Kundli.me · Festivals
The wealth day that opens Diwali.
When is it?
Friday
5 days to go
The date follows the tithi in the panchang; when a tithi shortens or lengthens, some places keep the festival a day earlier or later.
Why it is celebrated
Dhanteras — Dhanatrayodashi in its fuller name — is the thirteenth tithi of the dark fortnight of Kartik, and the first of the five days that make up Diwali.
The story and belief
The story comes from the samudra manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk. Fourteen treasures rise from it in turn; near the end comes Dhanvantari, physician of the gods, holding the kalash of amrit — the nectar of immortality.
The story and belief · continued
Lakshmi rises from the same churning, two days later in the telling, which is why the day that remembers Dhanvantari sits exactly two days before the night of Lakshmi Puja. Health first, then wealth: the sequence is the whole argument of the festival.
Main rituals
The Dhanteras puja is an evening puja.
Across India
Customs differ from home to home and region to region; these are the main forms, not a rule everywhere.
Often asked
What should I buy on Dhanteras?
Traditionally metal — silver, gold, brass or copper — in whatever form fits your budget: a coin, a lota, new kitchen utensils, or jewellery. A new broom and coriander seed are equally traditional and cost almost nothing.
Often asked · answer continued
Nothing here is compulsory and there is no minimum: the custom is that something enters the house, not that something expensive does.
Dhanteras
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