The word “Akshaya” means the “never diminishing” and is said to be the most auspicious time of the entire days. It is believed that if one were to partake in any fruitful venture or even perform charitable acts on this day, they will be blessed with fortune. Any meaningful activity started on this day would be fruitful and believed to yield great success.

Astrological Significance

There are many mythological stories associated with the practice of Akshaya Tritiya. To know them you can see The most magical day for good fortune. In this article, we will discuss its astrological significance.

Akshaya Tritiya is celebrated on that auspicious day which coincides with Sun entering Aries while the moon is also in Taurus. It is the third day of bright half Shukla Paksha of Vaishaka month of Hindu that is in April – May. It is also believed that the Sun and the Moon are in the brightest form on this day. Well, that doesn’t mean that they emit the maximum light, instead, it means they are in the best positions to each other where the light reached to earth surface is maximum and they are also in their best dignity.

Akshaya Tritiya is one of the three significant days where every second is auspicious and you will not have to look for any specific Muhurtas. These Muhurats are Gudi Padva, Akshaya Tritiya, Dusherra and Bali Pratipada. An additional auspicious beneficiary day will be available for us if the date falls on Monday under Rohini Nakshatra. This date starts from Madhyam to Pradosh Kal.

Many must not be aware that the planet Mars has the capacity to eradicate all the negativities from everyone’s lives. Mars is the son of the earth and rules our drive, initiative and most importantly our will power. In order for a person to be rid of his karmas indicated in the birth chart and make a conscious effort to steer his life in a different direction other than that indicated by the birth chart, the person has to exercise mars energy. Tritiya means the ‘3rd tithi’, So three is an important number for this day. On the alternate years Mars, the third planet, the most important planet for us earthlings, also will be in Aries making it three important planets on that day. Hence, Akshaya Tritiya forms a very major day for the people who believe in the powers of Astrology. 

Significance In Jainism

Not only the Hindus but the day is extremely significant for the Jain community as well. Jains celebrate this day to commemorate Tirthankar Rishabdev’s ending of one-year fast by consuming sugar cane juice poured into his cupped hands. Lord Rishabhadeva is first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras and is a very significant person for the Jains. People observe the year-long alternative day fasting known as Varshi-tap finish their Tapasya by doing parana by drinking sugarcane juice. This was also the day when the Jains established the very first “ahara charya”: a methodology to prepare and serve food to Jain monks.

The story goes this way:-

Lord Rishabhadeva left all the worldly pleasures after dividing his vast kingdom amongst his 101 sons. He then meditated without any food and water for six months and after that broke his fast. The belief of Jains goes that they do not own anything nor even cook food for themselves. When hungry or thirsty they set out to accept food from the devotees. Everyone offered wealth but no one offered him food as they didn’t understand his values. This is the reason he had to fast for a year. At the end, a man named Shreyansa Kumar offered him sugarcane juice and thus Rishabhadeva ended his fast. This was on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. Hence, sugarcane juice is considered by Jains to be one of the best offerings. On this day, Jains observe a fast to commemorate their first Tirthankara Rishabhadeva and end their fast with sugarcane juice.