Akshaya trithiya is the time when both the sun and moon are exalted
in Aries and Taurus respectively.
This happens in the solar month of Chitthirai / lunar month of Vaishaka.
Since the two important entities of the sky
that influence the climate, mentality and environment of the earth
by their physical presence and
also by being Athma karaka and Mano karaka,
are exalted simultaneously on this day,
this day is fit for doing actions that are meant for giving lasting results.
It is said that Vishnu told king Keerthimaan of Varanasi
that this thithi is the ultimate thithi of Vishnu.
It happens at the time when Vishnu reaches the heavens with his second step,
(vernal Equinox)
All benefits of pithrus, dana and moksha are attainable on this day.
Kshaya means erosion.
Akshaya means not getting eroded.
In olden days, penances were started on this day.
Charity were done on that day.
Since people in those days were spiritually oriented,
Akshaya thritheeya (it means the third lunar day which does not erode)
was noted for worship and penances to get lasting results
- for release from
kala charka – the cycle of Time that binds our lives.
There have been many recorded instances of gratification of tapas and prayers on this day.
It is said that the golden shower on the poor woman
at the instance of Adi Shankara
by composing the "kanaka-dhaara" sthothram
was done on a Akshaya thritheeya day!
This has given rise to the spin in the objective of this day.
Added to it is the astrological injunction that purchase of gold and precious ornaments
must be done on the day when sun and moon are powerful.
The Gold or ornaments purchased on such a day will remain with the buyer,
that is, will be a permanent purchase that he will not lose the ornaments or the gold
(by robbery or mortgage etc).
Akshaya thritheeya fulfills this injunction of the Muhurtha astrology
in that both the sun and the moon are powerful and exalted on this day.
This is the primary reason for the rush to buy gold on this day.
buying gold on this day would ensure that your gold wealth will grow!
The spiritual wealth acquired on this day is bound to grow and last long
and
This import of Akshaya thritheeya has been cleverly combined with
the muhurtha principle for buying gold
and exploited well by the traders.
My pick is that buy gold if you can.
But there is no assurance given by this day that your gold wealth will increase.
It may increase perhaps by your habitual buying on every Akshaya thritheeya!
On the other hand,
if you choose this day,
to start some spiritual sadhana, say, starting recital of some sloka or mantra
for some specific purpose,
you are bound to reap rich dividents.
That is the import of Akshaya thritheeya!
Tail piece on Akshatya thritheeya:-
According to KauLi sastra (sakuna based on the sounds made by lizard),
it is difficult to sight a lizard on Akshaya thritheeya day.
If you happen to see lizard on this day, make a wish.
Kauli will let you know whether it will succeed!!
This is based on the rule of universal connectivity of all beings
which I will explain in a future post.
This article should be circulated with great speed ,why can't people go for spiritual activities .along with buying gold !!!!
ReplyDeleteSreemathi Jayashree Saranath as i always say your articles are mind blowing.
We know that on Akshaya trithiya the house lizards will not be seen during day time. How this got connected to gold is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteshantha
Chennai
Dear Shantha,
ReplyDeleteNo connection with gold.
It must be to do with some bio-rhythms detected by lizards when both sun and moon reach their exalted positions.
Many creatures react to bio-rhythms and the sakuna satra (that includes Kauli sastra) is based on this only.
Akshaya thritheeya is astrologically known for starting tapas, doing dhaanam and ancestral oblations.
ReplyDeleteEfforts undertaken on this day - particularly at the time when moon reaches its exaltation at 3 degrees in Taurus and sun rise happening on threethiya in the solar month of Chitthirai- will yield full results. That is the taatparyam.
The gold rush might have had its inspiration from the story of Kanaka dhara - the shower of gold on the poor lady who offered the amla fruit to Adhi Shankara. It is said that this story of Shankara praying for the sake the for poor lady happened on a akshaya thritheeya
Since tomorrow is Akshaya Tritiya I went thru your last year's blog on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading/hearing that as per traditional accounts - the Kanakadhara storam incident happened on a Dvadasi day. Since the previous day was Ekadasi - a day of fasting, no food was cooked on the Ekadasi day and hence there was no bhakshanam available at the house for giving bhiksha (only raw food material is given as bhiksha - please correct me) to the brahmachari Sankara on the succeeding Dvadasi morning.
And also being very very poor, the household could not afford to have and so did not even have any stock of uncooked rice (or food items).
Hence, inspite of the inability of the Grihani to provide proper bhiksha and her grief on that inability, the subsequent offering of the only available food material - the amala (nellikai) fruit, moved Sri Sankara for Devi Mahalaskhmi's intervention in the form of the prayer - so as to negate the negative Karma that was the cause of the poverty.
In fact, this incident proves the fact that inspite of suffering due to bad karma - if one does selfless good deed(s) (under proper guidance of a Guru), the bad karma can be minimized.
Also we have to note that the stotram is called Kanaka-Dhara and not Kanaka-Vrishti (rain/shower of gold). It signifies the slow and steady descent of Gold (or prosperity) into the household. This incident must have been the begining of the end of poverty of that household - after which there must have been a slow and steady increase in that household prosperity.
Thank you anonymous for the information.
ReplyDeleteHowever I am not editing that part on kanakadhara. One reason is that I heard this one on kanakadhara from a teacher of astrology as an instance to show how that thithi is fruitful for prayers. And we can not validate the day when kanaka dhara happened.
Dhara means 'continuous flow' (like how oil pours without gap from the container from which it flows to the container in which it falls). Perhaps the kanaka dhara that happened to the lady was in effect, continuous prosperity.
Your effort to create awareness among blind Hindu followers, who seem to have stopped the process of thinking/questioning paving the way for knowledge with respect to lot of cultures and traditions, is truly laudable. But the fact of the matter is this kind of herd mentality, going after materialistic things (like gold or other assets) is something Bhagawan Krishna clearly explains in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, the fallacy of human conscious getting hooked to wrong notions, because of ego's attachment to materialism in it's quest for self-satisfaction. Vishnu Sahasranama goes like this in it's description of human intellect. Vedantako Brahmanasya, Kshatriyo Vijayibhavet, VAISHYO DHANASAMRUDHASYA, Shudrasya sukamavaapniyat. Hari Om.
ReplyDelete