Shravana Purnima (Raksha Bandhan)

Date in 2026

Friday, 28 August 2026

Masa

Shravana

Tithi

Shukla Pournami

Duration

1 day

Observed in

All India; Raksha Bandhan in the north, Avani Avittam in the south

Significance

The full moon of Shravana carries two quite different observances that happen to share a date, and it is worth separating them because they are often conflated. In the north and west it is Raksha Bandhan, when a sister ties a thread on her brother's wrist and he undertakes to protect her. In the south it is Avani Avittam or Upakarma, when brahmins renew the sacred thread and begin the year's Vedic study.

Raksha Bandhan is, at root, about the thread rather than the sibling relationship — raksha means protection and bandhan the tie. The older form is a protective cord tied by a priest or by a wife, and the brother-sister form, though now dominant, is the more recent narrowing. The stories attached to it are correspondingly varied: Indrani tying a thread on Indra before his battle with Bali, Draupadi tearing her sari to bind Krishna's bleeding wrist, Yamuna and Yama.

Upakarma is a different thing entirely: the annual renewal of the yajnopavita and the formal recommencement of Vedic study after the rains. The old thread is discarded and a new one worn, and the Gayatri is recited in expiation for the year's lapses in its observance — the Gayatri Japam that follows the next day is the substantial half of the rite. It marks the point at which study, suspended for the monsoon, resumes.

When it falls, and why

Shravana Purnima is the full moon of Shravana, the fifth lunar month, placing it in August. The full moon must prevail during aparahna — the afternoon — for the raksha bandhan tying, and where Bhadra karana falls in the day the tying is traditionally deferred until it has passed, which is why the auspicious window is sometimes only a few hours long.

Upakarma is not always kept on this day. Yajur Upakarma falls on Shravana Purnima; Rig Upakarma is kept on the Shravana nakshatra day of the same month; Sama Upakarma is kept in Bhadrapada, on Hasta nakshatra. So three brahminical traditions keep the same rite on three different days, and only one of them coincides with Raksha Bandhan.

Pooja vidhanam, step by step

1. 1

   Bathe and prepare

   Bathe at dawn and wear fresh clothes. For Upakarma the bath is followed by the sankalpa and the preparatory rites at the water's edge where possible.

2. 2

   Check the Bhadra window

   Where Bhadra (Vishti karana) falls during the day, the raksha tying is deferred until it ends. The panchangam page for the date gives the karana and its end time.

3. 3

   Prepare the thali

   For Raksha Bandhan: rakhi, roli or kumkum, akshata, a lamp and sweets on a plate.

4. 4

   Tie the raksha

   Apply tilak, tie the thread on the right wrist, perform arati and feed a sweet. The undertaking of protection is made at the tying.

5. 5

   Upakarma — discard and renew the thread

   For those who keep it: perform the kamokarshit japa in expiation, discard the old yajnopavita and wear the new after the prescribed mantras.

6. 6

   Gayatri Japam

   The following day, 1008 or 108 repetitions of the Gayatri in expiation for the year's lapses. This is the substantial part of the observance.

7. 7

   Begin the year's study

   Upakarma marks the resumption of Vedic study after the rains. A portion of the text is formally begun.

Samagri checklist

What to gather beforehand. Where something is not available, offer what you have — the intention carries.

• Rakhi or raksha thread
• Roli or kumkum, akshata, sandal paste
• Sweets, and a plate for the arati
• Ghee lamp, wicks, camphor
• New yajnopavita, for those keeping Upakarma
• Darbha grass, sesame, water vessel
• Coconut, fruit, betel leaves and nuts

The vrat katha

The account most often told for Raksha Bandhan is Indrani's. Indra, facing Bali and losing, was given a thread by his wife Indrani, consecrated and tied on his wrist; he went back and prevailed. The thread, not the relationship, is the object of the story.

The second is Draupadi's. Krishna cut his finger and Draupadi tore a strip from her sari and bound it. He undertook to repay her, and the repayment is placed at the dice hall, when her sari could not be removed however long Dushasana pulled.

For Upakarma the frame is different and has no narrative: it is a rite of renewal and expiation rather than a commemoration. The thread is changed because a year's wear has passed, and the Gayatri is recited a thousand times because a year's observance has been imperfect. The honesty of that is the point.

How it differs by region

• In the north and west the day is Raksha Bandhan, and the brother–sister form dominates entirely.
• In Tamil Nadu, Kerala and coastal Andhra it is Avani Avittam, the Yajur Upakarma, with the thread changed and the Gayatri Japam the next day.
• In Maharashtra and coastal Karnataka it is Narali Purnima, when coconuts are offered to the sea and the fishing season formally opens after the monsoon.
• In Odisha it is Gamha Purnima, when cattle are decorated and honoured, and Balabhadra's birth is marked.
• In parts of north India it is also Kajari Purnima, kept by farming households for a good harvest.

Common questions

Slokas