Akshaya Tritiya is one of the most important events in the Hindi religious calendar, and will be celebrated in just a few weeks’ time on the 18th April. Like with many Hindu festivals – gold will feature prominently, with gifts of gold coins, gold bars and jewellery being an important part of the annual festivities. And since India is the gold market’s single biggest customer, large events in the Hindu calendar like this can have important ramifications for the overall market.
Whether you’re looking for the best time to buy gold for your friends and family this Akshaya Tritiya, or are simply interested in how you can take best advantage of wider fluctuations in the gold market – it’s a good idea to get clued up on what this festival means for gold.
What is Akshaya Tritiya?
To those of us not familiar with Hindu traditions, Akshaya Tritiya might sound like quite an unfamiliar concept. In many ways however, it’s very similar to our own Western spring solstice celebration: Easter. While the religious stories that inspired the two celebrations are different, they have much in common. Both festivals celebrate the spring, and place a lot of cultural emphasis on new life and renewal, amongst their respective religious rituals. Both festivals change the precise date on which they’re celebrated each year, according to the phases of the moon, and the Hindu calendar, respectively.
There are many different religious stories associated with Akshaya Tritiya. The most prominent of these features Kuchela, the childhood friend of a King, Krishna. As the story goes, Kuchela one day fell upon financial hardship, and set out to locate his old friend the King, bringing with him a small packet of rice as a gift for his friend.
Upon reaching the King, where he was warmly welcomed, he was shocked by all the wonders and luxury that surrounded him – so much so that he couldn’t bring himself to give his own humble gift. But the King spotted the gift and was delighted. Kuchela was so relieved that he forgot to ask for the financial help he’d come all this way for.
As he walked home from his journey, Kuchela remembered what he’d forgotten - and suddenly worried about how he’d tell his family about the failure. By the time he’d gotten home however, the problem was solved: he found his humble family home transformed into a palace every bit as luxurious the King’s he’d just left and his family living a life of luxury. He realised that this was a gift from the gods, as reward for the humble gift he’d offered to a richer man in his time of poverty.
According to Hindu custom, the day that Kuchela and the King met has been celebrated as Akshaya Tritiya ever since. This spirit of gift giving is important to the celebrations – and nowhere is it more apparent than in the gift of gold.
What does this mean for gold?
This year, the festival will be celebrated just a few weeks after our own Easter celebrations – and it looks set to be a big day in the gold calendar. Back in September, we talked about how valuable gold is in the Hindu religion during the festival of Diwali. Well Akshaya Tritiya is no different – and is considered a favourable day to buy gold.
‘Akshaya’ itself translates as something that is ‘eternal’, or ‘cannot be destroyed’ – which in itself is a pretty fantastic description of the reasons why gold is so valuable to Hindu communities.
In short, Akshaya Tritiya is a big day for the gold market – both in India and back here in the UK. Around this time of year, gold merchants often release new ranges of gold jewellery and gold coins; the latter of which may feature specifically Hindu iconography to celebrate the day.
What are the best gold coins and bars to buy this Akshaya Tritiya?
For those of you out there looking to commemorate the ancient Hindu culture and traditions this Akshaya Tritiya, you can take advantage of this auspicious time to buy gold.
PAMP Suisse offers a particularly interesting range that many people look to around spring. This gold bar, for instance, features the goddess Lakshmi inscribed onto the surface of the 99.99 per cent pure gold bar. It comes in variations of 5 grams, 10 grams and one ounce.
This is just one in a range of faith related gold bars by PAMP Suisse, which features icons from Christianity and Islam as well as the Hindu religion. For those celebrating Easter, this Christian cross etched on a gold bar will be a fantastic gift – and is available in many different sizes.
Making the most of your gold investment
Due to the high levels of demand for gold at this time of year, there’s a good chance that we’ll start to see fluctuations in the gold price in the days and weeks leading up to the main event. For that reason, if you’re looking to buy gold for the Akshaya Tritiya celebrations – it could well be a good idea to do so in advance.
To get more updates on important developments in the gold market like this, stay tuned to our gold news articles right here. Alternatively, find out more about your own gold investment strategy by looking through our range of gold bars and gold coins.
