Dhanteras Starts Off the Diwali Celebrations
Dhanwantari Triodasi and Yamadeepdaan Are Names of This Festival
Oct 9, 2009
Dhanteras is celebrated on the thirteenth day (Teras) of the fortnight of the waning moon, also known as Krishna Paksha, in the Hindu month of Kartik. It is the first day of the five day long Diwali festival. Diwali falls on the third day of the festival and Bhai Dooj on the last day.
Hindu festivals have many diverse legends associated with them and Dhanteras is no different. It is associated with the worship of Laxmi, Yama and Dhanvantri.
Festival of Dhanteras and Laxmi
There is no specific legend that associates Dhanteras with Laxmi. Laxmi is the consort of Vishnu and worshipped as the Goddess of Wealth. “Dhan” is the Hindi word for wealth. Dhanteras is the advance welcoming for Laxmi, who is worshipped on Diwali. In many homes small footprints are painted with vermillion-colored flour so as to direct the Goddess when she arrives at the doorstep.
Some families worship Laxmi as the owl on this day. Each Hindu deity has his or her own vehicle or vahana. The owl is the vahana of Laxmi. The owl is worshiped on Dhanteras day so that he would bring in prosperity in the form of Laxmi in the coming year.
Yamadeepdaan
Yama is the Hindu demi-god of death, “deep” is light and “daan” is giving. There is an interesting legend involving all three that is believed to have occurred on this day. Hence, Dhanteras is also known as Yamadeepdaan.
The son of King Hima was destined to die of snake bite on the fourth day after his marriage. The new bride, who had gone ahead with the marriage despite knowing about the prophesy, had resolved to save her husband’s life. That night she kept him awake by singing songs. She also planned to keep Yama at bay by piling jewelry and silver coins at the entrance to their room. She lit lamps everywhere so that no area was left in darkness and she could see everything that moved.
Yama arrived at the destined time in the form of a snake. He first got blinded by the dazzle of the ornaments and the light. Then he got entranced by the songs the princess was singing. Ultimately, the destined moment passed away and Yama returned without the soul of the prince.
Yamadeepdaan is celebrated by letting the oil lamps burn all night in order to ward off evil.
Dhanvantari Triodasi
Triodasi is another word for "thirteenth." Dhanvantri is the physician to the demi-gods. Sagar Manthan or the churning of the ocean, is a popular Hindu legend. The ocean was churned by the demi-gods and demons to obtain Amrit or the elixir of life.
After the ocean had yielded other treasures, and incidentally Laxmi was one of them, Dhanvantri emerged from the ocean carrying the pot of Amrit. This is believed to have happened on Dhanteras day and therefore Dhanteras is also known as Dhanvantari Triodasi.
Celebration of Dhanteras
In Hinduism, the accumulation of wealth is not looked down upon, but is considered a legitimate function of life. What is abhorrent is greed and miserliness. Therefore, Hindus see nothing wrong in worship to acquire wealth.
Dhanteras holds special relevance for merchants. Offices are decorated so as to appear welcoming to the Goddess of Wealth. For the farmers cattle are their wealth. Therefore cattle are adorned and worshiped. This is more of an emphasis in South India, where cows are believed to be an incarnation of Laxmi.
At a personal level, families purchase items of wealth on Dhanteras. Those who can afford it purchase gold or silver articles. Others make do with new household utensils. Everyone tries to make a token purchase at least. Today, special items are marketed for purchase on Dhanteras. Most popular are silver coins minted with images of Laxmi and Ganesh.
Sources:
- Dhanteras; Accessed at FestivalOfIndia.in
- Dhanteras; Accessed at DiwaliFestival.org
