The festival of Rakshabandhan will be celebrated on 28 August 2026. This time Rakshabandhan is special in many ways. The festival of Rakhi is falling on the day of Sawan Purnima and on the same date the second and last lunar eclipse of the year is also taking place. Apart from this, there will also be a coincidence of Panchak on 28th August. In such a situation, the biggest question in the minds of people is whether the time of tying Rakhi will change due to lunar eclipse and Sutak? Will there be a ban on tying Rakhi due to Bhadra or Panchak?
From a religious point of view, this time the situation is a little different, because the lunar eclipse will not be visible in India. Therefore, the sutak of this eclipse will not be valid in India and the eclipse will not be considered an obstacle to the religious rituals of Rakshabandhan.
When is Purnima and on which day to celebrate Rakshabandhan?
Rakshabandhan is celebrated on the full moon day of Shravan month. This time the Purnima Tithi will start on 27th August and will continue till the morning of 28th August. In different almanacs, the time of completion of Purnima is mentioned to be different by a few minutes. According to the Varanasi Panchang, the full moon will remain till 9:18 am on August 28, whereas in some other Panchangs this time is mentioned as 9:48 or 9:49 am. Therefore, there may be a slight difference in the Muhurta according to the local calendar.
On the basis of Udayatithi, the festival of Rakshabandhan will be celebrated on Friday, 28 August 2026. This means that sisters do not have to wait for 27th August to tie Rakhi, rather Raksha Sutra will be tied on the brother's wrist on 28th August itself.
Most auspicious time to tie Rakhi
According to calculations based on Panchang, the auspicious time for tying Rakhi on August 28 is said to be from 5:57 am to 9:48 am. This time is considered most important for tying Rakhi. That is, sisters who want to tie Rakhi in the morning can tie Rakhi on their brother's wrist during this period after sunrise. However, there may be a difference of a few minutes in the end of Purnima according to different cities and almanacs, so it would be better to give priority to the time of local almanac.
Will there be a shadow of Bhadra on Rakshabandhan?
Bhadra is considered to have a special relationship with Rakshabandhan. In religious belief, there is a tradition of avoiding tying Rakhi during Bhadra. This is the reason why every year the time of Bhadra is seen first in the Muhurta of Rakhi.
The good thing this year is that Bhadra will not be there at the time of tying Rakhi on 28th August. According to Panchang calculations, Bhadra will end on 27th August itself. According to an almanac, Bhadra will be there from 9:08 am to 9:32 pm on August 27. There is some difference in its timing mentioned in the second almanac, but in all the major calculations it is revealed that Bhadra will not be there at the time of Rakshabandhan on 28th August. Therefore, you will not have to wait for Bhadra to end to tie Rakhi on 28th August.
Can Rakhi be tied in Panchak?
There will also be Panchak on 28th August. This is the reason why this time another question is coming up regarding Rakshabandhan that can Rakhi be tied in Panchak?
Here it is important to understand Bhadra and Panchak separately. Bhadra is especially considered in Rakshabandhan. There are different religious beliefs regarding some activities during Panchak, but there is no tradition of stopping Rakshabandhan just because it is Panchak. Therefore, despite Panchak being on 28th August, Rakshabandhan will be celebrated and Rakhi can be tied at the auspicious time.
What will be the effect of lunar eclipse and Sutak?
A lunar eclipse will also occur on 28th August. This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The main phase of the eclipse will be between morning and afternoon according to Indian time. According to available astronomical calculations, the partial phase of the eclipse will start after around 8 am and its central phase will be around 9:40 am.
The lunar eclipse of August 28 will not be visible from India because the Moon will not be above the horizon in the Indian sky during the eclipse. People living in India will not be able to see this eclipse with their own eyes. This is the reason that the situation of Sutak regarding this eclipse will also be different in India.
In religious beliefs, the Sutak period is linked to the visible eclipse. When an eclipse is not visible at a place, its Sutak is generally not considered valid there. This time also the situation is the same. Since the lunar eclipse of 28th August will not be visible in India, its Sutak period will not be valid in India. This will also have a direct impact on Rakshabandhan. This means that people living in India do not need to change the time of tying Rakhi due to the eclipse.
Due to eclipse not being visible in India, Sutak will not be valid, hence religious rituals of worship and tying Rakhi can be performed normally on the day of Rakshabandhan. That is, when there is an auspicious time, the sister can tie Rakhi on the brother's wrist. There is no need to postpone Rakhi after hearing the name of lunar eclipse or miss the morning auspicious time due to Sutak.
Correct method of worship of Rakshabandhan
On the day of Rakshabandhan, first of all the brother should be cleaned and made to sit in front of the place of worship. Roli, Akshat, Deepak, sweets and Rakhi are kept in the plate. After applying Tilak to the brother, Akshat is applied and then Raksha Sutra is tied on his wrist. While tying Rakhi, brother's happiness, prosperity, long life and success in life are wished. After this the brother gives a gift to his sister and takes a pledge to protect her. There is also a tradition of worshiping Lord Ganesha and the presiding deity before tying Rakhi.
That is, this time a lunar eclipse is definitely occurring along with Rakshabandhan, but due to eclipse not being visible in India, there will be no restriction of eclipse or Sutak on the auspicious time of tying Rakhi. Rakshabandhan of 28th August 2026 is special because there is a coincidence of Sawan Purnima, Rakshabandhan, Panchak and lunar eclipse on the same day. But there is no need to get confused by seeing all these things together. The most important thing for Rakhi is that Bhadra will not be there on 28th August, auspicious time for tying Rakhi will be available in the morning and lunar eclipse will not be visible in India. Therefore, its Sutak will also not be valid in India. That means sisters in India can tie Rakhi on their brother's wrist in the auspicious time on the morning of 28th August.