1) Third day of ವೈಶಾಖ ಮಾಸ ಶುಕ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷ ತೃತಿಯಾ celebrated as akshaya tritiya happens to be the starting day of *treta yug* which lasted for 12.96 lakh years and gave to the world three main incarnations of Lord Vishnu - namely Vaman, Parshuram and Shri Ram. May these incarnations increase multifold harmony, positivity, morality, spirituality and divinity in the modern world. A bow to the second longest cyclical pattern in Hindu cosmology.
2) This day of akshaya tritiya itself witnessed three manifestations of God namely *Parashuram, Nar-Narayan and Hayagriva*. This fact alone should bring home the glory, greatness, importance and religious significance of this great day. May this day bring limitless blessings of Lord Vishnu to the world. A great bow to the auspicious day that emitted three incarnations of Vishnu to the world.
3) It is on this day that Lord Parshuram was born to Sage Jamadagni & Renuka Devi at a time when evil, cruelty and tyranny of Kshatriyas were at its peak. He circumambulated the entire universe several times and killed all cruel Kshatriyas with His axe and created five ponds of blood in kurukshetra. It is He who taught scripts and warfare skills to acharya Bhishma, Dhrona, Krupa, Ashwathama, and Karna. He liberated the mother earth from felons,ill behaved men, extremists, demons and Kshatriyas with blind pride. Hindu tradition holds Him as the destroyer of the *evil* on Earth. After eliminating all Kshatriyas and acquiring ownership of the entire universe, He did not retain even an inch of land for Himself and donated everything to brahmins. For His stay, He prayed ಸಮುದ್ರ ದೇವ who was pleased to give Lord Parshuram a huge piece of land known as *Parshuram Kshetra* He lived in Tretaya yug, was alive in dwapar yug and even today He is alive not only in Mahendragiri but everywhere invisibly as one of the seven immortals. *May our *ಅರ್ಘ್ಯ* prayers to Parshuram on this day slay the cruelty in and outside us. Our salutations to Parshuramrupi Vishnu.
4)It is on the day of *akshaya tritiya* that Lord Vishnu incarnated as sages by the name Nar Narayana. The duo sages were born as sons of God Yam Dharma and Murti. The great epic *Maha Bharata* identifies Nara with Arjun and Narayana with Krishna. Nara was an *ಅಂಶ ಅವತಾರ* of Vishnu, Vayu Indra and ಆವೇಶ of Sesha. Together they took several births to kill the demon king called Sahasra kavacha. He was a demon with a thousand armors. Nara Narayana took turns fighting and meditating; while one meditated the other fought duel with the demon. Thus destroyed all his armors.The twin sages Nar Narayana have been performing penance for the welfare of all human beings at the sacred pilgrimage site Badrinath since time immemorial. Thinking Narayana to be just a sage, God Indra sent several heavenly nymphs and Kamadev to disturb the penance of Lord Narayana. Nymphs with Kamdev tried and tried, but failed to distract His attention. Then Lord Narayana called Indra and created from His thighs a nymph who was infinite times more beautiful and charming than the heavenly nymphs. She is none other than Urvashi whom Indra took to heaven. We wish on the day of their manifestation on the earth that may their penance accelerate the human efforts and divine grace in achieving the spiritual upliftment. We salute the companionship of Lord Narayan with Nara.
5) It is on this day i. e akshaya tritiya that Lord Vishnu incarnated as Horse - headed Hayagriva and gave to the world divine knowledge of Vedas which had gone into Him during delusion (ಮಹಾ ಪ್ರಳಯ). So this day is also observed *Hayagriva Jayanti*. Hayagriva is widely revered as the god of wisdom and knowledge. His distinctive horse - headed form signifies the speed and power associated with knowledge and wisdom. The great madhwa saint Shri Vadiraj Swamyji of Sondha Mutt worshipped ಹಯಗ್ರೀವರೂಪಿ Vishnu for more than 110 years. May our prayers on the day of His manifestation bless us with the enlightenment of Vedic wisdom. Lord Hari did not hesitate to put up horse head. He did it so to pass on the message to humanity to respect animals as well and they too deserve it. A reverntial bow to Lord Hayagriva.
