Akshaya Tritiya 2025

 Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akti or Akha Teej, is an annual Jain and Hindu spring festival. It falls on the third tithi of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu month of Vaisakha.

This day is auspicious for those who buy rice, deposit money in a bank account, buy any kind of new things or vessels - visiting temples, donating foods or special offers for poor people, or helping poor children for their education fees, all are good signs for Akshaya Tritiya.

Overview-King Shreyans offering sugarcane juice to Lord Rishabhanatha Akshaya Tritiya is regionally observed as an auspicious day by Hindus and Jains in India; it signifies the "third day of unending prosperity". Akshaya Tritiya is considered auspicious by Hindus and Jains in many regions of India and Nepal for new ventures, marriages, charity, and in investments such as gold or other property. It is also a day of remembrance for the loved ones who have died. Rituals are often performed to honor departed souls on this day. The day is regionally significant for women, married or unmarried, who pray for the well-being of the men in their lives or the one they may in future get engaged to. After prayers, they distribute germinating gram, fresh fruits, and Indian sweets. If Akshaya Tritiya falls on a Monday, the festival is believed to be more auspicious. Fasting, charity, and helping others on this day is another festive practice.

Meaning-In Sanskrit, the word akṣaya means "never decreasing" in the sense of "prosperity, hope, joy, success", while tr̥tīyā means "third phase of the moon". It is so named since it falls on the third lunar day of the spring month of Vaisakha in the Hindu calendar, when it is observed. The name refers to the belief that the benefits from performing devotion and piety on this day will not go away.

Jain tradition-In Jainism, Akshaya Tritiya is an important festival as it commemorates the first Tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, ending his 400-day-long fast by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. Śvetāmbara Jains perform a similar fast that lasts 400 days. This practice is popularly known as Varshitapa. Rishabhanatha renounced worldly pleasures and turned into a monk. Thereafter, he fasted for 400 days or six months. He did not accept food from lay followers as every time he was given food, it was not 'free of faults' as it should be for a Jain monk to accept. The 42 faults that food given to a Jain monk may have are discussed at length in the ancient Śvetāmbara text Ācārāṅga Sūtra.