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India celebrates many festivals with full fervor and enthusiasm. As per Indian tradition, the celebration of the five-day Diwali festival begins with an auspicious day called "Dhanteras". It is a Sanskrit word which is made of two words – "Dhan" which means wealth, and "Teras" means the 13th day. As per the Hindu calendar, the thirteenth lunar day of Karthik month is celebrated as Dhanteras which is also known as Dhanatrayodashi. On the occasion of Dhanteras, devotees worship Lord Dhanvantari, Goddess Lakshmi, and Kubera. On this auspicious day, Hindus love to buy gold, silver, automobile, utensils, property, and other precious goods for a prosperous future.
The festival of Dhanteras is celebrated two days before the festival of Deepawali or Diwali. On this day Hindus venerate Lord Dhanvantri, who is the God of medicine and good health. The day is also considered auspicious for purchasing gold and silver ornaments or any other household item, for that matter. Dhanteras is celebrated on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight falling in the month of Karthik. Celebrated with total festive fervor, Dhanteras marks the beginning of Diwali festival.
According to age-old Hindu texts, Dhanvantri is considered the god of Ayurveda and Medicine. It's believed that he was the one who imparted knowledge of Ayurveda to mankind and helped them get rid of diseases. On Dhanteras, devotees pray to Lord Dhanvantri for curing chronic illnesses through Ayurveda.
Besides, it's also believed that Lord Dhanvantri was a physician to all the Hindu gods. Ancient Hindu mythological books claim that Dhanvantri was a manifestation of Lord Vishnu and was born via Samudra Manthan, or the churned sea, with a book based on Ayurveda and an Amrit pot in his hands.
Another legendary story on Dhanteras is associated with Goddess Lakshmi. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Lakshmi emerged through Samudra Manthan, sitting on a lotus, with a vessel stocked with gold, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, happiness, and wealth. Devotees make beautiful rangolis at their main door and light up their homes with diyas to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and seek her blessings.
Besides, daughters are referred to as Goddess Lakshmi in Hindu families or as an embodiment of good luck. Rituals of Dhanteras and Lakshmi Pooja also manifest the belief that when daughters or daughters-in-law leave behind their foot impressions at the entrance of their house using 'kumkum,' the family is blessed with success and prosperity.
On this day, Hindu devotees worship Goddess Lakshmi and God Dhanvantari to receive their blessings for a healthy, happy and wealthy life. According to the popular legend of Samudra Manthan, on this day of Trayodashi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi emerged out of the sea. Therefore, Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on Trayodashi.
Another legend says, during Samudra Manthan, God Dhanvantari, the God of medicine and an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, emerged out of the sea carrying a Kalash (pot) of Amrit (the divine nectar of immortality) in one hand and the sacred textbook about Ayurveda in the other hand. Hindus also worship God Dhanvantari, who is considered to be the Vaidya (healer) of Gods. He had imparted the wisdom of Ayurveda to mankind to live a disease-free life. Thus, Dhanteras is also celebrated as Dhanvantari Jayanti. During the puja, devotees recite the following mantra 108 times to praise the God Dhanvantri and to receive His blessing-
Om Namoh Bhagvatey Vasudevaya, Dhanvantraye Amritkalashaye
Sarvamaya Vinashaye Trilokanathaya, Sri Mahavishnave Swaha.
Dhanteras is the first day of a 5-day long Diwali celebration. On this day, ardent devotees worship Goddess Laxmi and pray for her blessings. Many stories, myths, and legends are associated with this festival. Here are a few Dhanteras stories that are quite popular among Hindu devotees.
There is a popular story associated with the Dhanteras festival. As per this story, during Samudra manthan or amrit manthan or the churning of the Milky Ocean resulted in the unearthing of many precious gems, valuables, and most importantly, amrit or a potent liquid that made people immortal after consuming it. This churning took place between Gods and Asuras. This churning was done to get Amrit or nectar. This nectar was prepared by Dhanavantari, the physician of the gods and a manifestation of Vishnu. On Dhanteras, Lord Dhanvantari appeared with a pot of nectar from Samudra Manthan. It is one of the most famous legends behind Dhanteras.
