Dhanteras

Origins and Name

Dhanteras, also called Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanvantari Trayodashi, is observed on the thirteenth lunar day (trayodashi) of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartik, falling two days before the main day of Diwali. The name combines dhana ("wealth") and trayodashi ("thirteenth"). Two mythological narratives are associated with the day. The first ties it to the Samudra Manthan, the churning of the cosmic ocean by devas and asuras narrated in the Puranas, during which Dhanvantari, physician to the gods and regarded as an avatara of Vishnu, is said to have emerged bearing a pot of amrita, the nectar of immortality; Dhanteras is treated as his day of appearance and, since 2016, has been formally designated National Ayurveda Day by India's Ministry of AYUSH. The second, recorded in later folk retellings, concerns the son of King Hima, whose horoscope foretold death by snakebite on the fourth night of his marriage; his wife is said to have kept him awake by lighting lamps and heaping gold and silver coins at the entrance to their room, so that when Yama, the god of death, arrived disguised as a serpent, he was dazzled by the light and wealth and could not enter — the origin, in this account, of the custom of lighting a lamp for Yama (Yamadeepdaan) on Dhanteras evening.

Rituals and Customs

Households clean and light their homes on Dhanteras in preparation for Diwali, drawing rangoli patterns at entrances and worshipping Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, alongside Kubera, treasurer of the gods, and often Ganesha. The purchase of gold, silver, or new metal utensils on this day is considered auspicious, believed to invite prosperity into the household for the coming year, and Indian jewellery and consumer-goods markets see a marked rise in sales around the date. Among trading and merchant communities, particularly in Gujarat and among Marwari business families, Dhanteras is also marked by Chopda Pujan, the ritual worship of new account ledgers (bahi-khata) for the coming financial year, invoking Ganesha and Lakshmi for prosperity and honest dealing.

Contemporary Observance

Dhanteras functions today as both a religious and commercial occasion: for the Indian diaspora it serves as an entry point into the broader five-day Diwali cycle, while within India its association with gold and consumer purchases makes it one of the most economically significant days of the festive calendar, alongside its continued devotional role as the opening rite of Diwali's Lakshmi Puja sequence.