The festival of Raksha Bandhan is widely celebrated across the country which is dedicated to the bond of brothers and sisters.
The meaning of Raksha and Bandhan is safety and bond. On this day, the sister ties Rakhi-- a colourful thread, to her brother praying for his long life and in return the brother promises to protect her.
There are many historical stories on Raksha Bandhan like Lord Krishna and Draupadi’s story and Yama and the Yamuna’s story. But the story of Rani Karnavati and Emperor Humayun, one of the popular legends around rakhi is noteworthy.
During the medieval period, the Rajputs were fighting against the Muslim invasion and Karnavati was Mewar's regent during the minority of her son after her husband Rana Sanga’s death. At that time, Mewar was attacked by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat for the second time.
Karnavati then sought help from Humayun and sent him a rakhi. Even though Humayun was in the middle of another war, he returned to Mewar because he was touched by the gesture of Karnavati. However, Humayun and his troops couldn’t reach on time.
He couldn’t reach Mewar on time and the Rajput army was defeated at Chittoor. Following that the queen performed Jauhar (set herself on fire) to protect her honour.
But Shah and his troops had to leave Chittoor as Humayun reached there shortly. Mewar was restored to Karnavati's son, Vikramjit.
Published 22 August 2021, 07:46 IST