Another intriguing tale about this day is of the sixteen-year-old King Hima. According to his horoscope, he was destined to die by a snake bite on the fourth day of his marriage. On the fourth day of his marriage, his young wife kept King Hima awake and didn't allow him to rest. She arranged bunches of gold and silver coins in a huge pile at the passageway of her bedroom and lit endless lights everywhere. What's more, she continued reciting stories and singing tunes. When Yam, the god of death, came in the form of a serpent, his eyes were blinded by the light's brightness. The serpent couldn't enter the king's chamber. So, he got over the mountain of coins and sat listening to the sweet melodies the entire night. As the night gave way to dawn, the serpent or Lord Yama had no choice but to leave. This way, King Hima's life was saved by his devoted wife. From that point forward, this day of Dhanteras became known as the day of "YAMADEEPDAAN", and lights are continued lit for the duration of the night in respectful worship to Yam, the god of death.
In India, young girls on Dhanteras day are regarded as the entry of Goddess Lakshmi into the house and is viewed as lucky by specific communities in North India. At the point; when young girls born on Dhanteras get married and leave for their husband's home, she leaves her footprints on a plate secured with 'kumkum' (red powder utilized in Hindu puja), this is to guarantee that Goddess Lakshmi does not go out.
Once Goddess Laxmi requested her husband, Lord Vishnu, to take her along on one of His visits to the earth. Lord Vishnu accepted her request and agreed to take her with him but on a condition. He asked Goddess Laxmi to avoid earthy temptations and look in the southern direction. Goddess Laxmi agreed to this condition. Since her flickering attitude, she could not resist her urge to look in the south direction. Despite trying to control her urges, she fell prey to earthly temptations and became besotted with sweet sugarcane juice and bright yellow mustard flowers. Lord Vishnu got annoyed when he saw Laxmi Ji breaking her pledge. He asked her to spend the next twelve years as a penance on the earth, serving a poor farmer engaged in cultivating sugarcane and mustard in his field.
As Laxmi Ji arrived at the farmer's field, his fate changed, and he became wealthy and prosperous. After the completion of twelve years, it was time for the Goddess to return to her home, Vaikuntha Lok. Lord Vishnu returned to earth to take his wife back, but the farmer refused to relieve her from his services.
Despite repeated requests, when the farmer did not budge, Laxmi ji revealed her identity. She promised the farmer to return yearly on the night of Diwali or Krishna Trayodashi. As per Dhanteras legends, the farmer started cleaning his hope and lighting earthen lamps to welcome Goddess Laxmi to his household. These rituals continued making him prosperous and wealthy.
As per the ancient scriptures and religious texts, 13 diyas are lit on Dhanteras. As per popular belief, these thirteen laps are dedicated to Lord Kuber, who is considered the owner of wealth, valuables, and splendour.
Another legendary story on Dhanteras is associated with Goddess Lakshmi. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Lakshmi emerged through Samudra Manthan, sitting on a lotus, with a vessel stocked with gold, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, happiness, and wealth. Devotees make beautiful rangolis at their main door and light up their homes with diyas to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and seek her blessings.
Besides, daughters are referred to as Goddess Lakshmi in Hindu families or as an embodiment of good luck. Rituals of Dhanteras and Lakshmi Pooja also manifest the belief that when daughters or daughters-in-law leave behind their foot impressions at the entrance of their house using 'kumkum,' the family is blessed with success and prosperity.
Lastly, the third and most interesting story is based on King Hima's son, whose horoscope predicted that he'd die on the 4 th day after his marriage because of a snake bite. However, upon hearing this, his wife made the decision to turn her husband's fate around. She ensured that her husband didn't sleep on the 4 th day of their marriage by narrating stories and keeping him awake.
To deceive the snake, she made a pile of all her coins and ornaments at their sleeping chamber's entrance and lit several diyas. When the god of death, Yamaraj, arrived disguised as a snake, he couldn't see anything due to the brightness of the diyas and the metals.
It is believed that Lord Yamaraj stayed there the entire night and left the following morning silently, without killing King Hima's son. For this reason, Dhanteras is also known as Yamadepdaan, where people offer earthen diyas to Lord Yamaraj to please him and pray for the long lives of their family.
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