Akshaya Tritiya is the third day of the waxing Moon in the month of Chithirai. Akshaya means undiminishing, and in Tamil Nadu the day has become, in a generation, the single busiest day of the year for jewellers: shops in T. Nagar open before dawn and people queue to buy even a gram of gold. The older meaning is the reverse, that what you give away today is what grows.
The story
The stories are of things that did not run out. Draupadi was given the Akshaya Patra, a vessel that fed every guest in the forest. Kuchela brought Krishna a handful of pounded rice and went home rich. Adi Shankara, begging at a poor woman's door and given her last gooseberry, composed the Kanakadhara Stotram, and it rained gold.
At Kumbakonam it is a day for Vishnu: twelve temples bring their processional images out on Garuda at once.
How it is kept
- GoldA coin, a ring, or the first instalment on a wedding set.
- AnnadanamCurd rice, buttermilk and water are given away in the heat.
- Lakshmi Kubera pujaPerformed at home with the Kanakadhara Stotram.
- BeginningsLand is registered, shops opened and savings begun.
Why this date
Akshaya Tritiya is the Tritiya of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Vaisakha, which falls in Chithirai, on the day that tithi is present at midday.
Akshaya Tritiya in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Thursday |
More Tamil festivals
14 AprilPuthanduதமிழ்ப் புத்தாண்டு
20 MayVaikasi Visakamவைகாசி விசாகம்
15 AprilRama Navamiஸ்ரீ ராம நவமி
14 JulySayana Ekadasiசயன ஏகாதசி
22 MarchPanguni Uthiramபங்குனி உத்திரம்
18 JulyGuru Purnimaகுரு பூர்ணிமா
Where to see Akshaya Tritiya
In Tamil Nadu
- KumbakonamTamil NaduThe Garuda Sevai of twelve Vishnu temples in a single street.
- TirukkolurTamil NaduThe Vaithamanidhi Perumal temple, where Kubera is said to have recovered his treasure.
- T. Nagar, ChennaiTamil NaduThe jewellery streets of the city, open from early morning to midnight.
Across India
- SimhachalamAndhra PradeshNarasimha is seen without his sandal paste on this one day.
- PuriOdishaThe building of the Rath Yatra chariots begins.
- KaladyKeralaBirthplace of Adi Shankara, where the Kanakadhara story is set.