Festival · 2026
Raksha Bandhan 2026 — Friday, 28 August 2026
Raksha Bandhan, on the full moon of Shravana, celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters with a thread, a sweet and a promise of care.
In 2026
Friday, 28 August 2026
- Tithi
- Purnima: 27 Aug, 9:09 AM – 28 Aug, 9:48 AM
- Lunar month
- Shravana
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:57 AM / 6:47 PM
| Rakhi muhurat | 5:57 AM – 9:48 AM |
|---|---|
| Bhadra (avoid) | 27 Aug, 9:09 AM – 27 Aug, 9:32 PM |
Rule: Shravana Purnima, tied outside Bhadra (Vishti karana): at aparahna if possible, else in the morning when Purnima lasts at least 6 ghatis after sunrise, else at pradosh. This year: the morning, while Purnima lasts.
In 2027
Tuesday, 17 August 2027
- Tithi
- Purnima: 16 Aug, 10:29 AM – 17 Aug, 12:58 PM
- Lunar month
- Shravana
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:51 AM / 6:58 PM
| Rakhi muhurat | 5:51 AM – 12:58 PM |
|---|---|
| Bhadra (avoid) | 16 Aug, 10:29 AM – 16 Aug, 11:45 PM |
Rule: Shravana Purnima, tied outside Bhadra (Vishti karana): at aparahna if possible, else in the morning when Purnima lasts at least 6 ghatis after sunrise, else at pradosh. This year: the morning, while Purnima lasts.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Raksha Bandhan?
Raksha Bandhan falls on Purnima, the full moon, of the month of Shravana. A sister ties a rakhi on her brother’s right wrist; it can be a simple cotton thread or an ornate beaded band. She applies a tilak, performs a small aarti and offers a sweet. The brother gives a gift and, by long custom, a promise to stand by her. Today many families also tie rakhi between sisters, cousins and close friends.
Several stories are told about the day. In one, Indrani ties a protective thread on Indra’s wrist before his battle with the asuras. In another, Draupadi tears a strip from her sari to bind Krishna’s bleeding finger, and Krishna later protects her honour in the Kaurava court. The Bhavishya Purana describes a raksha sutra tied by a priest on a king. The common thread in all of them is care offered and returned.
The same full moon carries other meanings too. Brahmin families perform Upakarma and put on a new sacred thread, fishing communities on the western coast offer coconuts to the sea on Narali Purnima, and in parts of the north it is Kajari Purnima. Raksha Bandhan is widely loved because it is so simple: a thread, a meal together and a relationship remembered, however far apart siblings live for the rest of the year.
How it is observed
- Sisters prepare a thali with the rakhi, roli or kumkum, a few grains of rice, a diya and sweets.
- The rakhi is tied in the muhurat that falls outside Bhadra, so many families check the time before they gather.
- The sister applies a tilak, ties the rakhi on the right wrist, performs aarti and offers a sweet.
- The brother gives a gift or money along with a promise of support.
- Sisters who live far away post their rakhis in advance, and brothers tie them on the day.
- Many sisters eat nothing until the rakhi is tied, and the family then shares a festive meal.
- In Marwari families a lumba rakhi is also tied on the bangle of the brother’s wife.
How the date is fixed
Raksha Bandhan is kept on Shravana Purnima, but the rakhi itself is tied only outside Bhadra, the Vishti karana, which tradition avoids for this rite. Our engine first looks at aparahna, the fourth of five equal parts of the daylight: if some part of it on the Purnima day is free of Bhadra, that is the rakhi muhurat. If not, it takes the morning of a day on which Purnima is present at sunrise and lasts at least six ghatis (2 hours 24 minutes) after sunrise. Failing that, it uses pradosh, the evening twilight, outside Bhadra; and if none of these works, the time right after Bhadra ends.
Where practice differs
In the north and west, Raksha Bandhan is the main event of the day. In Maharashtra, Goa and coastal Karnataka the same full moon is Narali Purnima, and in much of the south it is chiefly Avani Avittam, the day of Upakarma, when the sacred thread is renewed. In Nepal it is Janai Purnima and in Odisha Gamha Purnima. Whether your family counts months the purnimanta or the amanta way, this full moon is Shravana Purnima in both.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why is rakhi not tied during Bhadra?
Tradition regards Bhadra, the Vishti karana, as unsuitable for this rite, so families tie the rakhi in a Bhadra-free window. The muhurat for this year is shown above.
What if Bhadra lasts through the whole afternoon?
Then the muhurat moves: to the morning of a day when Purnima holds at sunrise for at least six ghatis, otherwise to pradosh outside Bhadra, and otherwise to the time right after Bhadra ends.
On which hand is the rakhi tied?
By custom it is tied on the right wrist. The sister applies a tilak first, then ties the rakhi, performs aarti and offers a sweet.