Every Raksha Bandhan, one popular story comes up again and again: Lord Krishna and Draupadi. But is that really the origin of Raksha Bandhan? According to a widely circulated Hindu devotional tradition, the story goes much further back, to the time of Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar, King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi. The story takes an unexpected turn when Lakshmi Devi finds herself in a difficult situation. Vishnu has granted King Bali a boon, and Bali asks for something extraordinary. He asks Vishnu Himself to stay with him. What happens next involves a sacred thread, a new brother-sister bond and a clever request from Goddess Lakshmi.
