Dhanteras: What, Why, When, How

What it is

Dhanteras is the first of the five days of Diwali, kept on the thirteenth tithi (Trayodashi) of the dark half of the moon, usually two days before Lakshmi Puja (in some years one day or three days before). Its name joins "dhan", wealth, and "teras", thirteen. Families clean and decorate the home for Diwali, light the first lamps at the door in the evening, and honour Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, and Lakshmi.

Many families also light a lamp facing south outside the home for Yama, the lord of death, in a custom called Yama Deepam, praying for the long life of the family. Buying a new metal utensil, a coin or gold is a widely followed custom of the day. It is a custom, not a rule: nothing has to be bought to keep Dhanteras.

Why it is kept

Dhanvantari from the ocean. The Vishnu Purana tells how the gods and the asuras churned the ocean of milk to win the nectar of immortality, and how, among the treasures that rose from it, “Dhanwantari, robed in white, and bearing in his hand the cup of Amrita, next came forth” (H. H. Wilson's translation, book 1, chapter 9). Lakshmi rose from the waves just after him. Tradition keeps Dhanvantari's appearance on this Trayodashi, so families honour him as the patron of healing and pray for the health of the household. Many say that health is the first wealth, and that this is the "dhan" of Dhanteras.

The lamp for Yama. A story told on this day speaks of a young prince whose life was in danger on the fourth night of his marriage. His wife kept him awake with stories and songs, and piled her jewellery and lamps at the door, and the light kept harm away until dawn. Families light a lamp for Yama, facing south, to pray for long life for everyone in the house. The texts on festival rules quote the Skanda Purana for this lamp, lit outside the house at nightfall on this Trayodashi. The story and the verse are the tradition's own words, told here as tradition.

Getting ready for Diwali. Dhanteras opens the festival. Cleaning, painting and decorating, which families do to welcome Lakshmi, reach their end on this day, and the first lamps are lit.

The texts behind the story

• Vishnu Purana, book 1, chapter 9 (the churning of the ocean; Dhanvantari). H. H. Wilson (tr.), The Vishnu Purana (London: John Murray, 1840). Wilson died 1860: public domain. Quoted verbatim. (book 1, chapter 9, p. 76)
• The Yama Deepam: the Skanda Purana, as quoted by the Nirnayamrta, sets lamps outside the house at nightfall on this Trayodashi in honour of Yama; the Padma Purana (VI.124.4) mentions lamps on this Trayodashi; the name Dhanteras, the cleaning and the polishing of metal vessels. Read in P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, part 1 (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1958). Kane died 1972: cited, not quoted. (vol. 5, part 1, pp. 195–196)
• The story of the prince and his wife, and Dhanvantari's appearance on this Trayodashi: tradition. Summarised in our own words.

When it is kept

Dhanteras is the Krishna Trayodashi of Ashvin in the amanta calendar (Kartika Krishna in the purnimanta calendar of North India) that is present during pradosh, the evening period after sunset at your location, when the lamps are lit. If Trayodashi holds pradosh on both days, the first is taken; if on neither, the day whose sunrise has Trayodashi. The other days of Diwali have their own rules (see the Diwali guide).

The date, from the calendar engine

• Dhanteras 2027: Dhanteras Puja falls on Tuesday, October 26, 2027 in Washington DC (computed for this city). In New Delhi it falls on Wednesday, October 27, 2027.

The date depends on your city. Every city we cover is on the year page.

Traditions and regional customs

• Smarta: Krishna Trayodashi in pradosh
• Month name: Ashvin (amanta), Kartika (purnimanta)
• Many families: Yama Deepam on the same evening

Why the day can differ

Pradosh is your own evening, so Dhanteras can fall on different dates in different cities, and a city abroad can differ from India by a day. In some years Dhanteras and Naraka Chaturdashi fall close together, and the days of Diwali shift; the app shows each day for your city.

How to keep it at home

1. Finish cleaning and decorating the home, and draw a rangoli at the door. Many families draw small footprints from the door inward to welcome Lakshmi.
2. In the evening, within the pradosh time shown in the app, light lamps at the main door and in the house. Worship Dhanvantari and Lakshmi with flowers, a lamp, incense and a sweet, and pray for the family's health.
3. Yama Deepam: many families place one lamp outside the home, facing south, and pray for long life for everyone in the house. Keep it where it is safe from wind and from children.
4. Prayers often said: the Dhanvantari mantra, the 108 names of Lakshmi, the Shri Suktam and the aarti "Om Jai Lakshmi Mata". If your family keeps the custom, buy a small metal utensil or coin and place it before Lakshmi for the Lakshmi Puja.

Fasting

Dhanteras is not a fast day for most families. Some keep a fast until the evening puja. Anyone unwell should not fast without a doctor's advice.

Food

Diwali sweets begin today: laddoos, barfi and kheer, and in many homes a sweet of coriander seeds and jaggery (dhaniya panjiri), a play on "dhan" and "dhaniya". Marathi homes start making the Diwali faral.

For children

Long ago, when the gods and the asuras stirred the great ocean of milk, many wonderful things came up from it. One of them was Dhanvantari, the doctor of the gods, dressed in white and carrying a pot of nectar. On Dhanteras families thank him and pray that everyone stays healthy, because being well is a treasure. Then they light the first lamps of Diwali.

Something to do together

Help decorate the doorway: draw a small rangoli or a row of tiny footprints with rice flour, and, with a grown-up, light the first lamp of Diwali.

Sources

• Panchang engine rule dhanteras (packages/panchang/data/festivals.json), with the sources it lists.
• H. H. Wilson (tr.), The Vishnu Purana (London, 1840), book 1, chapter 9. Public domain.
• Wikipedia, "Diwali" (the five days, beginning with Dhanteras).
• P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, part 1 (Poona, 1958), pp. 195–196 (Dhanteras and the lamp for Yama). Cited, not quoted.

Related guides

• Diwali (Deepavali)
• Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)
• Govardhan Puja (Annakut)
• Bhai Dooj (Yama Dvitiya)