother

Bhai Dooj is the day celebrated every year after two days of Diwali, on the second lunar day of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartika. According to Hindus, this day has great importance in society, as this day is celebrated by the brothers and sisters. The day is celebrated during Diwali or Tihar festival and the Holi festival. The most famous day is celebrated on Diwali and the least famous day celebrated three days before Holi. This day is also celebrated by different-different names in different parts of India like in Bihar and its nearby parts it is known as ‘Bhai Phonta’. It is also known as ‘Bhai Bej’ in other parts like Maharashtra, Gujrat, Goa, and Karnataka. But the most common name mainly known to everyone is ‘Bhai dooj’.

 

Mythological stories behind this day;

There are many Mythological stories related to the day like;

1. Lord Shri Krishna killed one of the evils named ‘Narakasura’ on this day, and when he visited his sisters, Subhadra house where lord Krishna warm welcomed by him. She also greets Lord Krishna with sweets and flowers. Then she applied Tika on his forehead and also tied Religious thread (Moli) on his wrist. Many saints said that from that time onwards this day started celebrating as a festival every year.
2. There is one more story related to the day. According to this, Yamraj, ‘the lord of death’ visited his sister Yami every year on this day. She welcomed every year him with warm greetings, as she puts tilak on his forehead. As it is believed that tilak is the symbol of victory and it is also believed that this saves the agony of the hell-fire.
3. Yet one another story is related to the day connected to ‘Mahavir’. The story is that after Mahavir attained nirvana, his brother Raja Nandivardhan started feeling depressed and at that time his sister helped him to get out of all the negative thoughts. So, this day is also celebrated as a dedication to sister caring to brother.

So, these are some of the stories behind the celebration of the day.

 

How the ceremony was celebrated;

#1. The celebration of this day is quite similar to the Raksha Bandhan, but the difference is instead of tying Rakhi they used to tie religious thread (Moli). The Moto behind both the days is the same which is to show respect to the sister’s love for his brother.

#2. The day is celebrated in different-different ways in different parts. As in Bihar and many eastern states followed their traditions. But the most common procedure done to celebrate the day is as follows:

#3. The first, thing is that the brothers visited their sister’s house and sisters warm welcomed him with tilak and tying of Moli on his wrist. After this, they put sweets in each other mouth which means that their bond always stays as sweet as it is before. Then after doing all the ceremonial procedures they have to go for food.

#4. The mythology behind eating the food with the sister is that the one who eats food with his sister on this occasion is blessed with a long and fruitful life by Yamraj.

#5. This also brings prosperity to the brother’s life as it is believed that sisters are the kind of goddess and their happiness is a boon for the brother. The more the sister is happy, the more the brother is doing good in life.

#6. So, that’s why brothers give gifts to his sister to make her happy. After doing all the things they both have to go for pooja and pray that this beautiful bond remains as same as during the whole life.

#7. Sisters pray for brother’s wellness and prosperity, and brother prays that God provides all the things which his sister wants in his life. Brothers also promise to his sister that they will always help them even in any situation and also sister promises the same.

#8. If sisters don’t have brothers then what they do is that they worship the moon, as the moon is considered a god in Hindu culture and also called ‘Chanda Mama’, which conveys a very beautiful bond between brothers and sisters. Brothers also have to do the same if they don’t have a sister.

This is how the day is supposed to be celebrated every year by all the sisters and brothers.

One more thing about tika is, tika is always made up of a mix of rice, turmeric, and kumkum. The tika is applied always with the ring-finger or thumb attached.

 

Gifts that you can give to your sisters;

• Chocolates; as we all know that every sister likes chocolates, so chocolates are the best gift that you can give to them this year. This makes them happy and this also moves your pocket to the lighter side.
• Clothes; You can also give clothes to your sisters. As every girl is very fond of clothes, you can go shopping in the evening of Bhai Dooj and buy some clothes for her of her choice. This makes her even happier than the gift of chocolates. If you are not able to go shopping then you can also give money, so that she can buy clothes of his choice any time and of her choice.
• Cup with photo; you can also order a cup with the photo of your sister and you are printed on it, as this is a very beautiful gift to show your love to sister.
• Other things that you can provide your sister like brownies, a Mobile phone(as today’s phone is a necessary need for all to study and all other things), Jewellery and a lot more things that you can gift to your sister.

How this day need to seen by each and everyone in today’s life;

As we all know that these days rape cases are increasing day by day. So, my concern is that everyone needs to understand that every girl is just like his sister and has to consider everyone equal. So, this type of crime is not going to occur in the future.

So, Happy Bhai Dooj to everyone from my side and enjoy the day with your family.