Dhanteras is an auspicious festival that is celebrated ahead of Diwali. It falls on the first day of the five-day grand Diwali Festival. Dhanteras sets the auspicious and celebrative mood for the Diwali celebrations. This year Dhanteras is on 10-Nov-2023.
In Dhanteras, Teras refers to the 13th day of the Waning phase of the moon. Dhanteras is also known as Dhantrayodashi and celebrated as Dhanvantari Jayanti. This day not only marks the first day of the Diwali Festival in India, but is also considered as the day to perform pooja to God of wealth, Lakshmi.
It is customary to buy something on this day.
Happy Dhanteras | Dharam Gyan | Hanuman Chalisa
It is also considered auspicious to purchase utensils on Dhanteras. Generally, iron and steel are avoided and utensils made of copper, silver, brass or gold are preferred on Dhanteras. It is believed that purchasing utensils brings wealth and prosperity to the household. Gold and silver coins as well as gold jewelry are said to bring good fortune on Dhanteras.
Dhanteras Puja Muhurat : Dhanteras pooja muhurat is from 05:47 PM to 07:43 PM. During the evening, the family gathers and starts the prayer. They worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi, give them a bath and offer them flowers and mithai. Devotees are said to chant the Ganesha mantra while performing the pooja.
On Dhanteras, in the presence of the entire family, 13 old or used clay diyas are to be lit and kept facing south near trash outside the house to ward off death. The family is protected from untimely death by the first diya.
Story of Goddess Laxmi
A 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.
Once, Goddess Laxmi insisted Lord Vishnu to accompany Him during one of His visits to the earth. Lord Vishnu agreed but on the condition that She would not fall for earthly temptations and would not look in the south direction. Goddess Lakshmi agreed to this condition of Lord Vishnu.
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However during their visit to the earth, due to Her Chanchal nature Goddess Lakshmi got tempted to look in the south direction. When Goddess Lakshmi was not able to resist her urge to look in the south direction, She broke her pledge and started moving towards south. As soon as Goddess Lakshmi started moving in southern direction, She was mesmerized with the beauty of yellow mustard flowers and sugarcane fields on the earth. Finally, the Goddess Lakshmi fell for the earthly temptations and decorated herself with the mustard flowers and started enjoying sugarcane juice.
When Lord Vishnu saw that Goddess Lakshmi has broken her pledge, He got annoyed and asked Her to spend the next twelve years on the earth as a penance, serving at the field of the poor farmer who has cultivated mustard and sugarcane in the field.
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With the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi, the poor farmer became prosperous and wealthy overnight. Gradually, twelve years passed and the time for Goddess Lakshmi to return back to Vaikuntha had come. When Lord Vishnu came to the earth in disguise of an ordinary man to take Goddess Lakshmi back, the farmer refused to relieve Goddess Lakshmi from his services.
When all attempts to by Lord Vishnu failed and the farmer didn’t agree to relieve Goddess Lakshmi from his services, Goddess Lakshmi revealed her true identity to the farmer and told him that She could not stay any longer on the earth and need to go back to Vaikuntha. However, Goddess Lakshmi promised the farmer that She would visit him every year during the night of Krishna Trayodashi before Diwali.
As the legend goes, the farmer started cleaning his home every year to welcome Goddess Lakshmi on the day of Krishna Trayodashi before Diwali. He also started lighting an earthen lamp full of Ghee throughout the night to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. These rituals to appease Goddess Lakshmi made the farmer rich and prosperous year after year.
People who came to know about this incident also started worshipping Goddess Lakshmi on the night of Krishna Trayodashi before Diwali. This is how devotees started worshipping Goddess Lakshmi along with Lord Kuber on the day of Dhanteras which is also known as Dhantrayodashi.
Another story of Dhateras
Once upon a time, there was a king named Hima who ruled over his kingdom with justice and love as the two tools of his governance. He had a son and the astrologers predicted that his son would face the end of his life due to snake bite on his sixteenth year. A sense of deep anguish tormented King Hima’s heart and he searched for ways to save his son’s life. At the advice of a renowned astrologer, he got his son married to a girl who had a lucky horoscope. The couple lived happily for a few years. The boy neared his sixteenth year and the king started worrying about the impending death of his son.
The astrological predictions said a snake would bite the boy when he stepped into his sixteenth year of life on the earth. On the eve of the boy’s sixteenth birthday, the girl hatched a clever plan to save the life of her husband. She gathered all her jewels and piled them up in front of the main door and advised her husband not to sleep and she too stayed awake throughout the night. She sat near the entrance of the home guarding the main door.
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At the appointed hour of taking the boy’s life, Lord Yama, the god of death arrived in front of the house in the form of a serpent. The snake crawled its way to the main door of the house. When the snake was about to enter the door, the pile of ornaments stopped it on the way. The ornaments were so dazzling that the snake could not see anything around it clearly. Meanwhile, the girl kept singing melodious songs throughout the night. The songs were so alluring that the snake stayed at the doorstep enjoying the songs. The time to take the life of the boy elapsed and Lord Yama in the form of snake had to give up. Thus the witty idea of the girl helped save the life of her husband.
As the legend goes, the farmer started cleaning his home every year to welcome Goddess Lakshmi on the day of Krishna Trayodashi before Diwali. He also started lighting an earthen lamp full of Ghee throughout the night to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. These rituals to appease Goddess Lakshmi made the farmer rich and prosperous year after year.
People who came to know about this incident also started worshipping Goddess Lakshmi. That is how devotees started worshipping Goddess Lakshmi along with Lord Kubera on the day of Dhanteras which is also known as Dhantrayodashi.
