History behind the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya

In Hinduism, Akshaya Tritiya was the day when Ganesha (Vinayaka), the God of wisdom and obstacle removal, started writing the epic Mahabharata to Ved Vyasa’s dictation. This day is ruled by God Vishnu, the preserver-god in the Hindu Trinity. 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. 

Akshaya Tritiya is traditionally the birthday of Lord Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The day also marks the beginning of the “SatyaYug” or the Golden Age — the first of the four Yugas.

This day is the most auspicious day for the Jat farming community. Early morning, a male member of a Jat family goes to the field with a shovel. All the animals and birds encountered on the way are omens and predictions for rains and crops. 

Followers of Jainism consider Akshaya Tritiya to be a holy and supremely auspicious day. It is associated with Lord Adinatha, also known as Rishabhadeva, first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras. On this day people who observe the year-long alternative day fasting known as Varshi-tap finish their Tapasya by doing parana by drinking sugarcane juice.