Dear Devotees:

Dandavat Pranams

Today 22nd April 2004 is very auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya and the last
year i got this message about this celebration that i want to share with you

ys

tmkd




---------- Forwarded Message ----------

From: Deena Bandhu (das) ACBSP (Vrindavan - IN)
Date: 05-May-03 06:00 -0700
To: Giriraja Swami [45332]
Subject: what is aksaya tritiya? candana yatra nectar wanted.
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My dear Giriraja Swamiji,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I'm not sure of the history of Aksaya Tritiya. But ksaya means to diminish,
so aksaya means that which never diminishes, or which goes on increasing. So
this day is considered a very auspicious day to start anything from which
you want the fruits never to diminish.

I see that people start their businesses on this day, do grha pravesha on
this day, start their journeys on this day. And there is a big festival in
Nandagram on this day. But if you want to come and see it, you have to book
your taxi well in advance, because on this day there are a lot of marriages
and all the taxis will be booked up!

The festival in Nandagram celebrates Pavana Sarovar. When Nanda Maharaj
established his residence in Nandagram, he excavated this huge lake and it
became know as Nanda Sarovara. He and his family and all the brijbasis used
to bathe in this lake. Sometimes, he and his family would bathe at one end
of the lake, and Vrsabhanu Maharaja would occasionally come and bathe with
his family at the other end of the lake. The Brijbasis say that Radha and
Krishna used to swim underwater to the middle of the lake and have
underwater pastimes.

One day, Nandanandana saw that Mother Yashoda was making very strange type
of prasadam. Not the every day rice, dal, subji and chappattis. But she was
making fried dal, little fried noodles, and little fried cracker-like things
we call muttry. Like that she was cooking all these fried things.

So Nandalala came and asked, "Oh Meiya, oh Meiya, what kind of funny prasad
are you making today? Meiya, what kind of funny prasad are you making today?
Oh Meiya?"

She replied to her darling little son, "Lala, today Your Baba is going on
pilgrimage, so I'm making all these fried things so they will last for
several days and he will eat them along the way."

"And where's Baba going, Meiya? where's Baba going, Meiya? Tell me, Meiya,
where's Baba going?"

"Lala, Baba is going to Prayaga."

"And where is that, Meiya? Where is that, Meiya? Tell me, Meiya."

"O Lala, I'm busy cooking and you ask so many questions. Go ask you ask
your Baba, Lala, go ask your Baba."

So Nandanandana went to Baba and pulled on his cloth, repeatedly asking,
"Where are you going, Baba? Oh Baba, where are you going? Tell me, Baba,
where are you going?"

Nanda Maharaja smiled at the beautiful face of his inquisitive son and
replied, "Lala, I'm going to Prayaga."

"And where is that, Baba? Oh Baba, where is that? Tell me, Baba, where is
that?"

"Oh Lala, that is a very sacred place where Ganga, Jamuna, and Sarasvati
join in Sangam. So I'm going there to take my bath, Lala."

"But, Baba. But, Baba, today is a very inauspicious day to start a journey.
Baba, you should go tommorrow. It's Aksaya Tritiya tommorrow and that is a
very auspicious day to start your journey. Baba, you should go tommorrow."

Ok, Lala, since you are asking, I will go tommorrow. Is that ok, Lala?"

So the next morning, Nanda Maharaja got up early in the morning, like he
does everyday, to go take his bath in Nanda Sarovara. When he got there,
however, he saw one great big person like a king or something, rolling in
the dust of Braja and laughing, "Ho, ho, ho! Ah, hah, hah!" Then he would
bathe in Nanda Sarovara. Then again he would come out and roll in the Braja-
raja and laugh, and again bathe in the sarovara.

Nanda Maharaja had never seen a personality like this before in Nandagram,
so he went over to that person. He asked, "Maharaja, who are you?"

"Baba, I'm Prayaga."

Baba, in his simple Brijbhasa, said, "Pryag? Prag? I don't know anyone in
Nandagram with that name?"

"Ahrey, Baba! I'm not from here. I'm Prayag Raja, king of all the tirthas!"

"And why have you come here today, Maharaja?"

O, Baba! All year long people come and put their papa on me. So one day in
the year, on Aksaya Tritiya, I come here, roll in the dust of Braja, and
bathe in this sarovara and become pavana."

You know pavana? Pavana means to be purified.

"Accha? Is it?" Nanda exclaimed.

Then on the other side of the lake, Nanda saw so many beautiful ladies
bathing, but not like his Nandagram ladies. With beautiful silk saris with
gold and silver threads. He never saw ladies like this in Nandagram.

Approaching them very respectfully, Nanda asked, "Who are you, ladies?"

"Baba, I'm Ganga." Another said, "I'm Sarasvati." And yet another said, "I'm
Godavari." They all responded with the names of different Holy Rivers,
Kurujangala, Kaveri, Narmada, Brahmaputra, Mahananda, etc.

Then Baba asked, "And why have you come here today? I've never seen you all
before."

"Ahrey, Baba! All year long people put their papa on us. One day on this
Aksaya Tritiya day, we come here, roll in the dust of Braja, bathe in this
sarovara and become pavana."

"Accha? Is it?"

Then Baba took his bath and went up the hill to Nandagram. By this time
Nandalala is awake. Coming before his father, he asked, "Baba, now you're
going? Oh Baba, now you're going? Yes, Baba? Now you're going?"

"Ahrey, Lala! Now I'm not going!"

"And why is that, Baba, why is that?"

"Ahrey, Lala! All the places I wanted to go, they all came here today to
take bath and become pavana. So why should I the trouble to go all these
places when they all came here?"

So from that day, the sarovara became known as Pavana Sarovara.

Of course, it comes in the hot season, so thus the Candana Yatra festival
takes place at this time. Of course, that is all nicely described in CC, so
I'll end here.

In Service of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram,
Deena Bandhu dasa