Why should you buy on Akshaya Tritiya

Akshaya Tritiya is commonly considered as a day on which everyone splurges on the yellow metal. There's a deeper significance to the festival that falls this Sunday
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The third day of waxing moon in the month of Vaishakha is called Akshaya because astrologically, the stars and planets are believed to align in such a way that promotes movement of wealth in the desired direction. What is this desired direction? Into our households, for sure! Which is why since ancient times, this has been a day of getting gold into the house. It is believed that such an action will stir the cosmic energies to emulate the flow again and again. Rituals performed to imitate our desire - by ritually buying gold and getting it into the house, we hope that nature will imitate our actions and ensure more gold moves into the house. We desire 'Akshaya' or inexhaustible flow of wealth into our lives. That flow is reflected in the narrative of Kanaka-dhara-stotra, which means 'gold-flowing-hymn', a hymn composed by Adi Shankaracharya, that made gold materialize from nothingness and flow into the house of a poor priest.



In Greek mythology there is reference to the Horn of Almatheia. Almatheia was the name of a goat that nursed Zeus, king of the gods, when he was an infant. Her horns became the cornucopia, or the horn of plenty, always overflowing with food and wealth. In Hindu mythology, the cornucopia is referred to as Akshaya Patra, or the vessel that is always filled with grain or gold. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, holds this pot in her hand.

Akshaya Tritiya is a classical example of India's material culture. It is a day to celebrate wealth and fertility.

This is the day to buy and celebrate. It is about going to the jewellers and bringing home valuable and beautiful things. It is a day of consumption. This is the day when wealth, especially gold, has to move in a desired direction. It is a day to indulge the unspoken desire for gold of our children. To surprise them with gifts of gold, chant the Kanaka-dhara-stotra and hope that they are blessed with abundance and gold in its most exquisite forms always flows into their life.

Devdutt Patnaik is Gold Culture Consultant- World Gold Council