Raksha Bandhan 2027: the rakhi and the full moon of Shravan

When it falls next

Tuesday 17 August 2027

• Tuesday 17 August 2027

  Raksha Bandhan

  A thread for a brother.

Raksha Bandhan in each region

What Raksha Bandhan is

"Raksha" is care and keeping, and "bandhan" a bond. The thread is a sign of the bond between brother and sister, and the stories of the day include Lakshmi tying a thread on King Bali to bring Vishnu home, and Draupadi binding Krishna's cut finger with a strip of her sari.

The same full moon is Shravani, when Brahmin families renew the sacred thread, and Narali Purnima, when the fishing communities of the coast offer a coconut to the sea as the monsoon eases.

It is a day of family more than of ritual: sisters who live far away travel home for it, and the meal that follows is shared by the whole household.

How families keep it at home

The sister prepares a thali with a lamp, kumkum, rice grains, sweets and the rakhi. She puts a tilak on her brother's forehead, ties the rakhi, does his aarti and offers him a sweet.

The brother gives her a gift and his promise. Cousins and close friends are often included, and rakhis are sent by post to brothers far away.

In Maharashtra the day's sweet is often narali bhat, rice cooked with coconut and jaggery, made in the coastal way.

Many sisters tie the first rakhi on the image of Krishna or Ganesh in the puja ghar, before their brothers.

How it differs by region

On the Konkan coast, Narali Purnima is the great day: the sea is worshipped with a coconut, and the fishing season begins again.

In the north the rakhi is the heart of the day, and in many homes it is tied only after the period called bhadra has passed.

In the south the day is Avani Avittam, the renewal of the sacred thread.

How its date is set

Raksha Bandhan is the purnima of Shravan. The rakhi is tied while the purnima holds, in the afternoon, outside the period called bhadra; when bhadra covers the day, families wait until it ends.