from which it is made can often reveal
sectarian affiliations. Shiva is often
depicted wearing beads made of the
seeds of the Elaeocarpus ganitrustree,
which are known as rudraksha(“eye of
Rudra”). Devotees (bhakta) of Shiva
emulate this practice. Devotees of the
god Vishnuoften carry beads made of
wood from the tulsiplant, which is
considered a form of Vishnu’s wife
Lakshmi. Other commonly used mate-
rials are sandalwood and crystal, but
akshamalas can also be made from
expensive materials such as coral and
amber. In Hindu iconography the
akshamala is one of the items com-
monly held by the goddess Saraswati,
in keeping with her identity as the
patron deityof learning and, by impli-
cation, sacred sound. The akshamala
is also one of the items commonly held
by the god Brahma, but in his case it
has less specific significance.
Akshar Purushottam Samstha
One of the prominent branches of the
Swaminarayan sect, which split off
from its parent body in 1906. The
Swaminarayan movement is based on
the teachings of Sahajananda Swami
(1781–1830), an asceticwho was a devo-
tee (bhakta) of the god Vishnu.
Sahajananda’s followers eventually
revered him as a manifestation of
Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu),
based on the idea that avatarsof Vishnu
appear on earthin times of extreme
trouble. This same reverence is given to
Sahajananda Swami’s ascetic succes-
sors, who are known by the title
Pramukh Swami(“President Swami”).
At present the Akshar Purushottam
Samstha has several million lay devotees
(bhakta) who are mainly Gujaratimer-
chants; their affluence has helped make
the movement financially strong. The
most important figures in the movement
are the small number of ascetics who
serve as teachers and spiritual advisers,
headed by the Pramukh Swami. For fur-
ther information see Raymond Brady
Williams, A New Face of Hinduism, 1984.
Akshaya Trtiya
(also called Akha Teej) Festival
celebrated on the third day of the
bright (waxing) half of the lunar
month of Baisakh (April–May). The
festival’s name reflects the belief that
the religious merit from rites per-
formed on this day is indestructible
(akshaya). This is thought to be the day
on which the Treta Yuga (a previous
cosmic age) began, and as a transition-
al day is believed to be highly
auspicious. This day is marked by wor-
ship of Vishnu and his consort
Lakshmi; it is also believed to be the
birthday of Vishnu’s sixth incarnation,
Parashuram avatar. Consistent both
with the worship of Vishnu and
the belief that this is a transitional
day, on Akshaya Trtiya the temple
doors are opened at the Four
Himalayan Dhams (the holy towns
of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath,
and Badrinath) after having been
closed all winter, and worship in
those places is resumed until after the
festival of Diwaliin the fall. See also
Four Dhams.Akshaya Vata
(“indestructible banyan tree”) In Hindu
mythology, a particular banyan tree that
existed before the creation of the uni-
verse and will be the only thing to sur-
vive the cosmic dissolution (pralaya) at
the end of the cosmic cycle. According to
one mythic account, the sage
Markandeyasaw a vision of pralaya in
which the only thing remaining was this
single tree, under which lay the god
Krishnain infant form, sucking on his
toes. The akshaya vatais identified with
a particular banyan tree in Allahabadat
the junction of the Gangesand Yamuna
rivers, where it is now enclosed within
the fort built by the Moghul emperor
Akbar. Earlier writers report an
enormous tree on the site, but in mod-
ern times the tree is quite small. In some
stories it was cut down by one of Akbar’s
successors. According to the seventh-
century Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang,Akshaya Vata