Akshaya Tṛtīyā

Akshaya Tṛtīyā is the tṛtīyā (third day) of the śukla paksha (bright fortnight, when the moon is growing) in the month of Vaiśākha. It is one of the most auspicious tithis (days of the lunar calendar) of the whole year. Its name means “the never-ending third”. It comes from Bhagavān Vishṇu’s own promise that any good deed done on this day brings akshaya results: results that never lessen, never decay, and last even through the dissolutions of the universe.

Two separate stories explain how this tithi got its name and power. One is the story of Puruyaśas, a king of Pāñcāla who gained sāyujya (union with Bhagavān Vishṇu) on this day. The other is the story of Indra and Utathya, in which Indra won back his lost powers by performing the Vaiśākha rites on this tṛtīyā. The Kṛta Yuga (the first and purest age) also began on this tithi, and this is given as the reason why deeds done on it become lasting.

The Name and Why It Holds

The tithi takes its name from what Bhagavān Vishṇu said directly to King Puruyaśas when he appeared to him, riding on Garuḍa, on this very day:

“This Tṛtīyā shall from now on be known as Akshaya. Whatever good deed a person does on this day shall bring never-ending benefit. Śrāddha done on this day shall earn endless puṇya.”

There are two reasons behind this. First, the Kṛta Yuga, the age when dharma was complete, began on this tithi, and so the lasting quality of that age is built into it. Second, on this day the three who receive all offerings, the devas, the ṛshis and the pitṛs (ancestors), are all present and pleased at once. So every act done on this day is three times as effective.

Rites for Akshaya Tṛtīyā

Everyone who takes the holy bath early in the morning at sunrise on this day is freed from pāpa (wrongdoing) and goes to the great realm of Vishṇu. The full list of rites is:

• A holy bath before sunrise
• Tarpaṇa (offering water) while remembering the devas, the pitṛs and the ṛshis. This equals Vedic study, performing yajñas and a hundred śrāddhas
• Pūjā of Madhusūdana (Vishṇu, the slayer of the asura Madhu) and listening to his sacred story
• Gifts given to please Madhusūdana. Every gift brings never-ending, akshaya benefit
• Śrāddha (rites for the ancestors) for the pitṛs, which brings endless puṇya. Those who cannot travel to Gayā may perform śrāddha on this day and gain the same result

“This tithi is extremely auspicious. Its deities are the devas, the ṛshis and the pitṛs. It pleases all three when the eternal dharma is performed.”

The Story of King Puruyaśas

The direct reason Bhagavān Vishṇu named this tithi “Akshaya” is the story of Puruyaśas, king of Pāñcāla. In ten earlier births this king had been a violent hunter. On the advice of the ṛshis Yāja and Upayāja, he performed the full Vaiśākha rites for the whole month. On the day of Akshaya Tṛtīyā, Bhagavān Vishṇu himself appeared in the sky on Garuḍa, with Lakshmī beside him, shining with all his divine marks.

Puruyaśas offered a deep stotra (hymn of praise) that brought together the saguṇa (with form and qualities) and nirguṇa (beyond qualities) sides of Bhagavān Vishṇu:

“You are the unmanifest Parabrahman beyond all guṇas, and yet you stand here before me with Lakshmī on Garuḍa: without form, yet full of form; beyond qualities, yet the embodiment of all that is auspicious.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu was very pleased with this stotra and with the king’s observance. He gave him ten thousand years of happy life, the return of his kingdom, five sons and, in the end, sāyujya, union with Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The Story of Indra and Utathya

A second, separate account of the tithi’s origin tells of Indra’s wrongdoing and how he recovered. After defeating Bali and driving him down to the lower worlds, Indra came to the āśrama of Utathya, the brother of Bṛhaspati. He saw Utathya’s pregnant wife and, overcome by desire, violated her. The child in the womb, defending itself, closed the way with its foot, so that Indra’s seed was scattered. Indra angrily cursed the unborn child to be born blind, and so the child Dīrghatapas was born blind.

Ashamed of what he had done, Indra hid in a cave on Mount Meru. Meanwhile Bali and the asuras learned that svarga was unguarded and captured Amarāvatī, Indra’s city. The devas could not find their king, so they went to Bṛhaspati, who found Indra in the cave. Bṛhaspati said to the shamed Indra: “You did this through the force of past karma. Do not grieve. But act now to win back what you have lost.”

Bṛhaspati told Indra to take the holy bath, give gifts and perform all the rites of the bright tṛtīyā of Vaiśākha, a day very dear to Madhusūdana. Indra did all these rites. At once his strength, his energy, the power of his mantras, his vidyā (knowledge) and his scriptures, all of which had left him because of his pāpa, came back as before. His pāpa of violating another man’s wife was wholly destroyed. Like the moon freed from Rāhu’s eclipse, Indra shone again. He returned to Amarāvatī, defeated the asuras, and the devas were given back their places. From that time this tṛtīyā, named Akshaya, became famous as the tithi that gives both happiness in this world and moksha (liberation).

Three Holy Texts for the Last Days of Vaiśākha

The Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya links the reading of three great Vaishṇava texts to the three days from Trayodaśī to Pūrṇimā (the thirteenth day to the full moon), which carry the same spirit as the Akshaya Tṛtīyā period:

• Reading the Bhagavad Gītā on these last three days brings the puṇya of an aśvamedha yajña for each day
• No one can measure the puṇya of reciting the Vishṇu Sahasranāma on these three days
• Reading even half a verse of the Bhāgavata in Vaiśākha brings brahma-sāyujya (union with Brahman)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapters 15–16
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 23
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Vaiśākha Māsa Māhātmya, Chapter 25