Srinagar, Aug 28: Raksha Bandhan was celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, with devotees visiting temples, offering prayers and seeking blessings on the occasion.

The festival, which celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters, was marked by religious ceremonies and family gatherings at various places across the Valley.
At the Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar, devotees turned up in large numbers and were seen standing in long queues to enter the hilltop shrine and offer prayers.
Arun Kumar, a resident of Maharashtra who is visiting Kashmir with his family, said they decided to celebrate the festival by visiting the temple.
“Raksha Bandhan is a special occasion for us. We came here to offer prayers and seek blessings for the happiness, peace and well-being of our families. This is our first Raksha Bandhan in Kashmir, and we are enjoying it,” he said.
Another devotee, Amit Singh, said the peaceful atmosphere at the shrine made the occasion special. “The atmosphere here is very peaceful. Visiting the temple on Raksha Bandhan and offering prayers gives us a sense of spiritual fulfilment,” he said.
Raksha Bandhan is traditionally observed on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Shravan, with sisters tying rakhis on their brothers’ wrists and praying for their well-being.