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The legend in Bhavishya Puran
According to Bhavishya Puran, Queen Sanchi also known as Indrani, the wife of Indra, King of the Gods, first initiated this sort of a bond of protection.
The legend refers to a war between the Gods and the Demons. The demon King Brutra was advancing and the Gods lead by lord Indra, were on verge of defeat. The king of Gods, Indra approached Guru Brihaspati to find a solution to the situation. Brihaspati asked Indra to tie a sacred thread on his wrist, powered by the sacred mantras on the Shravan Purnima. Maharani Shachi, Lord Indira’s wife possessed occult powers. She tied a protective knot containing rice and sarson (rape seed) on the right wrist of her husband to help him in his crusade against the demons. The power of the sacred thread called Raksha helped the Gods to victory.
The tradition of thread tying still continues. It is a gesture of goodwill.
The legend of King Bali and Goddess Laxmi
Bali, grandson of Prahalada, was a great rakshash king. He managed to defeat the Devas by his valor and virtue. His physical strength and devotion to God were such that Indra could not defeat him in the battlefield or in the yagna-shalas. Eventually, Lord Vishnu had to come as Vamana to rescue Indra from his plight and thrust Bali into the nether world without a fight.
Having consigned Bali to Patal, the Lord promised him divine protection and immortality till the next aeon, when he will be crowned Indra. Till that time, the Lord Himself decided to protect him in person ! Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. As the Vaikuntha was bereft of Vishnu, Lakshmiji became restless and came seeking her Lord.
She went to Bali disguised as a Brahmin woman to seek refuge till her husband came back.
The king was happy to oblige and welcomed her into his palace and indeed, make her feel very much a part of the family. Happiness, wealth, harvest, all things auspicious had multiplied in his kingdom since the arrival of this mysterious brahmin woman into Bali's house.
During the Shravan Purnima celebrations, Laxmiji tied the sacred thread to the King. Upon being asked she revealed who she was and why she was there. The king was touched by her goodwill for his family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He sacrificed all he had for the Lord and his devoted wife.
Thus the festival is also called Baleva that is Bali Raja's devotion to the Lord.It is said that since then it has been a tradition to invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony or the Raksha Bandhan
Yama and the Yamuna
It is said that the Raksha Bandhan was a ritual followed by Lord Yama (the Lord of Death) and his sister Yamuna. Yamuna tied rakhi to Yama and bestowed immortality. Yama was so moved by the serenity of the occasion that he declared thar whoever gets a rakhi tied from his sister and promised her protection will become immortal.
In the Epics
Raksha Bandhan finds a mention in Mahabharata as well. Once Yudhishthir, the eldest son of King Pandu and one of the five Pandav brothers asked Sri Krishna, how could they could guard themselves against impending evils and catastrophes in the coming year. To this Krishna asked them to observe Raksha Bandhan.
The same Sri Krishna was once injured on his hand and blood was oozing out when Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavs, tore a portion of her garment and tied it around his wound. For Krishna this signified Raksha Bandhan and he immediately took Draupadi as his sister. In fact, it was Sri Krishna, Draupadi called out to when she was being derobed by the Kaurav (second cousins of the Pandavas and their sworn enemies) prince Dushashan in the middle of the court after her husband Yudhishthir gambled and lost her in a game of chess. And ultimately Krishna protected her
honour.
Though commonly known as a festival which strengthens the bond of love between brothers and sisters, Rakhi has many other aspects to it. There are historical instances to show that the practice was not confined to brother-sister relationship but took on wider dimensions as and when required by the exigencies of time. For example,
Kunti, mother of the five Pandavas, tied a rakhi to her grandson,
Abhimanyu.
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