This Word Means: Akshay Tritiya

April 30 is being celebrated as Akshay Tritiya in many parts of the country, with people purchasing gold and silver. Buying jewellery on this day is considered auspicious.

Jewellers’ body GJC projected gold sales to jump 35 per cent in value terms over the last year, according to PTI. Gold prices are trading between Rs 99,500 and Rs 99,900 per 10 grams across different parts of the country, 37.6 per cent higher than Rs 72,300 on Akshaya Tritiya in 2024.

What is Akshay Tritiya?

Akshay Tritiya falls on the third day of the shukla paksha (waxing phase of the moon) of the Hindu month of Vaishakh. Tritiya means third and ‘akshay’ means that which can’t be harmed or reduced (that which can’t be brought to kshay).

It is believed that any positive thing acquired on Akshay Tritiya — be it spiritual credit through prayers or a material asset — never lessens in value. This is why people buy gold or real estate on Akshay Tritiya. Also, it is believed that the whole day is auspicious, and there is no need to look for the right muhurat when doing something on Akshay Tritiya.

Akshay Tritiya in Puranas, Mahabharata

There are other reasons that make this day important.

“According to the Bhavishya Purana, the treta yug began on Akshay Tritiya. Also, the Mahabharata war ended on Akshay Tritiya. Along with these, it is believed that the warrior-sage Parshuram, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born on Akshay Tritiya in the pradosh kaal (roughly 45-minute period around sunset). This year, his birth anniversary was celebrated on April 29 because the Triitiya tithi and the sunset period came together on that day. In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna gave the akshay patra (literally, the everlasting vessel) to Draupadi on Akshay Tritiya,” Dr Ramesh Kumar Upadhyay, president of the Bhartiya Jyotish Aadhyatm parishad in Jamshedpur, said.

The Draupadi story goes thus: once, a group of sages visited the Pandavas when they were living in exile in the forest. A distressed Draupadi realised she had nothing to feed the group, which included the sage Durvasa, quick to fly into rage. She began to pray, and Lord Krishna appeared and ate the few grains of rice Draupadi had in a vessel. This assuaged the hunger of all the sages. Krishna gave Draupadi a boon that this vessel would never be empty of sustenance.

The episode of sages visiting the Pandavas in exile is mentioned in many stories in different forms, as it highlights interesting questions of duty and devotion while facing adversities.

Akshay Tritiya in the Jain tradition

In Jainism, it is believed that the first Tirthankar Rishabhanatha broke his fast after one year on Akshay Tritiya, when King Shreya served him sugarcane juice in accordance with the customs with which Jain monks can eat.

Mythology expert Devdutt Pattanaik has written that the word Akshay is possibly derived from Ikshu, or sugarcane. Ikshu Tritiya may have become Akshaya Tritiya over time, he writes.