Lord Agni is one of the supreme Gods in Rig Veda. Agni is associated with Vedic sacrifice and takes offerings to the other world in the fire. He is the chief of religious ceremonies and duties and acts as a messenger between human and gods. Agnicayana and Agnihotra are the Vedic rituals concerned with Lord Agni. Agni stands second to Lord Indra. Lord Agni is two faced and they suggest his destructive and beneficial qualities.

Agni is one of the guardians who represent southeast direction. The light Lord Agni emits is the light of knowledge so he is also called the illuminator of knowledge who lights up the path that leads to truth. According to Rig Veda Agni have two parents. As the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice, Agni is the mouth of the gods, the carrier of the oblation and the messenger between the human and the divine orders.

Agni has been worshipped by the Hindus since the Vedic period. Agni is one of the three supreme deities of the Rig Veda, i.e. Agni, Vayu and Surya. These three Gods preside over earth, air and sky respectively. In Rig Veda, largest numbers of hymns are addressed to Agni. Agni is known to be the son of Angiras and the grandson of Sandila. His wife is Swaha and has three sons – Pavak, Pavman and Suchi. He is known by various names like Jivalana, Dhananjaya and Vahni and so on.

Agni is described in the scriptures as red-hued. In Hari Vans, Agni is clothed in black and has smoke as his standard. He has four hands and rides in a chariot drawn by red horses. It is said that Agni Purana has been recited by Agni himself to sage Vashist. Agni is the innermost light that shines brightly in all animate and inanimate objects. He is the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice.

As per custom Agni has ten forms. They are: lightning, fire, sun, absorbing fire, destructive fire, fire yielded through sticks used for sacrifices and rituals, fire given to a student during his Upanayana ceremony, domestic fire used for household uses, southern fire of ancestors used for some types of rituals and funeral fire in cremation rituals.

Lord Surya is the source of life, light and all energy in the cosmos. He is the most powerful and majestic visible Devata. Surya Dev has also played role of Master-Guru for many Devatas, number of Seers and Devotees. The three worlds have the sun as their source of origin. The entire universe including Devas, Asuras and human beings originates from him. The brilliance of the deities namely Rudra, Upendra and Mahendra, the splendour of the leading Brahmins and heaven-dwellers of great refulgence, and of all the worlds is lord Sun-the soul of all, the lord of all-Devas as well as human beings. The sun alone is the root cause of three worlds.
It has been mentioned in the Brahma Purana that everything is born of Lord Surya; everything is dissolved in him. He is the cause of origin and destruction of the universe.

Lord Surya is tawny in spring; during summer he resembles gold, he is white during rainy season; he is pale, grey during autumn; he is copper-coloured in early winter; he is red during late winter. Thus the colours of sun-god caused by the seasons have been recounted. The Sun-god is the dispeller of darkness. He is the deity of great brilliance and is considered the Supreme Soul. Lord Surya is also the cause who brings about the change of seasons in the universe and it is also the sun-god which acts as the pivot of the entire universe.

Some of the names of the sun-god are Aditya, Savita, Surya, Mihira, Arka, Prabhakara, Martanda, Bhaskara, Bhanu, Chitrabhanu, Divakara and Ravi.

Lord Surya is worshipped in various forms throughout India. The Arka form is worshipped in North India and Easten part of India. The Konark temple of Orissa is dedicated to Lord Surya. In Uttar Pradesh the sun temple named Balarka Surya Mandir is also well known. He is also known as Mitra for his nourishing properties. This form is mostly worshipped in Gujrat.

Sunday is the day of Lord Surya

When the Pandava princes were exiled into the forest along with their young bride and their aging mother, they could not find enough food to feed themselves, as they were unaccustomed to living off the forest. Lord Krishna, taking pity on their sorry plight, presented Draupadi, who was wife to all the Pandavas, with a magical bowl that would always stay full.

This magical bowl carrying an unlimited quantity of food was known as the Akshaya Patram and it is believed that Krishna presented this gift on a Tritiya day. Like the food in the Akshaya Patram, it is believed that all investments made on this day will have an unlimited increase in value.

It was also on an Akshaya Tritiya (Akha Teej) day that the Pandava princes unearthed weapons that would guarantee their victory in battle with the Kauravas.

Another legend which people relate to Akshaya Tritiya is about the Kanakadhaara Stotram. Once Adi Shankaracharya went to a lhouse for alms. There was a poor lady all alone in the house and with no food in the house to be given to him in alms. She frantically searched the house and found a Gooseberry(Amla/Nellika). and she gave it to him. Adi Shankaracharya was very pleased at the ladys willingness to donate the only piece of food she had. Adi Shankaracharya immediately recited the KanakaDhara Stotram and invoked Devi Mahalakshmi. Devi Mahalakshmi was pleased and she showered the lady’s house with Golden Gooseberries. This incident is supposed to have happened on Akshaya Tritiya Day.

It is thus said that little acts of charity/donation done on this day with bring in manifold returns.

Legends on Akshaya Tritiya

Lord Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, the God who carries out the work of sustaining the universe, figures prominently in most stories about the origin of Akshaya Tritiya. Of these, the most famous one is, perhaps, that of Kuchela, also known as Sudama, and Krishna.

