Raksha Bandhan has its history deep rooted in Hindu mythology and epics. There is description of various customs and traditions of Rakhi celebrations in these finest sources. In fact, there are mention about some of the famous brothers and sisters from Mythology too. Have a look at well-known sisters and brothers from mythology:
- King Humayun and Rani Karnavati:
This brother sister duo was very popular of their time. The history of the origin of their relationship dates back to the time of Mughal era. At that time, Raksha Bandhan was the appropriate platform to tie Rajputs and Mughals into a bond of love. Legends have it that when Bahadur Shah Zafar of Gujarat attacked Rani Karnavati of Chittor, she sent a Rakhi to King Humayun and requested for help. Humayun did come to his Rakhi sister's help only to find the queen dead. All the women of Chittor had performed ‘jauhar’.
- Devaki and Kansa:
Kansa was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna and brother of Devaki. He was known as a tyrant ruler. There was a prediction that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. When Kansa came to know that Devaki’s eighth child would be his killer, he decided to kill all the children of his sister. So, this famous brother and sister of mythology are still known for Kansa’s misdeeds and cruelty.
- Yamaraj and Yamuna:
It is believed that the Lord of Death—Yamaraj and his twin sister Yami or Yamuna started the tradition of celebration of Raksha Bandhan. On the full moon day, Yamuna cordially invited her brother, Yamaraj. She tied chasm of Rakhi and performed puja. She also put the vermilion and prayed for his long life. Later, she gave him delicious food to eat. Hence, Yamaraj was moved by the loving and affectionate gesture and declared that whosoever gets a Rakhi tied from his sister will be blessed with a long life. Saranyu is their mother is Saranyu and Vivasvant is their father and you can find the vivid description in Rig Veda.
- King Ravana and Shurpanakha:
Shurpanakha and Ravana is other very famous brother sister from mythology. Vishrava is their father. He was a sage. Their mother was from ‘asura’ clan, named Kaikasi. According to Indian Hindu mythology, Ravana’s abduction of Sita (Lord Rama’s wife) was due to his sister, Shurpanakha. This led to a fierce battle between Ram and Ravana in which Ram won.
- Lord Krishna and Subhadra:
The most loving sister of Lord Krishna was Subhadra. She was the affectionate sister of Balarama too. Subhadra was married to Arjuna and a brave boy Abhimanyu was born to them.
- Parvati and Vishnu
Sati, who was Lord Shiva’s consort, was reborn as Parvati. She wanted to marry Shiva, but he refused to her. So, she took steps to activate her chakras and purify herself so that the Lord would accept her as his consort. Lord Vishnu then asked Parvati to tie a rakhi to him and as his brother, he would help her in reaching her goal of marrying lord Shiva.
- Draupadi and Krishna
Draupadi was Krishna’s adoptive sister whom he loved very much. He even called her by the name of ‘Krishnae’ as she had the same complexion as him. In the Mahabharata, Krishna was the one who saved her from ‘cheer haran’ in front of her husbands and punished the Kauravas.
sendrakhi.com offers you interesting insight into famous brothers and sisters from mythology. For further information on Raksha Bandhan celebrations and famous brothers and sisters, keep navigating the pages of the website.