what is aksaya tritiya?

Dear Devotees:

 

Dandavat Pranams

 

Today 22nd April 2004 is very auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya and the last

year i got this message about this celebration that i want to share with you

 

ys

 

tmkd

 

 

 

 

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

 

Deena Bandhu (das) ACBSP (Vrindavan - IN)

05-May-03 06:00 -0700

Giriraja Swami [45332]

what is aksaya tritiya? candana yatra nectar wanted.

---------------------------

My dear Giriraja Swamiji,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

I'm not sure of the history of Aksaya Tritiya. But ksaya means to diminish,

so aksaya means that which never diminishes, or which goes on increasing. So

this day is considered a very auspicious day to start anything from which

you want the fruits never to diminish.

 

I see that people start their businesses on this day, do grha pravesha on

this day, start their journeys on this day. And there is a big festival in

Nandagram on this day. But if you want to come and see it, you have to book

your taxi well in advance, because on this day there are a lot of marriages

and all the taxis will be booked up!

 

The festival in Nandagram celebrates Pavana Sarovar. When Nanda Maharaj

established his residence in Nandagram, he excavated this huge lake and it

became know as Nanda Sarovara. He and his family and all the brijbasis used

to bathe in this lake. Sometimes, he and his family would bathe at one end

of the lake, and Vrsabhanu Maharaja would occasionally come and bathe with

his family at the other end of the lake. The Brijbasis say that Radha and

Krishna used to swim underwater to the middle of the lake and have

underwater pastimes.

 

One day, Nandanandana saw that Mother Yashoda was making very strange type

of prasadam. Not the every day rice, dal, subji and chappattis. But she was

making fried dal, little fried noodles, and little fried cracker-like things

we call muttry. Like that she was cooking all these fried things.

 

So Nandalala came and asked, "Oh Meiya, oh Meiya, what kind of funny prasad

are you making today? Meiya, what kind of funny prasad are you making today?

Oh Meiya?"

 

She replied to her darling little son, "Lala, today Your Baba is going on

pilgrimage, so I'm making all these fried things so they will last for

several days and he will eat them along the way."

 

"And where's Baba going, Meiya? where's Baba going, Meiya? Tell me, Meiya,

where's Baba going?"

 

"Lala, Baba is going to Prayaga."

 

"And where is that, Meiya? Where is that, Meiya? Tell me, Meiya."

 

"O Lala, I'm busy cooking and you ask so many questions. Go ask you ask

your Baba, Lala, go ask your Baba."

 

So Nandanandana went to Baba and pulled on his cloth, repeatedly asking,

"Where are you going, Baba? Oh Baba, where are you going? Tell me, Baba,

where are you going?"

 

Nanda Maharaja smiled at the beautiful face of his inquisitive son and

replied, "Lala, I'm going to Prayaga."

 

"And where is that, Baba? Oh Baba, where is that? Tell me, Baba, where is

that?"

 

"Oh Lala, that is a very sacred place where Ganga, Jamuna, and Sarasvati

join in Sangam. So I'm going there to take my bath, Lala."

 

"But, Baba. But, Baba, today is a very inauspicious day to start a journey.

Baba, you should go tommorrow. It's Aksaya Tritiya tommorrow and that is a

very auspicious day to start your journey. Baba, you should go tommorrow."

 

Ok, Lala, since you are asking, I will go tommorrow. Is that ok, Lala?"

 

So the next morning, Nanda Maharaja got up early in the morning, like he

does everyday, to go take his bath in Nanda Sarovara. When he got there,

however, he saw one great big person like a king or something, rolling in

the dust of Braja and laughing, "Ho, ho, ho! Ah, hah, hah!" Then he would

bathe in Nanda Sarovara. Then again he would come out and roll in the Braja-

raja and laugh, and again bathe in the sarovara.

 

Nanda Maharaja had never seen a personality like this before in Nandagram,

so he went over to that person. He asked, "Maharaja, who are you?"

 

"Baba, I'm Prayaga."

 

Baba, in his simple Brijbhasa, said, "Pryag? Prag? I don't know anyone in

Nandagram with that name?"

 

"Ahrey, Baba! I'm not from here. I'm Prayag Raja, king of all the tirthas!"

 

"And why have you come here today, Maharaja?"

 

O, Baba! All year long people come and put their papa on me. So one day in

the year, on Aksaya Tritiya, I come here, roll in the dust of Braja, and

bathe in this sarovara and become pavana."

 

You know pavana? Pavana means to be purified.

 

"Accha? Is it?" Nanda exclaimed.

 

Then on the other side of the lake, Nanda saw so many beautiful ladies

bathing, but not like his Nandagram ladies. With beautiful silk saris with

gold and silver threads. He never saw ladies like this in Nandagram.

 

Approaching them very respectfully, Nanda asked, "Who are you, ladies?"

 

"Baba, I'm Ganga." Another said, "I'm Sarasvati." And yet another said, "I'm

Godavari." They all responded with the names of different Holy Rivers,

Kurujangala, Kaveri, Narmada, Brahmaputra, Mahananda, etc.

 

Then Baba asked, "And why have you come here today? I've never seen you all

before."

 

"Ahrey, Baba! All year long people put their papa on us. One day on this

Aksaya Tritiya day, we come here, roll in the dust of Braja, bathe in this

sarovara and become pavana."

 

"Accha? Is it?"

 

Then Baba took his bath and went up the hill to Nandagram. By this time

Nandalala is awake. Coming before his father, he asked, "Baba, now you're

going? Oh Baba, now you're going? Yes, Baba? Now you're going?"

 

"Ahrey, Lala! Now I'm not going!"

 

"And why is that, Baba, why is that?"

 

"Ahrey, Lala! All the places I wanted to go, they all came here today to

take bath and become pavana. So why should I the trouble to go all these

places when they all came here?"

 

So from that day, the sarovara became known as Pavana Sarovara.

 

Of course, it comes in the hot season, so thus the Candana Yatra festival

takes place at this time. Of course, that is all nicely described in CC, so

I'll end here.

 

In Service of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram,

Deena Bandhu dasa