Kundli.me · Festivals
Sisters bless their brothers.
When is it?
Wednesday
11 days to go
The date follows the tithi in the panchang; when a tithi shortens or lengthens, some places keep the festival a day earlier or later.
Why it is celebrated
Bhai Dooj falls on the second tithi (dwitiya) of the bright fortnight of Kartik, the second lunar day after Diwali's new moon, and it is the last of the festival's five days.
The story and belief
The older name of the day, Yama Dwitiya, points to its story. Yama, the lord of death, had a twin sister, Yamuna. He was long away and she longed to see him; when he finally came to her house on this tithi, she received him with a lamp, a tilak, flowers and a meal she had cooked herself.
The story and belief · continued
Yama, moved, offered her a boon. She asked that he return to her on this day every year, and that any brother who receives the tilak from his sister on this tithi should be spared untimely death. That boon is the reason the day is held to give a brother long life.
Main rituals
The tilak is traditionally done in the aparahna kaal — the later part of the day, after midday and before evening — which is the window most panchangs mark for it.
Across India
Few festivals have as many names as this one, and each name carries a slightly different practice. The tithi is the same everywhere; what changes is the material of the tilak, what is cooked, and how much ceremony surrounds it.
Customs differ from home to home and region to region; these are the main forms, not a rule everywhere.
Often asked
What should be in the Bhai Dooj thali?
Roli or kumkum for the tilak, unbroken rice (akshat), a small diya for the aarti, water in a lota, flowers, a mauli thread, a coconut or supari, and sweets. Curd and sandal are added in the Bengali form, where the phota is made of sandal, curd and kajal.
Often asked · answer continued
Nothing here has to be bought specially, and a missing item is not a defect in the ritual.
Bhai Dooj
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