The Significance & Importance of Akshaya Thrutheeyai

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the 3 things we crave most in life - happiness, freedom, and peace of mind that are attained by giving them to someone else" - General Peyton C. March (1864-1955). 

"The hand that gives is the hand that gathers" is a timeless truth. Universe is a mysterious place and has its own secret laws. One of the important secrets to manifesting material success is first to give with a clean heart. Those who have made it really big, clearly understand this power of giving with a pure heart. This act according to our elders brings back the money manifold.... not that you expect it. You can practice this ancient science of giving to get supreme benefits on the sacred "Akshaya Trutheeyai" or "Day of Gold". No, this doesn't mean gold buying day. This day is the 3rd moon that falls during Mid-April and Mid May every year, is considered to be the single most powerful day for charities. This is also a day when the Sun and the Moon are at their most lustrous state.

Bless the money or material that you are going to give away today and you could see that it multiplies many times over. "Feeding a starved human being and helping the poor with needed items are keys to receive material and spiritual blessings". Giving on this day, therefore, produces great returns (even if one does not expect anything in return). If you have been planning on giving, this day is the day. It is said that when the Lord wanted to create this world, the first word He uttered was Akshaya which means unlimited. This day is the single important time for wealth building. Many buy gold on this day as it forebodes good luck and prosperity for the year.

• Sri Vyasa started the composition of great epic Mahabharatha, which is like an Akshaya patram for stories of the various yesteryear kings and spiritual knowledge.

• Lord Sri Krishna visited Pandavas and blessed Draupathi with the Akshaya Patram (which they had received from the Sun God earlier).

• Sudhama ( Kuchela) visited the Lord Sri Krishna with a handful of hand pound rice (Aval) and was blessed with Akshaya wealth by Sri Krishna in return.

• Lord  Sri Parashurama, who is Chiranjeevi (Immortal), Jayanthi is celebrated.

Mythologically speaking, Kubera, the treasurer in Heaven received his wealth on this day from Siva. It is on this day Lord Siva blessed Goddess Lakshmi with wealth. In fact Lord Siva made Kubera as Lord of wealth and Lakshmi as Goddess of wealth. Kubera worshiped Lord Siva in the temple at Sivapuram. Buried underneath the land surrounding the temple are thousands of Sivalingams. Just by stepping on the ground here, or by worshiping here, your bad money karma will be dissolved, they say.

According to  another legend, the "Akshaya bowl" which creates unlimited food was given to the great king Yudhishtira on this day. This event happened at the Thirumanthurai temple. Also on this day Avatars (Gods incarnation on the earth plane) were blessed to rule their countries. They received wealth on this day. Two people were born on this 3rd moon. One is Parasurama, the warrior Brahmin who destroyed all his enemies and then became a sage. The second one was Annapurani, a special form of Parvati who feeds the hungry. Annapurani fed Siva on this day. Siva disguised himself as a beggar (for Bikshaatana) and approached Annapurani for food. Siva's begging is a symbolic act. He is the lord of the Universe. Why should he beg? The answer is he begs for all his beggars (the impoverished lots, like us!!).

Also as per another legend connected with Arasar Koil,  Lord Ganesha seems to have gifted the Akshaya bowl (divine vessel of inexhaustible food) to Garuda (the Vehicle of lord Vishnu). Garuda worshiped Lakshmi who happens to reside in this temple and Goddess Lakshmi offered this Akshaya bowl in gold to Garuda. Garuda while worshiping Lord Surya Narayana (the Sun God) offered food to the deity in this golden Akshaya bowl. All the above incidences happened in Arasar Koil temple only in the previous Yugas, mind you. 

In this temple, Lord Ganesha is in front of Goddess Mahalakshmi' s Sanctum and is known as Akshaya Vinayakar. He is also known as Sri Lakshmi Ganapathy.

Since it was Lord Siva who on this day bestowed Kubera as the Lord and Lakshmi as the Goddess of wealth, worshiping Lord Siva on this day and chanting the mantra, "Om Namah Sivaaya" will bring in abundance and prosperity in one's life. Let the Srivaishnavite's differ on this, and chant "Om NamO nArAyaNa".

Feeding the poor is the most important charitable act. Also donation of umbrellas and chapels (sandals) for poor children are recommended by some. Poojas and charity acts will yield good results on this special 3rd moon day, i.e.3th day from new-moon day known as Thruthee-yai, a day for charity.

Buying of Gold and Jewellery items is certainly not listed in the Vedic scripts. these are all the ploy and gimmicks made by the vested interests to hard-sell their product to the gullible in the name of religious faith.  Sadly purity, piety & all good have been commercialized. Sure, the industry related advertisements are making the general public crazy for buying. The only auspicious day to buy gold ornaments stated to be of Guru-Pushya day i.e. when Pushya nakshatra falls on any Thursday in any month. And certainly not on Akshaya Thrutheeyai day. To do perform sort of Pooja and prayer and Brahmin feedings were the most important on this day than accumulating gold wealth, which is certainly not the agenda for this Akshaya Thrutheeyai. I list below the deeds and benefits as per the age old practice of doing charity on the Akshaya Thrutheeyai day:

1. If you do charity, you will conquer the pain of death.

2. If you help the poor and down-trodden, you will be blessed in your next birth.

3. If you give clothes to poor people, you will get over diseases.

4. If you give fruits, you will get higher position in life.

5. If you give butter milk, buttermilk, etc, you will progress in studies.

6. If you give grains, you will not die untimely.

7. If you perform " Deva tharpaNam", you will get rid of poverty.

8. If you give curd rice, you will get over your negative deeds and you will progress in life

Nowadays, in all over India there are scores of advertisements declaring that buying of Gold on this day would make you rich. And there is a mad rush for buying Gold on this day, that I find everywhere. This is practically a meaningless act as persons have to spend from their own pocket to buy this gold. And this would surely make the shop owners richer than the buyers!! Instead, if they gift some valuables to the needy poor then it would of immense value added to their life. By spending heavily on this day, on the contrary, this may weaken your purse and making the gold idle for no act of circulation, thus Goddess Lakshmi might even moving out of your home. So act wisely, don't get bullied by the false advertisements that are surely contrary to the Vedic principles. Do care for the poor and needy, the result you will get in multiple ways of happiness. Akshaya, the ever leasting bowel may be with you for ever.

TRS Iyengar