Festivals come and go like a seasonal circle with an in-depth connection to the lives of people and act as a driving force that makes them pursue their lives for prosperity and happiness.

These set of beliefs and traditions enrooted in a deep sea of scientific facts and phenomena observed by some Elite millions of years ago hold their importance in current times also and they cannot be overlooked with the constant churning of universal cycles.

Akshaya Tritiya

is one such festival that appears in our life and fills it with sheer opulence and spiritualism.

• “Akshaya” means non-diminishing, non-exhausting, nondecreasing, non-reducing, etc.
• “Kshaya” means one that is reducing, diminishing, decreasing, etc.
• Akshaya is the opposite of “Kshaya”.
• “Trithiya” means the 3rd day.

Akshaya Tritiya falls on the third lunar day (Tithi) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of Vaishakha month – (Vaishakha Shukla Truthiya) (late April – early May), when the sun and the moon are in exalted positions and are simultaneously at the peak of their brightness.

As the Sun and Moon, considered to be the eyes of the Lord, are in exalted positions, the eyes of the Lord are fully open on Akshaya Trithiya day, and hence His kataksha (bestow) falls fully on all of us on that day.

The divine words of Lord Sri Krishna to Yudhishtira narrate the importance of this day: O Yudhishtira, the offerings made and the oblations offered in the sacrificial fire on this day never go in vain. Hence, Sages have imparted the name Akshaya Tritiya to this day. Everything done on this day for the sake of Deities and ancestors is “Akshaya, meaning they are imperishable”.

The moving history of our land tells about the numerous highly felicitous events that took place on Akshayatruthiya. From time immemorial, great minds have been formed, nourished, and touched the heroic deeds.

Posterity informally learned the immortal stories of the religious treasure as they learned their mother tongue at their mother’s knee.

• The sweetness and sorrows of Devi Sita and Princess Draupadi,
• the heroic fortitude of Sri Rama and Arjuna and
• the loving fidelity of Lakshmana and Hanuman,
• the legend of the great Lord Sri Krishna himself – the most energetic of beings, whose divinity scintillates through the very human characteristics.
• His high purposefulness pervading the whole life of man bolstered the stuff of their philosophy of life.

Akshaya Tritiya – a supremely auspicious day

Akshayatruthiya is worshipped as a supremely auspicious day as this is considered to be the birthday of Lord Parasurama the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the birthday of Lord Balarama, the eighth incarnation (Lord Balarama or Sankharshana) of Lord Vishnu.

It is stated that Lord Vishnu caused the Divine Ganga to flow on the earth on Vaisakha Shukla Truthiya. It naturally follows that bathing in the Ganga and worshipping Lord Vishnu on the day are particularly propitious.

Annapurna Devi – Goddess of Food

It was on this day that Goddess Annapurna Devi, the Goddess of food, was born- She is a special form of Mother Parvati who feeds the hungry. On an Akshayatruthiya day, Lord Shiva disguised himself as a  beggar and approached Devi Annapurna for food. She fed Lord Shiva. This act of begging by the Lord is a symbolic act – He begs for all.

As per ancient texts, Lord Ganesha – God of wisdom and remover of obstacles started writing “Mahabharata” as dictated by the great sage Veda Vyasa on Akshayatruthiya. Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme chose this day to bless His close childhood friend Kuchela (Sudama) who was very poor.

Kuchela’s humble gift and the prosperity that came his way as a reward for the gift of love that he offered from amidst his poverty, stands as a true symbol of Akshayatruthiya– the prosperity that comes to one through sharing and giving.

The Lord through this story reaffirms:

“patrampushpamphalamtoyamyo me bhaktyaprayacchati tadahambhaktyupahritamashnamiprayatatmanah”  (9.26)

Whoever offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit or even water with devotion, that I accept, offered as it is with a loving heart and illustrates the true meaning of love and its value.

Divine Bowl – Akshaya Paatra

Another notable and educative illustration of the Lord’s infinite mercy is brought out through the legend of Princess Draupadi (whom the Lord considered as His sister).

The Lord protected her on different Akshaya Tritiya days by providing her with an unlimited supply of sari at the dice game in return for a tiny piece of cloth provided by her for tying up the wound on Him.

Later, when she needed to provide food for Sage Durvasa and his disciples, the Lord took a single grain from her – ‘Akshaya Paatra’ and satisfied the hunger of all the sages – Princess Draupadi was given the divine vessel – Akshaya Paatra on Akshaya Tritiya by Lord Surya.

(there is another version that says Lord Krishna, pleased with Draupadi’s prayers, blessed her with the Akshaya Paatra).

Akshaya Paatra – (bowl – meaning abundant, inexhaustible vessel that supplied unlimited food)

The divine bowl would give food all day till the princess (Draupadi or Panchali) took her food. After she had eaten, the bowl would not provide any food on that day. This very direction is also aimed to show that there should be a calm stoppage to the desires-and the principle that “the devoted needy will be provided for, but not the greedy” is clearly shown.

The Paramatma, through this episode, also demonstrated that “A single grain of rice, if offered to Him with love and humility, becomes the beeja (primordial seed) which feeds and satiates the whole universe.”

Another example of Devotion and the fruit of selfless service is given to us in that classless prayer to Mother Devi by the peerless mystic and Great Master Jagadguru Sri Adi Sankara- the KANAKA DHARA STOTRAM.

Greatness of Akshaya Tritiya

The greatness of Akshayatruthiya, i.e. the third lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Vaishakha is described in Holy Scriptures such as the Matsya, Skanda, Bhavishya and Narada Purana, the Mahabharata, etc. The meritorious deeds performed on this day produce the imperishable result and infinite returns – being Akshayatruthiya.

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the 3 things humans crave most in life – happiness, freedom, and peace of mind – the legends of divine interventions connected with Akshaya Tritiya show these cravings can be attained by giving them to someone else selflessly.

The law of the Universe knows the fastest, shortest, and quickest ways for achieving goals of life. One must start with a prosperity mindset from within, and spread love and harmony wherever one goes.

Do more positive deeds of nobility and charity from your heart. When one does charity with unselfishness and concern for others, he gives away things from his own life, thereby making way for more of the abundance to manifest in one’s own life.

For more information, please visit Wikipedia