by Keya Gupta

The Diwali season builds up slowly, and Dhanteras is the first glow. Generally celebrated two days before Diwali, it opens the five-day festival with the cleaning of homes, the buying of something new and the lighting of the first lamps. Its name comes from dhan, meaning wealth, and teras, meaning thirteenth, as it falls on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Kartik. But as its legends show, wealth here means far more than gold. 

According to the Puranas, when the gods and demons churned the cosmic ocean in the Samudra Manthan, many treasures emerged. The last to appear was Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, carrying a pot of amrit, the nectar of immortality. He is regarded as the father of Ayurveda, and his arrival on this day is why Dhanteras is also observed as Dhanvantari Jayanti. Since 2016, India has also marked National Ayurveda Day on Dhanteras. The festival reminds us that good health is the first wealth. 

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Another popular legend tells of the sixteen-year-old son of King Hima, whose horoscope predicted that a snakebite would claim his life on the fourth night after his wedding. His young wife refused to accept this fate. On the fourth night after their wedding, she piled her gold and silver ornaments and coins at the doorway and lit lamps all around the chamber. She then kept her husband awake by singing songs and telling stories. When Yama, the god of death, arrived disguised as a serpent, the glittering treasure and blazing lamps dazzled him. He could not enter the chamber. Instead, he sat listening to her stories until dawn, and then quietly left. The prince lived, and the day came to be known as Yamadeepdan. 

This story is still remembered in many homes. At dusk on Dhanteras, a lamp is lit outside the house, facing south, the direction of Yama, as an offering for the safety of the family. Homes are cleaned and decorated with rangoli, and small footprints, symbolising the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi, are drawn at thresholds. 

Today, Dhanteras is also considered an auspicious day to buy gold, silver or a new utensil, a custom believed to invite good fortune into the home for the year ahead. In the evening, many families worship Dhanvantari, Goddess Lakshmi and Kubera, the god of wealth. In Maharashtra, offerings of crushed coriander seeds mixed with jaggery are made to the gods. 

The bustling markets and glittering jewellery shops can make Dhanteras seem like a festival of shopping. The stories, however, point somewhere else. One tells of health, the other of courage, wit and love, and both are types of wealth that cannot be bought. As the first lamps of Diwali are lit, Dhanteras reminds us that prosperity begins with a healthy household and the will to protect those we love. 

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