The full moon of Shravan is Rakhi Purnima, when sisters tie a thread on their brothers, and in Bengal also Jhulan Purnima, the last day of the swing festival of Radha and Krishna. For five days Vaishnava temples and households have set the divine pair on a swing among flowers, with clay figures arranged in scenes around them. In Bengal the rakhi also carries a memory of 1905.
The story
When the British partitioned Bengal in October 1905, Rabindranath Tagore called on Hindus and Muslims to tie rakhis on one another as a sign that they would not be divided. He walked through Kolkata to the Nakhoda mosque doing so, and wrote a song for the day.
Jhulan remembers the monsoon games of Vrindavan. Children build small landscapes of clay dolls, hills and rivers of sand, as part of the display.
বাংলার মাটি, বাংলার জল, বাংলার বায়ু, বাংলার ফল, পুণ্য হউক, পুণ্য হউক, পুণ্য হউক হে ভগবান
The soil of Bengal, the water of Bengal, the air of Bengal, the fruit of Bengal: may they be blessed, may they be blessed, may they be blessed, O Lord
Rabindranath Tagore, for Rakhi Bandhan, 1905
How it is kept
- RakhiTied by sisters on brothers, and between friends and neighbours.
- JhulanRadha and Krishna are swung each evening from Ekadashi to the full moon.
- Clay tableauxScenes of Krishna's life, and of anything else, built by children.
- KirtanSung through the evenings.
Why this date
Rakhi Purnima is the full-moon tithi of Shravan, on the day it is present at sunrise.
Rakhi Purnima in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday | |
| 2027 | Tuesday | |
| 2028 | Saturday | |
| 2029 | Friday | |
| 2030 | Tuesday | |
| 2031 | Sunday |
More Bengali festivals
24 AugustJanmashtamiজন্মাষ্টমী
18 JulyGuru Purnimaগুরু পূর্ণিমা
4 SeptemberGanesh Chaturthiগণেশ চতুর্থী
14 JulyShayan Ekadashiশয়ন একাদশী
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaঅক্ষয় তৃতীয়া
7 OctoberMaha Ashtamiমহাষ্টমী
Where to see Rakhi Purnima
In West Bengal
- Mayapur and NabadwipWest BengalJhulan at the Vaishnava temples of Nadia.
- Bowbazar, KolkataWest BengalThe old Jhulanbari, with a celebration more than a century old.
- Jorasanko Thakur Bari, KolkataWest BengalTagore's family house, now a museum.
Across India
- VrindavanUttar PradeshJhulan in the temples where it began.
- PuriOdishaGamha Purnima, the birthday of Balabhadra.
- AmarnathJammu and KashmirThe pilgrimage to the ice linga ends on this full moon.