Healers World
Devi
Pan-India
What does Dhanteras mean for your practice?
Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali, is dedicated to wealth, health and prosperity. Devotees worship Goddess Lakshmi and Kubera, the lord of wealth, and the day is considered highly auspicious for buying gold, silver and new utensils. It also honours Dhanvantari, the divine physician and god of Ayurveda, linking material prosperity with good health.
Which story is remembered?
Dhanteras is associated with the emergence of Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods and the deity of Ayurveda, who arose from the churning of the cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan) holding the pot of amrita (nectar of immortality). Another legend tells of the sixteen-year-old son of King Hima, fated to die of a snakebite on the fourth day of his marriage; his clever wife kept him awake all night with stories and lights and piled gold and silver at the doorway, so that when Yama, the god of death, arrived as a serpent, he was dazzled and turned back — the origin of Yamadeepam and the custom of buying valuables.
Puja vidhi for Dhanteras
Buying gold, silver, coins or new utensils as a symbol of incoming wealth
Worshipping Goddess Lakshmi and Kubera for prosperity
Lighting a Yama Deepam (lamp) at the doorway to ward off untimely death
Cleaning and decorating the home with rangoli and lamps
Worshipping Dhanvantari for health, especially in Ayurvedic tradition
Drawing Lakshmi's footprints toward the home as a welcome
Offerings and festive foods
What families prepare and offer on Dhanteras.
New utensils, silver or gold brought into the home
Coriander seeds and jaggery offered to Lakshmi and Kubera
A lamp lit for Yama at the south side of the home
Naivedya and medicinal herbs for Dhanvantari
Sweets of khoya and dry fruit
Mantras to chant
Chant with a clear sankalp, facing east or north, on a mala if you keep one.
Names and customs across India
Dhanteras is observed across India as the opening of the Diwali festivities, with especially fervent gold and utensil shopping in the West and North among trading communities. The Yamadeepam lamp tradition for warding off death is widespread, while the worship of Dhanvantari is emphasised in Ayurvedic and southern traditions, where the day is also observed as National Ayurveda Day.
Which classical sources guide the practice?
This occurrence follows the date record's stated confidence. For formal worship, confirm the local panchang and temple's announced schedule; a Gregorian date alone does not settle the city-specific ritual window.
Dhanteras · 2026
