Puja or worship thali forms an important part of almost all Hindu rituals. Customarily, Puja thalis contain those items which are used in worshipping the deities. The Rakhi thali is also categorized as one of the Puja thalis. It is prepared on the auspicious festival of Raksha Bandhan, an occasion to celebrate the eternal love and affection between brothers and sisters. Sisters mark this occasion by tying a sacred thread, also known as knot of protection, on their brother's wrist. Brothers, in turn, promise to protect their sisters from all miseries and stand by them in every situation of life. Traditionally, a Rakhi thali contains a rakhi, roli, rice and sandalwood. However, it has many variations as well, mainly in the way it is decorated. Read on to know how to decorate a Raksha Bandhan thali.
Raksha Bandhan Thali
Rakhi Puja Thali is an important part of Raksha Bandhan customs. These Rakhi Thalis are of different types and are decorated with Puja articles. Rakhi Thali also forms an important Rakhi gift item.
Rakhi Festival : Rakhi Thali
Rakhi Thali
- Though any thali can be used on Rakhi, a brass, silver or silver plated one is considered the most auspicious.
- Draw a swastika, the symbol of Lord Ganesha, with red kumkum in the center of the thali.
- Place four small containers in the thali for roli, rice, coconut and water.
- Place a diya and incense stick stand in the thali, along with the containers.
- In case you want the make the occasion auspicious, you can use betel leaves instead of containers.
- Also, place some betel nuts in the Rakhi thali.
- To make it more festive, place a banana leaf on the thali and arrange the ingredients on the leaf.
- You can cover your Rakhi thali with a yellow or red cotton bandhani cloth, decorated with gota (gold lace).
- Mix some sandalwood powder with water and apply the paste all over the thali. After it dries out, make the swastika with red kumkum.
- You can decorate the swastika with yellow petals of marigold.
- Place some sweets of your choice at one side of the thali.
- In case your brother has a sweet tooth, you can keep some chocolates in the thali as well.
- A small statue of Lord Ganesha can also be placed to give religious look.
- Finally, place the Rakhi thread to be tied to your brother’s wrist.
- For a designer rakhi, you can get gold rakhi, silver rakhi, pearl rakhi, etc.
- For kids, you can choose from chotte Ganesha kids’ rakhi, power ranger rakhi, mini mouse rakhi, Spiderman kids’ rakhi, etc.