Kuchela was a poor Brahmin and a childhood friend of Krishna. A time came when he was in dire straits and could not earn enough for his family. So he decided to go and meet his former school mate who was now king of Dwaraka and ask for some financial help to tide him over. Before setting out on his journey, he packed a handful of poha or aval (beaten rice) as a humble gift for his friend, the king.

When he reached the palace, Kuchela was mesmerized by all the wondrous things that he saw and felt ashamed to offer his gift that he felt was definitely unfit for a king. Krishna was very happy to see his childhood friend. He welcomed Kuchela with open arms and treated him like a god, following the age-old Indian dictum that ‘The guest is god’. He happened to see the packet of beaten rice that Kuchela was hiding and playfully grabbed it, opened it and began to eat the poha with obvious enjoyment. When he saw this, Kuchela was so overcome with emotion that he forgot why he came to see Krishna.

After spending some joyous days with Krishna at the palace, Kuchela began his long walk back home. During the journey, he suddenly remembered that he had failed in his mission and walked home with a heavy heart wondering how to console his waiting wife and children. On reaching his village, Kuchela found a palace where his hut stood, and inside the palace, his wife and children clothed in the finest of clothes. Food fit for royalty was also laid out on the dining table.

Kuchela realized that this was a miracle performed by the divine Krishna, who had many fantastic powers that he wielded to help each and every person who approached him with a problem of any sort. From that day on, the day that Kuchela met Sri Krishna was observed as Akshaya Tritiya (Akha Teej) day.

Kuchela’s humble gift and the prosperity that came his way as a reward for the gift of love that he offered from the midst of his poverty stands as a true symbol of Akshaya Tritiya (Akha Teej)– the prosperity that comes to one through sharing and giving

Legend:

The Ramayana is a story of Lord Rama, written by the sage Valmiki in the 4th century B.C.  As the legend goes, Lord Rama, eldest son of King Dashratha, was banished to the forest for 14 long years. He was dethroned due to his stepmother’s plans who wanted to see her son Bharata ascend the throne in place of the elder brother Rama. Rama willingly gave away the throne and his wife Sita and brother Lakshman followed Rama to the forest, leaving the throne for Bharata.

In these 14 years of banishment, Rama waged and won a war against the evil Ravana, the King of Lanka, who had kidnapped his wife Sita. He was aided by a band of monkeys, the most loyal of whom is worshipped today as Lord Hanuman. Rama ascended the Ayodhya throne after the triumph over Ravana. Even as he started ruling, he was forced to banish his wife from the kingdom, following a villager’s adverse comment about her association with Ravana. The legend is cited to prove how Lord Rama always lived a life of righteousness (dharma). He was born to destroy the evil and protect the weak. As he embodies the highest ideals of man, he is called the Maryada Pushottam, which means the perfect and best man, someone who follows the path of righteousness against all odds.

Rama is one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, and one of the two most popular, along with Krishna. Consequently, Rama Navami is widely celebrated, though not on the scale of festivals like Diwali or Dussehra.

According to legend, Rama was born at noon. Rama is the epitome of perfection, the uttama purusha, fulfilling all his duties towards both family and subjects.

It is believed that listening to the story of Rama cleanses the soul. Meditating on the noble Rama and chanting his name is believed to ease the pains of life and lead one to moksha, or liberation. It is also common practice to chant the name of Rama while rocking babies to sleep.

Significance:

Though Rama Navami is a major festival for Vaishnavites, it is widely celebrated by worshippers of Shiva, too. It is considered auspicious to undertake a fast on the day in the name of Rama. The more devout fast for nine days, from Ugadi to Rama Navami. The objective of the fast is not to ask for special favours of the deity but to seek perfection as a human being. Devotees perform elaborate pujas and chant the name of Rama. Temples of Rama have special services and bhajan sessions through the day.

One significant and popular element of the celebration is the Ramayana parayana, a discourse on the Ramayana, by a pundit or a professional story-teller. It usually lasts nine days, beginning on Ugadi and ending on Rama Navami. A skilled story-teller who can liven up the event by weaving in contemporary events attracts massive crowds.

Since Rama is also one of the most sung-about deities in Indian classical music and literature, week-long (and sometimes, month-long) musical programmes are organised.

Sacred places associated with Rama, like Ayodhya, Ujjain and Rameshwaram, draw tens of thousands of devotees. In Rameshwaram, thousands take a ritual bath in the sea before worshipping at the Ramanathaswamy temple.

Many places in North India host fairs in connection with the festival, culminating in spectacular fireworks on Rama Navami.

At some places they also perform Sita Rama Kalyanam (marriage of Lord SriRama and Goddess Sita). One such place where Sita Rama Kalyanam is performed on a grand scale on this day is at Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradeshon the banks of river Godavari. It is also a tradition in some areas where people offer sweet drink (water mixedwith jaggery, cloves, pepper and lemon juice) called Panakam and Moong Dal(soaked) called Kosambari as Naivedya to Lord Sri Rama and distribute the same to the devotees at temples.