Raksha Bandhan vidhi
Preparing the rakhi thali, offering the rakhi to the family deity, tilak and aarti of the brother and tying the rakhi with the raksha mantra — in the Bhadra-free window of Shravana Purnima for your city.
When to do the puja
The rakhi is tied on Shravana Purnima in the afternoon (Aparahna) or Pradosh, outside Bhadra, which tradition avoids for this rite.
ರಕ್ಷಾ ಬಂಧನ: 17/08/2027 (ಮಂಗಳ)
- ತಿಥಿ ಇರುವವರೆಗೆ ರಿಂದ
Festival page: dates, rules and timings
Puja windows come from the festival engine’s rules; where those rules are still in review, the festival page carries the Beta label.
Panchang details for the sankalpa
For the day of the puja at your place: 17/08/2027 (ಮಂಗಳ)
- Vikram Samvat
- 2084
- Month
- ಶ್ರಾವಣ ಶುಕ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷ (ಅಮಾಂತ ಮತ್ತು ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮಾಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೇ ಹೆಸರು)
- Tithi at the puja time
- ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆ
- Weekday (vara)
- ಮಂಗಳವಾರ
Samagri checklist
Suggested quantities for a household puja — adjust them to your custom. Tick the items as you collect them; the ticks are kept only in this browser.
Step-by-step vidhi
Each step says what to do, then the mantra. A short puja may use the five offerings (panchopachara) instead of sixteen.
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Preparation
Bathe and wear clean clothes. Clean the puja place, spread a cloth on the chowki and keep every item of the checklist within reach before the muhurat begins. Sit on an asana facing east or north. Prepare the thali with roli, akshat, the rakhi, a lamp, sweets and water.
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Lighting the lamp
Light the main ghee lamp on the right side of the deity (as you face it) and keep it burning through the puja.
शुभं करोति कल्याणम् आरोग्यं धनसम्पदा ।शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
From our Bhakti library · Shubham Karoti (evening lamp prayer) -
Ganesha puja
Worship Ganesha first, who removes obstacles: offer water, roli, akshat, durva, a flower and a sweet (a betel nut wrapped in mauli can stand for Ganesha).
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभ ।निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
From our Bhakti library · Vakratunda Mahakaya ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ॥
From our Bhakti library · Om Gam Ganapataye Namah -
Offering the rakhi to the deity
First offer a rakhi, roli and akshat to Ganesha or the family deity at the altar.
ॐ इष्टदेवतायै नमः ॥
Paddhati formula -
Tilak, rakhi and aarti
The brother sits facing east with a cloth or cap on his head. The sister applies a roli tilak with akshat, ties the rakhi on his right wrist with the mantra, offers a sweet and waves the lamp in aarti; the brother gives a gift and his promise of protection.
येन बद्धो बली राजा दानवेन्द्रो महाबलः ।तेन त्वामनुबध्नामि रक्षे मा चल मा चल ॥
Source: Bhavishya Purana (Uttara Parva / Bhavishyottara) -
Kshama prarthana
With folded hands ask forgiveness for any omission in the worship, then distribute the prasad.
आवाहनं न जानामि न जानामि विसर्जनम् ।पूजां चैव न जानामि क्षमस्व परमेश्वर ॥मन्त्रहीनं क्रियाहीनं भक्तिहीनं सुरेश्वर ।यत्पूजितं मया देव परिपूर्णं तदस्तु मे ॥
From our Bhakti library · Avahanam Na Janami (closing prayer of puja)
Regional variations
- Many Brahmin families change the sacred thread on the same day (Shravani / Upakarma).
- Coastal Maharashtra and Goa: Narali Purnima, a coconut offered to the sea; Bengal and Odisha: Jhulan and Gamha Purnima.
- In some families the priest ties a raksha-sutra to the members of the household with the same mantra.
Follow your family tradition
Families and regions perform this puja in different ways. Where your family or your priest follows a different order, other mantras or other materials, follow your family tradition.
Sources
The festival-day rule comes from the festival engine’s definition; the procedure from these texts. Where we say “commonly followed practice”, no classical text prescribes the custom in this form.
- Bhavishya Purana (Uttara Parva / Bhavishyottara) — The raksha-bandhana mantra “yena baddho bali raja …” and several vrata kathas are traditionally quoted from it.
- Nirnaya Sindhu of Kamalakara Bhatta (1612) — The Dharmashastra digest that decides on which day and in which part of the day a festival or vrata is kept.
- Dharma Sindhu of Kashinatha Upadhyaya (1790) — A later digest of festival and vrata rules widely followed by Panchang makers; it also describes the household observances.
- Commonly followed practice — Household customs as families commonly follow them, without one classical text that prescribes them in this form. Follow your family tradition where it differs.
- Date rule: Tithi–kaal rule of the Dharmashastra digests (Nirnaya Sindhu / Dharma Sindhu), as applied by modern drik-ganita (computed) Panchangs
This guide describes common household practice for devotional use. It is not a substitute for a priest where your tradition asks for one, and it makes no promise of any result.