Dhanteras marks the beginning of 5 day festival of Diwali, which commemorates the returning of Lord Rama from exile. Dhanteras is the corrupt or Apabhramsha term for Dhanvantari Trayodashi. It is believed that this is the day that Dhanvantari had emerged from the ocean carrying the pot of nectar or amrita. Meanwhile, Deepavali Amavasya is the night on which Lakshmi had emerged from the ocean.
On this day “Kuber” – The God Of Wealth and Laxmi Devi the goddess of wealth is worshiped to provide prosperity and well being. It is considered as the perfect time to purchase gold or silver items like idols of Laxmi Ganesha, Kalash, Diya, Utensils, jewelry, coins on this day as a sign of good luck as “Dhan” is enter in our house.
This is a celebration of wealth, prosperity, and Enjoyment. Dhanteras is also the day for celebrating wealth, as the word ‘Dhan’ literally means wealth and ‘Tera’ comes from the date 13th.In the evening, the lamps are lit and Dhan-Lakshmi is welcomed into the house. Alpana or Rangoli designs are drawn on pathways including the goddess’ footprints to mark the arrival of Lakshmi.
Legends Behind Dhanteras
The story of Lord Dhanvantari- Lord Dhanvantari, who is considered to be the physician of Deities and an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, came out of the ocean that was churned by the Deities and the demons on the day of Dhanteras. God Dhanvantari appeared with Ayurvedic for the well-being of the mankind.
The story of King Hima-It was predicted about the son of King Hima that he would die on the 4th day of his marriage and the reason would be snakebite death. When his intelligent wife came to know about such a prediction, the king’s son s wife decided not to let her husband die and she made a plan. On the 4th day of their marriage, she collected all the wealth and jewelry at the entrance of the sleeping chamber and lighted lamps every nook and corner of the place. She then began to sing songs and started telling stories one after another in order to not let her husband sleep.
In the midnight the God of death, Lord Yama, arrived in the guise of a snake. The bright lights and radiance of the lamps blinded his eyes and he could not enter their chamber. Thus, Lord Yama kept sitting there for the whole night waiting to get a chance to bite the king’s son. As the wife of the king’s son kept singing songs and telling stories for the whole night thus he could not get any chance and in the morning Lord Yama left the place quietly.
The wife saved her husband’s life from the cruel commands of death. Since then Dhanteras day is also known as the day of ‘Yamadeepdaan’ and it has become a ritual to light a lamp, diya and to keep it burning throughout the night in respect of Lord Yama, the God of death.
Puja Vidhi Of Dhanteras
On this day get up early in the morning and clean the house properly and draw a rangoli in the front door of the house. Then lit up a Diya of til (sesame) oil in the middle of Rangoli. Before lightening the Diya, the puja of Diya is being done with Kumkum, coriander seed, and flowers. It is to be said that light the Diya on this day to avoid the sudden death which signifies the Yama Deep. Shubh Laxmi Or Shubh Labh is also written on both the side of Doors. Food is also offered to the needy people on this day.
So, celebrate the auspicious festival of Dhanteras in your new home with the significant rituals and devotion to get the blessings of Goddess and Lord Kuber, the God of wealth. Welcome the Goddess Laxmi by cleaning up the house and performing the pujan vidhi describes in the article. May your new life be always filled with wealth and prosperity throughout the year.