Akshaya Navami is considered a very important day for the attainment of virtuous fruits and auspiciousness of health. As per its name, it gives never-ending fruit. The coincidence of Akshaya Navami Tithi is important in many cases. This day is also the day to develop new consciousness and possibilities of its development in life.
According to the Panchang, the ninth month of the year Kartik is very auspicious. This month is famous for bathing and charity. In the month of Kartik, bath-donation, chanting-meditation throughout the month is considered to have its own special significance, but people believe that bathing and donating on the Navami of Kartik Shukla Paksha gives renewable virtue. Therefore, the date of Navami of Kartik Shukla Paksha is called Akshaya Navami. It is considered auspicious to wake up early at sunrise on Akshaya Navami and take a bath in the Ganges and other holy rivers. Therefore, devotees from all corners of the country gather on this day to bathe and have darshan in holy religious places and rivers. They fast after bathing and donating, and spend the day in Bhagavad Katha, talks. This bath strengthens the body and gives control over the senses. After bathing, worship and rituals performed on the banks of the river purifies the environment and attains mental strength.
Akshaya Navami is considered a very important day for the attainment of virtuous fruits and auspiciousness of health. As per its name, it gives never-ending fruit. The coincidence of Akshaya Navami Tithi is important in many cases. This day is also the day to develop new consciousness and possibilities of its development in life. It is believed that Dwapar Yuga started from the day of Akshaya Navami. On the day of Akshaya Navami, Lord Krishna had left his childhood pastimes and stepped on the path of his duty, and left the streets of Vrindavan, Gokul and went to Mathura. It was on this day that Lord Krishna had prepared public opinion against Kansa by roaming in Vrindavan. There is a law to circumambulate Vrindavan on this day. This gives relief from sufferings. Akshaya Navami is also called Amla Navami, and there is a law to worship the Amla tree on this day.
It is believed that Lord Shiva and Vishnu reside in the Amla tree. Along with Shiva and Vishnu, Goddess Parvati and Lakshmi are also blessed by their worship. After the worship, clothes should be presented to a Brahmin woman or a poor woman. By donating food and clothes to the poor on this day, one attains renewable virtue. On this day, eating food prepared under the Amla tree has special significance. If there is any inconvenience in preparing food under the Amla tree, then after preparing food at home, it should be eaten under the Amla tree and after worshiping. The food can be kheer, puri or sweets as per convenience. It is believed that after worshiping, eating food under the gooseberry tree brings health to the family. There is happiness and prosperity in life. It is as fruitful as Akshaya Tritiya of Baishakh month. A person who worships the gooseberry tree by observing a fast on this day gets its renewable virtue in the next birth. According to the Puranas, it is wish fulfilling, and the wish with which the worship is done on this day, that wish is fulfilled. That’s why this Navami is also called Ichha Navami. The festival of Akshaya Navami will be celebrated on 2nd November in the year 2022.
In North and Central India, the festival of Amla Navami is celebrated as a family festival. On this day the circumambulation of Vrindavan is started. Women worship Amla Navami with full rituals. This worship is done for the purpose of getting children and family comforts. With this day, the great festival of Jagaddhatri worship begins in the south and east of India. Especially in West Bengal, this day is celebrated with great enthusiasm as Jagadhatri Puja, in which Goddess Jagadhatri is worshiped with full devotion.
According to the belief, this fast was started by Goddess Lakshmi. According to the legend, one day Mata Lakshmi wished to worship Lord Vishnu and Shiva together. Then he worshiped the gooseberry tree because it has the qualities of both Tulsi and Bel. Tulsi is dear to Vishnu and Bel to Shiva. That’s why he worshiped the gooseberry tree. Both the gods were pleased with this worship and appeared in front of Lakshmi. Lakshmi fed both of them under the same tree and then took the food herself. This date was on the Navami of Shukla Paksha of Kartik month. That is why from this day it became a law to worship Amla. A story is prevalent in relation to Amla or Akshaya Navami worship and its importance. A merchant lived in Kashi with his wife, who had no children. Due to which the merchant’s wife was always unhappy and her nature became irritable. One day someone told him that if he wants a child, then he should sacrifice a living child to Bhairav Baba. By this he will get a child. She told this to her husband, but her husband did not know about it, brother and he refused this work. But the desire of the merchant’s wife to have children tied her in such a way that she gave up the idea of good and bad and one day seeing the opportunity, sacrificed a child in front of Bhairav Baba. Due to which many types of diseases surrounded him simultaneously. Due to which he started suffering a lot.
The businessman was very sad to see this condition of his wife. He asked the reason for this, then his wife told that she sacrificed a child to Bhairav Baba, due to which this happened. Hearing this, the merchant got very angry and hit him badly. But later he took great pity on his wife’s condition and advised her to take a bath in the Ganges and pray sincerely to get rid of this sin. The merchant’s wife obeyed her husband and he did the same. Pleased with the merchant’s wife bathing in the Ganges for several days and worshiping with full devotion on the bank, Mother Ganga appeared to the merchant’s wife in the form of an old woman and to remove all the disorders of the body, during the Shukla Paksha of Kartik month. On the Navami day of Vrindavan, fasting of gooseberry asked to worship it. This will take away all his troubles. According to the statement of Mother Ganga, the merchant’s wife worshiped Amla with great rituals and all the troubles of her body were removed. He got a beautiful body. He also got the son Ratna. It is said that since then women keep the fast of Amla Navami with the desire to have children and happiness and peace of the family.
Amla tree, fruit, basil plant and some leaves, water-filled urn, kumkum, vermilion, turmeric, intact, coconut, protection thread, incense-lamp, adornment items as worship material for Akshaya Navami fasting. Worship should be done by keeping grains etc. for charity. After getting up early in the morning, after taking a bath etc., one should prepare for the worship of the tree. First of all, sitting near the tree facing east direction, worship it with Shodashopachar. Taking water, rice, flowers etc. in the right hand and taking the resolution of the fast, the meditation mantra – Om Dhatryai Namah – should be meditated. After this, offering milk mixed with water to the root of the tree, offering kumkum, akshat etc., should be performed with incense lamp. After that all the devotees of the worshiping group should gather under the tree and listen to the fast story after worshiping. After worshiping the tree should be circumambulated seven times and yarn (protection thread) should also be wrapped. It is considered very auspicious to do 108 circumambulation of the tree.
