Bhagwan Sri Rishabhdev took to renunciation with the penance of “Belle” (2 day fast) and was travelling from place to place, in order to do his first “Parana”. But he did not find any alms worthy of Jain Hermit, because at that time people did not know the method of giving food to Hermit. At that time no one had ever seen any monk before. Bhagwan remained on continuous fast for 400 days after taking renunciation, which was also a waterless fast. After wandering several kingdoms and places, he came to Hastinapur on the day of “Baisakh Shukla Teej” (Tritiya).
At that time, his second son Bahubali's son Somaprabha - Somayasha ruled there. His son Shreyanshkumar was then the crown prince of that kingdom. One night the prince Shreyanshkumar had a dream that - 'After bathing the black Meru mountain with pots of milk from all four sides, I washed its dirt to make it clean and bright.' On the same night, King Somprabha had a dream that - 'A king is surrounded by many enemy kings. My son Shreyanshkumar defeated those enemy kings and brought him victory’.
That very night, a businessman named Subuddhi had a dream that - 'A thousand rays have separated from the Sun, Shreyanshakumar has brought those rays back to the Sun; due to which, the Sun has become brighter’. In the morning, all three woke up and started thinking about their dreams, and the potential results of these dreams. Later all the three came to the royal court and narrated their dreams to each other. Even after thinking about it over and over again, they could not decide the outcome of these dreams. In the end, they all came to a conclusion that the prince Shreyanshkumar would get the auspicious results of all these dreams. It seems that Shreyanshkumar will free a great man from hardship. Having decided this, the three went to their respective places.
The prince was sitting in his palace, when he heard some uproar. People were shouting 'God does not take anything! God does not take anything! ' The prince asked the servants – “what kind of uproar is there in the city today?” The answer was that today Bhagwan Rishabhdev is visiting Hastinapur, he neither eats nor drinks, neither he speaks nor does he lift his eyes to look up. Hearing the news of the arrival of his great- grandfather, Shreyanshkumar was filled with enormous joy. He immediately got up with great aspiration and happiness to see Bhagwan Rishabhdev. By that time, Bhagwan had reached near his palace. Seeing Bhagwan Rishabhdev, he ran down barefoot and bowed at his feet. As soon as he saw Bhagwan, he got divine knowledge (Jatismaran Gyan). With this knowledge, he learned the method of giving food to the sage.
In the meantime, someone brought a pitcher full of sugarcane juice (Ikshuras) and presented it to Shreyanshkumar. This Iksurus is pure, therefore, it is suitable for the Bhagwan's diet, knowing that the prince humbly prayed to the Bhagwan - 'O Bhagwan! This sugarcane juice is pure and adaptable, so please accept it.’ Bhagwan Rishabhdeva also received it and performed his Parana. Shreyansh Kumar served Ikshuras (sugarcane juice) to Bhagwan, on the day of Baisakh Shukla Teej. At the same time, the gems started raining from the sky, flowers started pouring in, divine trumpets started ringing, the words “Ahodanam-Ahodanam” started resonating, and a cool fragrant air started flowing as well. These five tasks always occur during the diet of the Tirthankara. The scholars have called these as five wonders. Since then, this auspicious day came to be known as the famous Akshaya Tritiya or Akha Teej.
In accordance with this event associated with Bhagwan Shri Rishabhdev, thousands of devotees, sages, hermits from across India, who are doing the annual fasting ritual (“varshitap”) come to Hastinapur each year, to do “Parana” on Akshay Tritya. Even today hermits who perform their varshitap Parana at this authentic land of Bhagwan’s Parana, feel elated and fortunate.
