Maharashtra & Gujarat
Dhanatrayodashi
Traders and business owners perform Chopda Pujan, sanctifying new accounting ledgers, account books, and brass safes with swastika marks.
Festival guide
Dhanteras
The dawn of Diwali, honoring the god of health, the goddess of abundance, and sacred longevity.
Dhanatrayodashi · Dhanvantari Jayanti · Yama Deepam
Significance
Dhanteras marks the first day of the grand five-day Diwali festivities. It celebrates the emergence of Lord Dhanvantari—the physician of the gods—with the nectar of immortality, alongside Goddess Mahalakshmi. Households purchase brass, copper, and precious metals while lighting lamps for Lord Yama to avert untimely mortality.
Timing
History & origins
Deities: Lord Dhanvantari, Goddess Mahalakshmi, Lord Kubera, Lord Yama
During the great churning of the cosmic milky ocean (Samudra Manthan), Lord Dhanvantari manifested on this Trayodashi holding the sacred pot of Amrita (immortality nectar) in one hand and Ayurvedic scriptures in the other. Another sacred narrative recounts how a young queen saved her sixteen-year-old husband from Yama by piling dazzling gold coins and lamps at the doorway, blinding and deterring the serpent of death with brilliance.
True wealth (Dhan) encompasses holistic wellness (Arogya) as its foundation, followed by righteous material prosperity.
Rituals & traditions
- Thoroughly cleaning and whitewashing homes and business offices to welcome Lakshmi
- Purchasing new utensils made of brass, copper, or silver, as well as gold jewelry or investment coins
- Drawing decorative rangoli footprints pointing into the house from the front entrance
At twilight (Pradosh Kaal), families perform Dhanvantari Puja for radiant health, along with Mahalakshmi and Kubera worship. At night, a four-wick flour diya (Yama Deepam) is lit with mustard oil and placed facing south outside the house to pray for protection against untimely death.
Traditional foods
- Panchamrita prasad
- Naivedyam prepared with whole dried coriander seeds (dhaniya) and jaggery
- Atta halwa and boondi laddoos
- Lapshi (cracked wheat cooked with ghee and jaggery)
Regional variations
Pan-India Ayurvedic Institutions
National Ayurveda Day
Ayurvedic practitioners and clinics perform special medicinal herb havans and honor Lord Dhanvantari as the lineage father of healing systems.
FAQ
Why is purchasing utensils or precious metals considered auspicious on Dhanteras?
Metal is considered a pure conductor that retains positive energetic frequencies, symbolizing inviting renewed, lasting prosperity into the domestic hearth.
Why is the Yama Deepam placed facing toward the south?
In Vedic cosmology, south is the cardinal direction governed by Lord Yama; placing a flame facing south honors him and seeks protection from untimely death (Apamrityu).