Mangoes take centre stage on Akshaya Tritiya 2025 despite price surge: Here’s the significance of the fruit
Despite a sharp rise in prices, mangoes are flying off the shelves this Akshaya Tritiya; for many, the first mango of the season is a ritual of age-old beliefs
Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar, marks new beginnings. Celebrated widely in southern states like Maharashtra, the day is rooted in astrological significance; this year, both the Sun and the Moon are exalted — a rare planetary alignment said to bring heightened prosperity, clarity, and strength of purpose. Traditionally, it’s a day when people invest in gold, begin new ventures, or seek divine blessings through charity, fasting, and prayer. But while temples are filled with chants and families prepare to usher in fortune, something else takes centre stage in the local markets — the mango.
This day falls right at the peak of mango season in the Konkan belt — especially Devgad, Malvan, and across Sindhudurg — making the fruit an inseparable part of Akshaya Tritiya celebrations. And even this year, despite reduced yields due to adverse weather and a steep spike in prices, mango lovers are undeterred. Alphonso, Payari, Laal Baug — no name is spared from the festive frenzy, with rates soaring by ₹100 to ₹200 per dozen. Yet the demand has only intensified. Here's a look at why.
What makes mangoes such an integral part of Akshaya Tritiya?
To understand why, one must go beyond economics and into tradition. In Maharashtrian and Konkani households, mangoes are not merely seasonal fruits — they’re sacred offerings. The first mangoes of the season are offered in temples and placed before ancestors as a mark of respect, and only after this ritual do families eat the fruit together, a gesture rooted in gratitude, community, and love. Gifting mangoes is also customary, a way to share abundance and celebrate the cycle of nature’s generosity.
In many ways, mangoes are seen as messengers of prosperity. Their arrival coincides with the spirit of Akshaya Tritiya — ‘Akshaya’ meaning ‘never diminishing’. Legends tell of Lord Vishnu’s sixth avatar, Lord Parashurama’s birth on this day, and of the Akshaya Patra gifted to the Pandavas by Lord Surya — a vessel that gave endless sustenance to the family when they were starving in exile. The mango, similarly, symbolises that unending blessing, a reassurance from nature that life renews itself, again and again.
This reverence for mangoes is further echoed in rural folktales, in a story with many versions but one we have all grown up hearing — the story of a child and a mango sapling growing together in a family courtyard. As the child matures, so does the tree, becoming an inseparable part of the household. Its leaves adorn the child's wedding mandaps, its branches form the doors and windows of the house he builds with his own family, its fruit feeds his offspring, and its presence brings shade and abundance of deliciously sweet fruit that keeps the village and his family satiated for many years to come. The mango tree, in this tale, is not just a plant — it’s a symbol of eternal giving, or ‘Akshayam’ in the truest sense.
So on Akshaya Tritiya, when families flock to the markets to bring home mangoes at exorbitant prices, they are not simply making a purchase. They are keeping an age-old promise alive by honouring the spirit of abundance, paying tribute to nature’s generosity, and participating in a ritual that binds them not only to their ancestors but to the earth itself. At the heart of dishing out thousands for a heavy, juicy mango lies a message about prosperity; affluence goes beyond the gold that enters the house, instead it lies in the sweetness of shared meals and the comfort of rituals.
