Raksha Sutra
Every question on the site tagged Raksha Sutra, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
A protective sacred thread or amulet given by a family priest or elder — dismissing it out of modern skepticism is said to leave a person spiritually defenseless during vulnerable life transitions.
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Dismissing a raksha sutra as superstition, and the troubles that follow
The speaker says that when parents give something to wear at the neck, or the kul purohit or a pandit gives a bandhan for the wrist after reading mantras over it, saying keep it tied, today's children answer "it came loose, it fell off, I forgot, why are you so worried, Mummy" and, once earning, "tying this does nothing". He says that had they been disciplined in time they would at least understand its importance. Later, when no child is being born, they run for IVF and this and that, and then weep. You drop your own protection yourself, he says, and the very things you dismiss outright as superstition strike you at the right moment like acid, so that no work succeeds; then you weep, speak ill of the devas and call those who teach this frauds, though the blow lands hard. His advice to anyone in such trouble is to look carefully back at their own wedding, at how the rules were kept, if someone has told them it was done at the time of marriage; you may have kept them, but the spoilers are many, and these things must be handled with great care and passed on properly to the next generation.
What if sutak attaches to a thread worn from a 32-namavali sadhana?
For those who have previously done the sadhana of Bhagavati's 32 namavali and the rest: if any sutak or patak has attached, then change the thread and make it again. Or else you may do the paath again; there is no need to make an offering of it. Once it is worn on the body, when we do japa its energy will keep coming to us of itself; there is no need to have a separate offering made upon it.
Can mauli thread be used as a wick?
Asked whether the yellow part of the mauli thread is the wick, the speaker says: absolutely, you can use it; and why only the yellow — you can use the entire mauli thread, red and yellow, the whole of it. There is no problem.
The substance kept abhimantrit through the rajaswala days is tied at the waist on a Dashami tithi.
If the sadhika who does the Kamakhya Kavach has kept this substance abhimantrit during the time she was rajaswala in the middle of Navratri, then only this much is to be done: have it tied at the waist of the woman concerned on a Dashami tithi — whether of Krishna Paksha or of Shukla Paksha, on a Dashami tithi.
Mauli serves as vastra and upavastra with water three times after each; the yagyopavit may be wound on the coconut, or a rakta sutra given in its place.
Vastra is offered in the form of mauli thread, the kalava, after which water is poured three times; then for the upavastra another thread is offered and water is poured three times again. The yagyopavit may be wound on the coconut, or kept, or in its place a rakta vastra or rakta sutra may be offered in the same way. In the demonstration it is already wound on the coconut and so is not offered separately, but the speaker says you may offer it.
What is to be done with the red Ambubachi cloth?
Of the red cloth of Ambubachi with which Bhagavati was wrapped, tear half the cloth and tie it, as a raksha kavach, on the neck or on the arm or on the wrist of each member of the family; and the remaining cloth may be kept where you keep your wealth, in a pure, good place.
Mauli wound nine times around the neck of the kalash
The speaker says the thread around the neck of the Kalash should be wound nine times. The Mauli thread is wrapped nine times in the names of the nine Durgas.
What is offered to a yantra as its vastra?
A vastra should certainly be placed over the yantra. It is not necessary to offer a whole sari and dhoti. Cotton mauli thread is easily had in the market and everyone uses it: keep a large bundle of it. He does not say to offer a new one every day — if you have the time, offer a new one daily; it takes hardly five seconds. Wind it round your hand five, seven or nine times, make a small heap, break it off, scent it lightly, and place it on the yantra.
The merit of offering a vastra daily, and offering it by manasa parikalpayami
You are offering your aradhya a vastra daily; for how great that merit is, he says, read the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam and study what importance there is in the daily archan or abhishek of a deity's yantra and in offering them a vastra daily. You may also offer it by saying "manasa parikalpayami" — that we are offering this mentally — and saying that for the purpose of a vastra we are offering a rakta sutra; you will obtain the complete fruit.
May a woman be given a thread abhimantrit with the Batuk Bhairav Brahma Kavach?
Asked whether women may be given a thread, abhimantrit with the Batuk Bhairav Brahma Kavach, to tie at the waist, the speaker says it is better to do it with the Kamakhya Kavach.
Is there any rule after wearing the thread siddh in the thirty-two names sadhana?
Asked whether there is any rule after wearing the thread that was to be made siddh in the sadhana of the thirty-two names, the speaker says no — you can always wear it, and there is no special rule in it of the kind you are wanting.
The two-wick lamp for the eclipse sadhana
The speaker says that if one has much wish, and to give the sadhana strength, a lamp of either ghee or Til oil may be lit. A Deepak's mouth is always towards the east, so it is placed and lit facing east. The wick is always two threads: whether Kalava, raw thread, or cotton, the cotton is mixed with kalava, because a single thread, a single wick, is never lit; two wicks are lit. The two wicks are twisted together and lit so that the lamp can burn for three hours, through the whole Grahan kaal.
During a prayoga children are kept away and the operator's body is bound at every point
If a process of this kind is going on in the house, the speaker says, keep small children and especially unmarried girls at a distance. When you yourself perform such processes, stay protected by reciting a kavach and the like, and the body must be closed all over: let there be shikha bandhan, a band on the neck, a mala or kavach, a mani bandh, a band on the hand and at the waist. On the feet tie at least a thread; if you wear a kada, or if it is a girl she will wear payal, and if a man then wearing a kada and the like is best — so that no negative energy casts an effect on you while you are doing such things.
Wear metal on the feet rather than tying threads
The speaker says it is much better to wear things of metal on the feet, and to do less of the thread-tying kind of process.
What should be worn at the neck and the arms?
Coming to the neck, there should certainly be a mala at the neck, and a kavach relating to one's aradhya always there — as, if you are doing the seva puja of Bhagwati, of Kali ji, then one of the kavachs relating to Bhagwati Ma Kalika should certainly be at your neck, and most excellent if it is in silver or gold; and along with it a rudraksha mala related to her. Then the bahu-bandh of both arms: you may wear it on both, and at least on the right there should certainly be one. Rudraksha at the manibandh, and rudraksha with the kalava and raksha sutra on the right hand, at least at the time of sadhana.
How long should a Raksha Sutra be, and how is it tied?
It should be as long as your own body's span. Spread both arms fully; press the thread under the tip of the middle finger of one hand and carry it to the middle finger of the other — that is your own span. Break it there, then wind it on your wrist while reciting a protective mantra, and tie the knot holding the breath.
In a sabar mantra with an opening line, is that line said every time?
Asked, of the sabar mantra of Hanuman ji given for the house and for raksha bandhan, whether the line at the start is to be spoken every time in the japa or only at the beginning, he answers that it is to be spoken every time — the whole mantra is to be spoken every time.
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