Festival of Gold “Akshay Tritiya”
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej is a Hindu and Jain holy day, that falls on the third Tithi (Lunar day) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of the pan-Indian month of Vaishakha. As per Hindus, this day is ruled by god Vishnu, the preserver-god in the Hindu Trinity. It is also traditionally celebrated as the birthday of the Hindu sage Parashurama, the sixth Avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. According to Hindu mythology, on this day the Treta Yuga began and the river Ganges, the most sacred river of India, descended to the earth from the heaven.
The word “Akshaya” means the never diminishing in Sanskrit and the day is believed to bring good luck and success. It is believed that if you do charity on this day you will be blessed. Nowadays jewellers have turned the purity into a marketing gimmick. The day is considered auspicious for starting new ventures. The legend is that any venture initiated on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya continues to grow and bring prosperity. Hence, new ventures, like starting a business, construction etc. is initiated on Akshaya Tritiya.
The word ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ now a days quite famous, by advertisement media is particularly considered auspicious day for buying long term assets like gold and silver, including ornaments made of the same; diamond and other precious stones, and also considered to deal with the real estates.
Akshaya Trithiya, or ‘Akha Teej’, which is widely celebrated in all parts of India by various communities of the society irrespective of their religious faith and social grouping. People believes that the day is so auspicious, that any venture initiated on the day of Akshaya Tritiya shall continue to grow and bring prosperity. There is a popular belief that whatever one invests in on the day will continue to grow and bring prosperity. Therefore people invest in gold on the day. Since it is one of the most auspicious days in a Hindu calendar, people begin new ventures on the day.
Happy Akshay tritiya to all of you.
