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 Bhai
Dooj or Yam Dwitiya
 The fifth day of Deepavali or Diwali is
celebrated as Bhaiya Dooj, popularly know as Bhai Dooj. The
name itself denotes the day of the festival i.e it falls on
Dooj, the second day after the new moon. The festival of
Diwali is not complete without "Bhaiyya-Duj" in the
Hindi-speaking belt, "BhavBij" in the Marathi-speaking
communities, "Bhai Phota" to the Bengalees and in Nepal by
the name of "Bhai-Tika".
As the legend goes Yamraj, the God of
Death visited his sister Yami on this particular day. She
put the auspicious tilak on his forehead, garlanded him and
led him with special dishes and both of them together ate
the sweets, talked and enjoyed themselves to their heart's
content, while parting Yamraj gave her a special gift as a
token of his love and in return Yami also gave him a lovely
gift which she had made with her own hands. That is why this
day of Bhayyaduj is also known by the name of "YAMA-DWITIYA"
Since then this day is being observed
as a symbol of love between sisters and brothers.
In today's world when pressing everyday
problems are teaming as under all the tender words of
personal relationships, the celebrating of this day has its
own importance in continuing to maintain the love between
brothers and sisters for it is the day of food-sharing,
gift-giving. On this day sisters perform puja for their
brothers safety and well being. Brothers in return give
gifts to their sisters as a token of love.
Another version is after killing
Narakasur, Lord Krishna, went to his sister Subhadra who
welcomed him in the traditional way by showing him a light
and putting on his forehead a tilak of her sisterly
protection. Another myth behind this begins as when
Bhagawaan Mahavir found nirvana, his brother Raja
Nandivardhan was distressed because he missed him and was
comforted by his sister Sudarshana. Since then, women have
been revered during this festival.
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