6) Akshaya Tritiya is also associated with God Balaji. It is during this period that Lord Venkateshwar and Goddess Padmavati started craving for Union with each other which finally culminated in their marriage or *ಕಲ್ಯಾಣೋತ್ಸವ* a week later i. e on *ವೈಶಾಖ ಮಾಸ ಶುಕ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷ ದಶಮಿ* Listening to Venkatesh purana on this day makes our married life *ಮಂಗಳಮಯ* and long lasting. May the eternal couple bless us today and always.
7) It is on this auspicious day that the childhood friend of Lord Krishna i.e Sudhama went to Dwaraka with a handful of rice flakes and met Dwarakadheesha. Touched by his love and devotion Lord Krishna transformed his hut into a mansion and passed on abundant wealth and treasure.May this meeting of Sudhama & Krishna on this day spread the value of friendship and boost our faith in divinity. A great bow to their friendship.
8) It is on this day only that Suryadeva presented Yudhishtra with ಅಕ್ಷಯ ಪಾತ್ರೆ or the vessel of miracle with the sole intention that Pandavas, their followers, visitors and guests should not go hungry or feel scarcity of food during the exile. A bow to the blessedness of Pandavas.
9) It is on this day that Lord Vedavyasa started narrating the greatest epic of all timesi. e Maha Bharata to Lord Ganesha. Salutations to the great epic of everlasting relevance.
10) It is on this auspicious day that passionate, helpless and devout cry for help from Draupadi pleased Lord Krishna who ensured endless flow of *ಅಕ್ಷಯ ವಸ್ತೖ* and saved her honour.
11) Lord Kubera worshipped goddess Lakshmi and was entrusted with the custody of the wealth of the Gods and Goddesses on this day i.e akshaya tritiya.
12) After extracting boon from Lord Mahadev, Ravana eyed on Goddess Parvati. Lord Vishnu created Mandodari from the sandalwood paste decoration made to Him on akshaya tritiya. Since Mandodari was more gorgeous than Goddess Parvati, Ravana chose Mandodari. Despite marrying Ravana, Mandodari remained chaste, pious, religious and advised the demon king against his evil deeds. By creating Mandodari on this day, Lord Vishnu kept the greatness of Lord Mahadeva in tact and graced the world with a chaste lady as a model to the modern society. May this great lady with supernatural birth history emulate fair sex of modern times.
13) It is on this day that Lord Vishnu gave to the world paddy and ಜವೆ ಗೋದಿ and people resorted to agricultural forming and mining activities in a big way. It is also believed to be the day of manifestation of Goddess Annapurna on the earth. May Lord Vishnu and Goddess Annapurna bless us with opulence.
14) It is on this day that acharya Shankar penned his most famous *Kanakadhara Stotram* - a hymn consisting of 22 verses. May its chanting on this day attract Goddess Lakshmi's blessings, wealth, improve our mental and physical well being. Our gratitude filled pranam to acharya Shankar.
15)Today happens to be the *ಆರಾಧಾನಾ ಮಹೋತ್ಸವ* of Shri Vijayadwaja Tirth Swsmyji - sixth pontiff in the lineage of Pejawara Mutt. His is the first and the foremost commentary on 'Bhagavat Maha Purana' which is considered most precious even today. May the great saint kindle and consolidate faith in the divinity.
16) It is on this lunar tithi every year that preparation for yearly ರಥೋತ್ಸವ of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra including making of new chariot begins in Puri. It is on this day every year that Bhadrinath Temple in Uttarakhand is opened for public darshnam. The temple remains closed from *ವಿಜಯsದಶಮಿ* to this day. May Lord Bhadrinath and the trifecta of the supreme Godhead Jagannath and his siblings continue to bless us always.
17) Gods generally worshipped on this day are Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh. Every minute, every second and every hour of the day is auspicious. It is one of the three and half *ಮುಹೂರ್ತ* s So the day is considered good for performing marriages, house warming ceremonies and for starting all new ventures. This year's akshay tritya is specially significant because it is on Wednesday and the nakshatra is Rohini. Wednesday is associated with Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles and *Rohini* is the birth star of Lord Krishna.
