Yamuna, the river goddess, had a brother named Yama. Yama had a great deal of work to do, and it had been a very long time since he had visited his sister.
Every year Yamuna sent him an invitation. “Come and eat at my home,” she wrote. And every year Yama replied, “Next time, I promise.”
One year, on the second day after the new moon of Kartika, Yama put his work aside and set off. When Yamuna saw him at her door, her face lit up.
She marked his forehead with a tilak, cooked his favourite food, and they talked and laughed the whole afternoon.
“What gift can I give you?” Yama asked as he left. Yamuna smiled. “Just this: come back every year, and let every brother and sister make time for each other on this day.”
So families say that on Bhai Dooj, brothers and sisters remember Yama and Yamuna. The tilak is small, but the time spent together is the real gift.