Bhai Bij

Bhai Dooj or Bhai Bij is the festival of brother and sister, where sisters ceremonize their love for their brothers by putting an auspicious tilak or a vermilion mark on the forehead of their brothers and performs an aarti of him by showing him the light of the holy flame as a mark of love and protection from evil forces.

Then its brother's turn, sisters are lavished with gifts, treats and blessings from their brothers.

The festival of Diwali is not complete without "Bhaiyya-Duj" in the Hindi-speaking belt, "Bhav--Bij" in the Marathi-speaking communities, "Bhai Phota" to the Bengalees and in Nepal by the name of "Bhai-Tika".

Diwali is a personal, people-oriented festival when enmities are forgotten, families and friends meet, enjoy and establish a word of closeness. Reflecting this essence, Bhai dooj has its own importance in continuing to maintain the love between brothers and sisters for it is the day of food-sharing, gift-giving and reaching out to the inner most depths of the hearts.

After Diwali comes the auspicious day -- the Bhai Duj. The day is full of excitement and enthusiasm. Since morning sisters are busy doing preparations for the festival. They decorate a puja plate with chandan paste (sandal wood), kajal, morning dew, green grass and paddy seeds or dhan along with sweets, roli, rice and coconut. Sister's observes fast till they put tilak on their brother's forehead. That day they also lay a lavish cuisine, all their brothers' favorite dishes.

The Bhai- Duj festival helps to keep and maintain family close and brings closer ties between brother and sister eternal bond and prosperity.

Legends

The legends have that Lord Yamraj, the God of Death, visited his sister Yamuna on the 'Shukla Paksha Dwitiya' day in the Hindi month of 'Kartik'. When Yamraj reached Yamuna's home she welcomed Him by performing His aarti, applying 'Tilak' on His forehead and by putting a garland around His neck. Yamuna also cooked varieties of dishes and prepared lots of sweets for her brother and offered all those to Him. Lord Yamraj ate all those delicious dishes and when He was finished He showered blessings on Yamuna and gave her a boon as a gift that if a brother visits his sister on this day he would be blessed with health and wealth. This is why this day of Bhayya Duj is also known by the name of 'Yam-Dwitiya'. And thus it has become a tradition that on the day of Bhai-Dooj brothers visit their sisters' home and offer them gifts. Sisters also make various dishes for their brothers and also give gifts to them.

Another legend is that after Narakasur was destroyed, Lord Krishna went to his sister, Subhadra. Subhadra welcomed her winner brother in the traditional way by performing His 'aarti' and applying 'Tilak' on His forehead.

One more story behind the celebrations of Bhai-Duj is that when Bhagwaan Mahavir attained 'Nirvana', his brother Raja Nandi-Vardhan became very sad. He missed Bhagwaan Mahavir very badly then it was his sister Sudarshana, who comforted him. Since then the women have been revered during this festival.