18) It is on this day that the first tirthankar of Jain sect Shri Rishabhnatha broke his 400 days' fast by drinking sugar cane juice. The crux of the teachings of this sect is as under;
Ahimsa is the highest dharma; Ahimsa is the highest self-restraint; Ahimsa is the greatest gift; Ahimsa is the highest penance; Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice; Ahimsa is the greatest strength; Ahimsa is the best friend; Ahimsa is the highest happiness;Ahimsa is the highest truth;Ahimsa is the greatest knowledge. Merit gained by practising non-violence is simply incomparable to the merit earned by any act of charity or observance of the strictest austerities. This is so stated in Anushasana Parva of Mahabharata too. Teachings of this sect hold good today when violence is dancing merrily and shamelessly in the modern world.
19)Akshaya Tritiya also happens to be the birth anniversary of 12th century Shaiva saint by the name Basaveshwar. He was a religious leader, statesman, thinker, philosopher, social reformer and a poet. As a social reformer, he tried his best against all odds to create a casteless society by establishing religious parliament called *ಅನುಭವ ಮಂಟಪ* He brought about revolutionary changes in the society without bloodshed, which the historians put it as *ಕಲ್ಯಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿ* The concept of *ಕಾಯಕ* is his unique contribution to the Indian philosophy. As a poet, he broke new grounds in Kannada poetry. He did not stick to the then existing forms like *maha kavya, champu kavya, ragale, bhamini shatpadi* etcetera. The purpose of any piece of poetry is to give aesthetic pleasure. The poet cum social reformer Basaveshwar chose to instruct and delight through his *VACHANAS*. His vachanas are like maxims which take little time to read and once read they remain forever in our memory. May his relevant teachings create an atmosphere of equality, fraternity and universal brotherhood.
20) Apart from usual worship of gods and deities, smearing of idols with sandalwood paste especially in temples is in practice. But in the case of Varaha Narasimha Swamy Temple of Simhachal in Vishakhapatnam sandalwood paste smeared throughout the year is taken out on this day and distributed to devotees as prasadam. It is only on this day that devotees can have a glance of the original idol.ತಿಲತರ್ಪಣ to gods, sages and forefathers is recommended for parentless people though Shraddha is ordained in scripts. The doer needs to have only one meal on that day.
21) Scripts do not advocate purchase of gold at all. However purchase of gold for offering to god or giving as charity is considered highly rewarding. Acts of charity like digging well for the public use, feeding the poor, helping the needy and gifting water filled pot to a brahmin on this day would bring limitless blessings of God. Starting ಅರವಟ್ಟಿಗೆ on this day and making water, tender coconut water, sugar cane juice, butter milk and the like available free to the pilgrims, travelers, school going children, the thirsty & the needy would fetch abundant grace of the God. The term *AKSHAY TRITIYA* literally means the third day that brings infinite blessings. Let us celebrate this auspicious day with solemnity, serenity and stillness.
22)ಸಂಕ್ಷೀಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುವದಾದರೆ ಅಕ್ಷಯ ತೃತಿಯಾ ತ್ರೇತಾಯ ಯುಗ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭದ ದಿನ; ಪರುಶರಾಮ ದೇವರು ಜನಿಸಿದ ದಿನ; ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿನ ಇನ್ನೇರಡು ಅವತಾರ ಪ್ರಾದುರ್ಭಾವವಾದ ದಿನ; ದ್ರೌಪದಿ ಅಕ್ಷಯಾಂಬರ ಪಡೆದ ದಿನ; ಕೖಷ್ಣ -ಕುಚೇಲ ಭೇಟಿಯಾದ ದಿನ; ಮಹಾನ ಪತಿವ್ರತೆ ಮಂಡೋದರಿ ಅಸಹಜವಾಗಿ ಧರೆಗಿಳಿಸಿದೆ ದಿನ; ವೇದವ್ಯಾಸರು ಪಂಚಮ ವೇದವಾದ *ಮಹಾ ಭಾರತ* ಬರೆಯಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭ ಮಾಡಿದ ದಿನ ಹಾಗು ಸಮಾಜ ಸುಧಾರಕ ಸಂತ ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರರು ಜನಿಸಿದ ದಿನ. ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸಂಭ್ರಮದಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸೋಣ.