kartum akartum anyathā-kartuṁ samarthaḥ saḥ īśvaraḥ
The Lord is the one who can do, undo and even do otherwise.– Sanskrit shloka
It is an unfair exchange with God. Perhaps that’s why they say, God is not for trading with. Keep your transactions out of it. But what if you do end up in such an exchange?
It is bound to be unfair. You give a little, He will give a lot. This is in gist, what Akshaya Tritiya is about.
Draupadi’s desperation during the ‘cheer haran’ is an emotion etched in history. After all heart-rending pleas to her husbands, the elders like Bhishma and Drona and even the Kauravas failed miserably, she finally let go and called on Krishna. Immediately, Krishna manifested – taking the avatar of a piece of cloth – making Draupadi’s sari endless so that Dushshasana could never get to the end of it and failed to disrobe her. Once Draupadi had torn off a piece of her sari to bandage a cut on Krishna’s finger from using the Sudarshan Chakra on Shishupala. In exchange for that small piece of cloth given without a moment’s hesitation (while Krishna’s own sister, Subhadra, went about searching for a piece of cotton), the Lord, deeply moved by her gesture at the time, gave her unending cloth when she most needed it.
Sudama, Krishna’s dear childhood friend, visited Krishna many decades later when the latter was the great Lord of Dwarka, Dwarkadhish. In his humble handkerchief, he had brought a handful of dry rice as a gift – being all (even more than) he could afford. Deeply touched, Krishna arranged for Sudamapuri – a place equal in opulence to Dwarka – that Sudama found miraculously in place of his dwelling when he returned to his hometown.
Both these incidents took place on Akshaya Tritiya, a day associated with abundance. Where abundance is spoken of, Sri or Lakshmi must also make an appearance. And indeed, it is believed to be on Akshaya Tritiya that She emerged from the Ocean of Milk that was being churned by the devas and asuras. In addition, Ved Vyasa is said to have started narrating the Mahabharata on this day, Parshuram took his avatar, Yudhishtira received the Akshaya Patra (the vessel that never ran out of food) from Surya deva, Devi Annapurna appeared before Shiva and offered Him a bountiful meal, Ganga descended to Earth and the Treta yuga began.
The foregoing credentials of this day make it one where even a little good done, comes back multiplied manifold. It is thus a day for investing in spiritual sadhana, tapas, dana (charity) and bhakti to Lakshmi and Narayana or Vishnu. A day to remember that the Divine is only looking for a little effort, a little openness, a little ‘yes’ from us, as an excuse to shower us with abundance. What He wants is we turn a little towards Him, a little away from the world and immediately, we begin to feel His Grace. Being Here and Present, the shower of true abundance comes to be known.
Hari Om
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