Akshaya Tritiya 2026
अक्षय तृतीया
Akshaya Tritiya falls on Monday, 20 April 2026 in New Delhi, on Shukla Tritiya.
Akshaya Tritiya is a spring day whose name means “undiminishing third”: merit from good acts done on it is said to last. Hindus and Jains both mark it, for quite different reasons, and in recent decades it has also become a big day for buying gold.
Why this date
CalculatedIt falls on Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya, the third lunar day of the bright fortnight of Vaishakha, usually reckoned at sunrise. It's one of the days tradition treats as auspicious in itself, so people often don't consult a further muhurta for it.
That’s 10 days earlier than 30 April 2025 last year.
- Tritiya begins
- 19 Apr, 10:50 AM
- It ends
- 20 Apr, 7:28 AM
2026 date by city
| New Delhi | Mon, 20 Apr |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Kolkata | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Chennai | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Bengaluru | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Hyderabad | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Ahmedabad | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Pune | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Jaipur | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Lucknow | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Patna | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Varanasi | Mon, 20 Apr |
| London | Sun, 19 Apr |
| New York | Sun, 19 Apr |
| San Francisco | Sun, 19 Apr |
| Toronto | Sun, 19 Apr |
| Sydney | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Singapore | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Dubai | Mon, 20 Apr |
| Port Louis | Sun, 19 Apr |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
Hindu traditionsThe start of an age, and Parashurama's birth
Lochtefeld's encyclopedia reports the belief that the Treta Yuga began on this day and that it's the birthday of Parashurama, Vishnu's sixth avatar. Both of these are traditional beliefs about the day, so they tell you how it's regarded, not what's known to have happened.
Jain traditionsRishabhanatha breaks his long fast
For Jains, this is the day on which Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, after more than a year without proper alms, is offered sugarcane juice by King Shreyansa. People who keep Varshi Tap, a year of alternate-day fasting, end it with sugarcane juice on this day. Sources differ about the exact length of the first fast.
The HimalayasThe high temples reopen
Lochtefeld notes that this is the time when the temple doors of the Himalayan pilgrimage circuit open after winter. In practice Gangotri and Yamunotri open on or around this day, and Kedarnath and Badrinath open close to it, on dates fixed separately each year.
Widely toldVyasa, Sudama and the undying vessel
You may also hear that Vyasa began dictating the Mahabharata to Ganesha today, that Sudama visited Krishna, or that the Pandavas received the Akshaya Patra, their never-empty bowl. These links to the day circulate widely, though we haven't confirmed that the epics or Puranas themselves make them.
Common questions
What people do
- Giving to charity, especially water, grain or fans, as the heat sets in
- Worshipping Vishnu and Lakshmi at home
- Buying gold, jewellery or something new
- Holding weddings, especially in Rajasthan, where the day is known as Akha Teej
Do the scriptures say you have to buy gold on Akshaya Tritiya?
We found no early text that says so. The texts and traditions we could check speak of giving, not buying. The gold custom has grown hugely with modern jewellery marketing, though how and when it began is something we couldn't trace.
What does Akshaya mean?
It means “undiminishing” or “that which doesn't decay”, which here refers to the belief that merit earned on this day lasts. It's a religious claim, and not one you can measure.
Why do Jains celebrate Akshaya Tritiya?
Because it's the day their tradition says Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, broke his long fast with sugarcane juice. Those completing Varshi Tap still end their fast this way.
Ask your elders
“Ask your grandmother if anyone in her family ever bought gold on this day, or whether that came later. If your family is Jain, ask who has kept Varshi Tap and what the last glass of sugarcane juice was like.”
Sources
- James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Rosen, 2002), entry “Akshaya Trtiya”
- P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), on vratas and utsavas