Akshaya Tritiya 2027

Akshaya Tritiya is the third day of the bright half of Vaishakha, a day on which whatever is begun or given is said never to diminish. Gold is bought across Karnataka. The same season carries the state's own observance: Basava Jayanti, the birthday of Basavanna, the twelfth-century minister, poet and reformer, is kept on this tithi, with processions of his portrait and readings of the vachanas.

The story

Basavanna, treasurer to King Bijjala at Kalyana, gathered men and women of every caste into the Anubhava Mantapa, a hall of spiritual discussion, and taught that honest work and sharing its fruit were the whole of worship.

The day is also the birthday of Parashurama, who in the legends of the coast threw his axe to raise the land of Tulu Nadu from the sea.

ಕಾಯಕವೇ ಕೈಲಾಸ

Work is Kailasa

Basavanna

How it is kept

• GoldBought as wealth that stays.
• DanaWater, buttermilk and food are given away.
• Basava JayantiProcessions, vachana singing and community meals.
• New workPloughing and building are begun.

Why this date

Akshaya Tritiya in other years

More Kannada festivals

• 20 AprilHanuma Jayantiಹನುಮ ಜಯಂತಿ
• 15 AprilSri Rama Navamiಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮ ನವಮಿ
• 14 JulyPrathama Ekadashiಪ್ರಥಮ ಏಕಾದಶಿ
• 18 JulyGuru Purnimaಗುರು ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆ
• 7 AprilYugadiಯುಗಾದಿ
• 13 AugustVaramahalakshmi Vrataವರಮಹಾಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ವ್ರತ

Where to see Akshaya Tritiya

In Karnataka

• KudalasangamaKarnatakaWhere the Krishna and Malaprabha meet, and Basavanna became one with the divine.
• BasavakalyanKarnatakaOld Kalyana, with a new Anubhava Mantapa.
• UdupiKarnatakaThe coast of Parashurama; Krishna is dressed in sandal paste.

Across India

• SimhachalamAndhra PradeshThe sandal covering of Narasimha is removed for a day.
• PuriOdishaThe building of the Rath Yatra chariots begins.
• GangotriUttarakhandThe Himalayan shrines open for the summer.

Further reading

• BasavaWikipedia
• Akshaya TritiyaWikipedia
• Karnataka TourismGovernment of Karnataka