Forever

 Akshya Tritiya is a very interesting day.  It is supposed to be one of the three and half most auspicious days/muhurta according to our belief system. What i like the most about the festival is the mythology associated with it. 

According to one myth, on this day, Lord Krishna visited Draupadi when the day was almost getting over. The Pandavas were undergoing the vicious exile imposed on them by the Kauravas after the unjust dice game. The food was almost over in their forest residence. Lord Krishna found a grain in one of the pots which was filled to capacity when he touched it blithely. 

Hence the day is associated with all that is eternal, the forever. To celebrate the happy association, Aai had earmarked a special pot, and on this festive day, she would use it to keep the special "amras", the unique  Alphonso mango pulp preparation.

In yet another version of the story, Sage Durwasa, extremely notorious for his short temper, visited the Pandavas to test their hospitality. Draupadi prayed to Lord Krishna, and the rest of the story follows the same pattern.

In my opinion, the myth celebrates the support system a woman, who runs a household, needs. Given the celebrated Draupadi-Krishna relationship, it could also mean the sibling support a woman needs in tough times. It would, of course, symbolise the relationship between a devotee and the divine, the forever succour.

That would be the symbolism underlying the other story associated with the day, the Sudama-Krishna story. As per this story, the tired, irritated wife of the poverty stricken Sudama sends him on an errand to Lord Krishna, his childhood friend. When Sudama, however, meets his friend, he is so overcome with affection that he forgets all the worldly demands of his wife.

 He gives his best buddy, the small, little sachet, a packet of 'poha', puffed rice, he has brought along.  The Lord eats it with a lot of relish, and they part happily.  When Sudama returns home, he finds it flush with all the material riches.  This story would also signify the divine support, even when unasked, as the Lord knows the real, the genuine love of the devotee, and bestows blessings that are forever. 

If the Basweshwar Jayanti celebrated today signifies societal equality, it also reminds us of the gender justice that poetesses like Akka Mahadevi initiated those days. As for the Id that fell on the same day this year, in my mind, it is always associated with Premchanda's simply superb story, "Idi". One of his gems, the unbelievably vivid and realistic story celebrates a kid's innocent love and large-heartedness.  

Well, all these references prove that whether in myth or in literature, great beginnings that end in abundance forever are always rooted in selfless straightforwardness and genuine caring love, an essential message in the "I, me, my" world today!

Pratima@Empathy is the basis of eternity!