Indra and the Origin of Akshaya Tritiya

This is the account of how the bright third day (Śukla Tṛtīyā) of the month of Vaiśākha came to be called Akshaya, “the one that does not run out.” It is told in Chapter 23 of the Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya.

Indra had beaten Bali, but on his way home he did a grave wrong to the wife of the ṛshi Utathya. In shame he hid in a cave. The asuras took svarga (heaven). Bṛhaspati found Indra and had him keep the rites of this tithi (lunar day). His power came back and his pāpa (sin) was destroyed. Since then the day has been called Akshaya.

Indra’s wrong act

Indra had defeated Bali and driven him down to Rasātala, the nether worlds. He came back as the conqueror of the three worlds. On the way he stopped at the āśrama of the ṛshi Utathya, the younger brother of Bṛhaspati.

At the āśrama Indra saw Utathya’s wife. She was heavy with child and moved slowly. She wore a girdle, and her face was like a lotus. Desire overcame Indra, and he violated her against her will, though she was with child.

The child in the womb knew what was happening. To protect its mother it put out a foot and blocked the way, so that Indra’s seed could not enter the womb. The seed was forced out and fell on the ground.

Indra was furious that the child had blocked him and, as he saw it, insulted him. In petty rage he cursed the unborn child: “Since you have closed the passage and insulted me, be born blind at your very birth.”

The child, Dīrghatapas, was born blind. The Māhātmya adds that a being named Jālata was born from the seed that fell on the ground. Utathya’s disciples had seen Indra run away in shame, and they laughed as he ran.

Indra’s shame and hiding

Indra was deeply ashamed of what he had done, and more ashamed that he had been seen and laughed at. He did not go back to svarga. He found a fine cave on Mount Meru and went into it with Śacī. He meant to stay hidden until the shame passed, and to do tapas (austerity) in the quiet of the cave.

Days turned into a long absence. Svarga had no guard.

The asuras take svarga

Bali and the other asuras, Śambara among them, had spies watching. They learned that Indra was away and svarga was undefended, and they moved at once. Bali declared himself the new Indra. The asuras took Amarāvatī and the homes of all the Guardians of the Quarters. They seized all the wealth and rights of the devas. The devas were driven from their homes. They wandered in misery through many worlds with no protector.

The devas, with Agni at their head, went to their teacher Bṛhaspati (Dhishaṇa) and asked: “Where is our lord? The kingdom of the dwellers in svarga has lost its leader. Why does he not return?”

By his divine knowledge Bṛhaspati told them the truth. Indra had violated Utathya’s wife and, overcome with shame, had gone into a cave on Meru. “He is staying there with Śacī, thinking about his own shameful act.”

Restored through Akshaya Tritiya

The devas hurried to the cave on Meru. They found Indra with his head bowed, unable to speak, his eyes on the ground. Bṛhaspati spoke to him: “O lord, do not be afraid. This universe rests on karma. Honour and dishonour, happiness and misery, victory and defeat all come by earlier karma. The wise do not mourn when trouble comes.”

When Indra could speak, he told what his pāpa had cost him: “Because I lay with another man’s wife, my strength, my vigour, the power of my mantras, the power of the scriptures and the power of my learning have all gone.”

The devas and Bṛhaspati held a council on how to restore him. Bṛhaspati then named the remedy: “This month is Vaiśākha, the month most dear to the Slayer of Madhu. In this month every lunar day is meritorious. In its bright half is the Tṛtīyā called Akshaya (the inexhaustible). If anyone bathes and gives gifts with faith on that day, thousands of pāpas are destroyed. His prosperity will be without blemish. He will gain strength and courage.”

Bṛhaspati had Indra keep all the rites of the Vaiśākha Śukla Tṛtīyā. These were the holy bath, gifts, and all the acts that please Bhagavān Hari. Indra did them on the third lunar day, named Akshaya.

The result was immediate. His strength, courage, mantra-power, the power of the scriptures and his good name all returned to exactly what they had been. The pāpa of lying with another man’s wife was destroyed. He shone again like the Moon freed from Rāhu’s eclipse.

Svarga won back

With his power restored, Indra led the devas against the asuras. He defeated them and took back Amarāvatī, and entered it to the sound of conches and instruments. The devas returned to their homes. The Pitṛs again received their shares of rice-ball offerings. The ṛshis went back to Vedic study. The order of the worlds was set right again.

The Purāṇa says: “Ever since then the Tṛtīyā named Akshaya became famous in all the worlds. It gave satisfaction to the devas, ṛshis and Pitṛs. It is highly meritorious. It destroys all karmas. The Tṛtīyā named Akshaya gives worldly pleasures and moksha to men.”

The Akshaya name in other accounts

Chapter 16 of the same Māhātmya, the account of Puruyaśas, tells that Bhagavān Vishṇu himself appeared on Garuḍa and named this tithi Akshaya. The Māhātmya also says that Kṛtayuga began on this tithi, and gives this as the reason that acts done on it never run out.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 23
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 16 (the Puruyaśas account, mentioned)