Akshay Tritiya meaning ‘the third day of unending prosperity’ falls on the third lunar day of Bright Half of Vaishak(the first month of bengali new year). It is a very popular festival among the Hindus and Jains celebrated in late April or early May. The Hindu community considers the day as the bearer of eternal prosperity and luck and therefore they hope that any initiative or venture on this day such as starting a business or company or new investment or construction of a building or entering a new home to live with or purchasing land and jewellery will last forever. So throughout India many are seen to worship Gods in temples, to take holy baths in the river Ganga. People crowd in the temples and mathas. As it is considered the most pious day many shopkeepers do not open their new account book (Haal Khata) on bengali new year day i.e. 1st Vaishak. They wait for this very tithi as they are aware of its glory.
According to our Mythology if a person conducts a virtuous deed or a holy work on this day, the result of his deed will be perpetual and he will get an undecaying blessing from God that will lead him many many miles ahead on his spiritual journey. On the contrary, if he commits a crime or performs an evil work on the day he will possess an equal quantity of eternal vice. Therefore we should remain very conscious about our each and every speech, thinking and work and should concentrate on good work only such as prayers, charity, giving drinking water to thirsty passersby as best as we can on this day. As every action done on this day is marked as eternal, one should set one’s each step cautiously.
The great ascetic Vagiratha’s spiritual hardship and strong devotion made ‘the rescuer of the fallen’ mother Ganga to descend to our earth. She appeared on this day and has been flowing continuously and consistently since then. So it is called that ‘Akshay Tritiya’ is the birthday of mother Ganga in earth.
Lord Ganesha hearing from Veda Vyas started to compose the famous Hindu epic Mahabharata on ‘Akshaya Tritiya’. Lord Parshurama the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu was born on this auspicious day. The construction of new chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra Devi at Puri Dham (Orissa) began on this day every year. It is the day that starts ‘Satya Yuga’ , the highest spiritual age among the four ages, Satya, Treta, Dwapar, Kali.
Long time after their childhood days poor Sudhama was able to meet his intimate friend Shri Krishna. Krishna eradicated his friend’s poverty on this auspicious day.
The ideal of our India is renunciation and service. It seems that the day of Akshay Tritiya reminds us of this ideal every year. It inspires us again and again to understand the excellence of selfless service and donation. This magnitude of service and renunciation is scattered everywhere in our country from ancient to modern. We are proud of saying that our country is the paradigm of renunciation. We are well aware of the truthfulness and munificence of Raja Harishchandra. The self-sacrifice of Dadhichi Muni; the donation of three step land to Baman avatar (one of the ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu) by the king Baly; the story of Karna in Mahabharata, the act of giving away his only amulet to disguised Indra; the story of Rishi Rantidev – all these leave a deep impression in our minds. In modern age the life of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagara and Yugavatar Ramakrishna, the generosity of former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, the charity of Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram stimulate us to do the same.
One’s good thoughts and works are the outcome of one’s honest intention, honest company and blessings of God. These three together inspire men to donate and to serve others. That is why it is seen from aeons that all the noblemen, noble kings and honest householders donated many things to the needy at their level best.
Our scriptures also suggest not to lie by everything that we earn honestly or dishonestly because it increases the guilt of our mind. Our bodies are attacked by different types of diseases. As a consequence, we have to run through severe mental pressure and physical pain. The days like Akshay Tritiya, Mahalaya, Ratha Yatra, Vijaya Dashami etc are the best opportunities to reduce the sin stored up by our past deeds.
Let us go back to discuss the excellence of Akshay Tritiya again. We have known that one can possess undecaying virtues by giving drinking water to any thirsty person. According to modern researchers there prevails scorching heat all around in the summer and to escape from this heat striking weather we need first of all drinking water. Hailing rainy season, the observance of Akshay Tritiya gives us a great chance to distribute cold water among the thirsty. Therefore many clubs and organizations take initiative to open temporary ‘jalasatra’ (a place or shed where drinking water and other refreshments are given to the passersby in hot season) and thus give voluntary service. In rural West Bengal there is a custom of chanting the name of Lord Hari (harinam) in the month of Vaishak. In the evening A group of villagers came out to visit the entire village singing harinam and playing on tom-toms and cymbals, harmonium, tambourines etc. This was introduced by Mahaprabhu Chaitanyadev in the 16th century. It is done for the wellbeing of the village and to make the atmosphere of the village holy. Many house-holders invite them to their home specially on this day and show respect by offering them delicious dishes containing luchi, suji, sweets, curry, pieces of fruits and of course drinking water.
In Bhavishya Purana we get a famous and interesting story relating to the glory of Akshay Tritiya. Once a king went out hunting. After chasing a deer for a long time he became very tired and hungry. Being utterly exhausted he began to search for a drop of drinking water to quench his thirst. After a thorough search he came across a cottage at the end of the jungle. There lived a cruel brahmin devoid of all sorts of spiritual activity and his kind hearted wife Sushila. Now when he begged the brahmin for some water, the uncultured brahmin flared up like a volcano and told the intruder to get out at once. When the intruder was about to go back with a gloomy face, suddenly a sweet voice mixed with deep affection entered his ear – ‘stop dear son! Don’t go. I shall give you water and food. She was none but the brahmin’s wife, a pious lady who without paying heed to her husband offered the stranger a delicious dish and cold water. The day belonged to this Akshay Tritiya tithi. The story has not finished yet. A few years later when the self-centered brahmin died, the messengers of Yama (Yamdyut) came and took his soul away to Yamaloka. His sinful soul was feeling very much thirsty. The palate of his mouth became almost dry. He pleaded with them for a draught of water but they, instead, began to insult him for his past deed. But when he was taken to the court of Yama, the judge (the god of death) set him free by virtue of his wife’s religious merit and religious deed done on that Akshay Tritiya. After that Akshay Tritiya became famous and has been observed with great respect.
By Koushik Roy Choudhury, Purba Barddhaman
