What Akshaya Tritiya is
‘Akshaya’ means that which never diminishes. Tradition holds Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya as a day when giving, prayer and good deeds remain ‘akshaya’. It is also called ‘Akha Teej’, and falls in April–May as the hot season begins.
Nirnaya Sindhu counts it among the yugadi tithis: the four tithis that tradition holds as the start of the yugas.
How the date is decided
Shastra (Nirnaya Sindhu): Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya is Akshaya Tritiya, taken as present in the forenoon (purvahna). If in the forenoon on both days, the second day.
Quoting the Narada Purana, Nirnaya Sindhu adds that this Tritiya is finer with Rohini nakshatra or a Wednesday or Monday, and that a Tritiya joined to Chaturthi is favoured. Our calendar shows the day by the forenoon rule. We give no ‘shopping muhurta’ for this day.
The story: tradition / Purana story
Tradition links many stories to this day: the birth of Parashurama (so Parashurama Jayanti falls on or near it); the start of the Treta yuga; the Ganga's descent to earth (in some traditions); and in the Mahabharata tradition, the Pandavas receiving the akshaya patra, a vessel whose food never ran short in exile. Another story is Sudama's, who went with a handful of rice to meet his friend Krishna on this day.
We keep these as tradition. What we found in the texts is the yugadi status and the rites of bathing and giving.
How families celebrate
North India: a Ganga bath, and giving water-filled pots, fans, sattu and melons. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh: ‘Akha Teej’, with community weddings in many places. Odisha: building of the Puri Rath Yatra chariots begins today, and farmers start sowing. Jain tradition: the day Rishabhadeva ended his year-long fast (with sugarcane juice). Uttarakhand: by custom the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines open on this day.
In recent decades buying gold and silver has grown popular. It is not in the texts; the day is complete without buying anything.
A simple puja
Dharmasindhu gives a Ganga bath, offering barley in the fire, giving and eating barley, and applying sandal to Krishna. A simple home form:
- Morning bath (with a little Ganga water if you have it).
- Remember Vishnu or Lakshmi–Narayana with sandal, tulsi and flowers.
- Offer barley or sattu.
- Give: a clay pot filled with water, a fan, an umbrella, sattu, fruit, or help to someone in need.
- Begin a good habit or new work you truly mean to keep.
Safety: the heat
Vaishakha is heatwave season. Avoid the midday sun, keep drinking water, lemonade or buttermilk, and take special care of elders and children. Set out water for passers-by, animals and birds; it is the finest gift of the day. At community weddings and fairs, beware of crowds and heat. If you fast, do so as your health allows; for health, the doctor comes first.
In ePandit
In ePandit: our calendar shows the festival day with your city's sunrise and sunset. The day is decided once, for Ujjain; your city's times are shown separately. We don't compute muhurta yet, and we never call a festival good or bad for anyone.