Akshaya (inexhaustible) Navami; Amla tree worshipped for Vishnu's blessings

Akshaya Navami, on Kartika Shukla Navami, is as sacred as Akshaya Tritiya: 'akshaya' means inexhaustible, and any worship, charity or good deed done on this day is said to bear fruit that never diminishes, following one into future lives. According to the Puranas, the Satya Yuga, the first and purest of the four ages, began on this day, so it is also called Satya Yugadi. It is also Amla Navami: Lord Vishnu is believed to dwell in the amla (Indian gooseberry) tree during Kartika, and devotees worship the tree, wind a raw cotton thread around its trunk eight or 108 times, offer water, milk and lamps, and cook and eat a meal beneath it. A legend tells that Goddess Lakshmi, wishing to worship Vishnu and Shiva together, saw that the amla tree combined the tulsi (dear to Vishnu) and the bilva (dear to Shiva), and worshipped them in it. In Mathura and Vrindavan, devotees walk the parikrama of the twin towns, and it is said Krishna left Vrindavan for Mathura on this day. In Bengal it is Jagaddhatri Puja, and in Odisha Anla Navami, when widows and devotees at Puri take a special vrat.

Some fast until the amla puja and eat under the tree.