Bhai Duj or Bhaiya Dooj 2020 – Significance, Legends and Celebration!
Auspicious Bhai Dooj or Bhau-Beej or Bhai Tika or Bhai Phonta is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindus of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India and Nepal during the 5 days celebration of Diwali. The festivities of this day are alike to the festival of Raksha Bandhan. On this day, brothers receive gifts from sisters.
In the southern part of the nation, this is known as Yama Dwitiya.
Bhai Duj’s celebration time and date:
Auspicious Bhai Duj or Bhaiya Dooj is celebrated on the second lunar day of Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight) in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar or of Shalivahan Shaka calendar month of Kartika. It is celebrated during the Diwali or Tihar festival. It is celebrated on the 5th day of Diwali’s five day of celebration.
Celebration of Bhai Duj or Bhaiya Dooj (Day 5 of Diwali Celebration):
The auspicious last day of the festival is called Bhai duj or brother’s day or Bhai tilak. It marks as the sister-brother relationship, similar in spirit to Raksha Bandhan but it is the brother that travels to meet the sister and her family. This celebratory day is interpreted by some to signify Yama’s sister Yamuna welcoming Yama with a tilaka, while others interpret it as the arrival of Krishna at his sister’s, Subhadra, place after defeating Narakasura. Subhadra welcomes him with a tilaka on his forehead.
The day signifies the sibling bond between brother and sister. On this day the womenfolk of the family gather, perform a puja with prayers for the well-being of their brothers, then return to a ritual of feeding their brothers with their hands and receiving gifts. As per Hindu traditions the women recite tales where sisters protect their brothers from enemies that seek to cause him either bodily or spiritual harm. In past times, this was a day in autumn when brothers would travel to meet their sisters, or invite their sister’s family to their village to celebrate their sister-brother bond with the bounty of seasonal harvests.
The craftsperson Hindu and Sikh community rejoices the fourth day as the Vishwakarma puja day. Vishwakarma is the reigning Hindu deity for those in architecture, building, manufacturing, textile work and crafts trades. The looms, tools of trade, machines and workplaces are cleaned and prayers offered to these livelihood resources.
History and Legends of Bhai Duj or Bhaiya Dooj:
Bhai Dooj in Northern India: It is witnessed during the Diwali festival. This is also the second day of the Vikrami Samvat New Year, the calendar followed in Northern India (including Kashmir), which begins from the lunar month of Kārtika. It is usually celebrated by Awadhis in Uttar Pradesh, Maithils in Bihar as Bhardutiya and people from numerous other cultural groups. The first day of this New Year is witnessed as Govardhan Puja.
Bhai Tika in Nepal: It is the most important festival after Dashain (Vijaya Dashmi / Dussehra). It is celebrated on the fifth day of Tihar festival and it is extensively celebrated by the Khas people.
Bhai Phonta in Bengal: It is celebrated every year on the second day after Kali Puja.
It is celebrated as Bhai Bij, Bhau Beej, or Bhav Bij among the Gujarati, Marathi and Konkani-speaking communities in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
It is also known as Yamadwitheya or Yamadvitiya, after a mythical meeting between Yama the god of Death and his sister Yamuna (the famous river) on Dwitheya (the second day after new moon).
Other traditional names include Bhatru Dviteeya, or Bhatri Ditya or Bhaghini Hastha Bhojanamu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
As per a popular legend in Hindu mythology, after killing the evil demon Narakasura, Lord Krishna visited his sister Subhadra who gave him a warm welcome with sweets and flowers. She also lovingly applied tilaka on Krishna’s forehead. Some believe this to be the origin of the festival.
Bhai Duj’s special cuisine and Recipe:
There are a lot of sweet cuisine which are prepared on the occasion of Bhai Duj. We are giving some recipes for delicious delicacies and sweets.
- Gulab Jamun And Its Recipe
- Sugar-Coated Peanuts (Shakkar Ke Mungfali Daane) and Its Recipe
- Homemade Jalebi Recipe
- Besan Ka Halwa – a sweet dish and its recipe
Bhai Duj or Bhaiya Dooj 2020:
This year, the Bhai Duj festival is celebration on 16 November 2020. You can celebrate it from 7:06 am on 16 November 2020 to 3:56am on 17th November 2020.
On this auspicious day, The brother-sister duo should worship Yama and Chitragupta and sisters should pray for long life of brother by chanting mantra as “Ganga Puje Yamuna ko Yami Pooje Yamraj Ko, Subhadra Puje Krishna Ko, Ganga-Yamuna neer bahe mere bhai ki aayu bade”. On this occasion, sisters should always do tilak on forehead of brothers by thumb of right hand. It will help to increase age of brothers and brothers will get rid from financial issue. It will also improve brothers’ health forever.
