Kalava

Kalava (Sanskrit: कलावा) is the sacred Hindu thread also called mauli or charadu in Hindi.^[1] It is tied by a priest on the wrists of all the people attending the prayer ceremony. The Kalava is tied on right hand of males and unmarried females, and on left hand of married females. Cotton strings in form of yarn in full red are most common as is red with small bits of yellow, however, other dye combination exist. It sometimes has knots which are tied up while reciting Sanskrit mantras to invoke Brahman and is worn to ward off evil from the person who wears this red thread. A stylised form of the Kalava is used for the holiday of Raksha Bandhan.^[2]

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