Kartik and Ashvini are known as the months of festivals in India. According to the Hindu calendar, Diwali is celebrated in the month of Kartik which continues with the 5 days-long series of festivals. Dhanteras marks the first day of this long Hindu festive series which ends with the Bhai Dooj celebration on the last day.
This festival brings enthusiasm and deep excitement inside the people along with innumerable feelings. It is believed that Dhenteras brings well-being, affluence, and a flourishing atmosphere to the house.
Dhanteras 2022 Puja Timings:
Dhanteras also known as Dhanatrayodashi is the day of lord Dhanvantri. As per the Hindu calendar, this day is observed on the 13th Lunar day of Krishna Paksha (Dark Fortnight) which is on the 23rd of October this year. Trayodashi Tithi will begin at 6.02 PM on October 22, 2022, and will end at 6.30 PM on October 23rd and the puja muhurat will be from 7.34 PM to 8.40 PM.
On this day God of Ayurveda, lord Dhanvantri is worshipped who imparted the wisdom of Ayurveda for the betterment of mankind. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani Siddha, and Homeopathy announced this day as ‘National Ayurveda Day.
According to Hindu Vedas, Lord Dhanvantri emerged during Samudra Manthan, holding the Kalash full of Amrit in one hand and the sacred book of Ayurveda in the other one. As per the popular experts on the concerned topic, when the devas and asuras performed the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean) for Amrit, Dhanvantari (the physician of the Gods and an incarnation of Vishnu) emerged carrying a jar of the Amrit (elixir) on the day of Dhanteras.
Another story prevails which says Dhanteras is related to a story of a 16-year-old prince who was the son of king Hima. The horoscope of this boy predicted his death on the fourth day of his marriage due to the snake bite. His wife did not allow him to sleep in the night and put all the ornaments, lots of gold and silver at the entrance of the sleeping room. She remained awake and narrated the stories and sang songs in the night to keep him awake. It is believed that when Yama (The god of death) arrived his eyes were shocked to see gold and silver. Instead of going inside the room, he kept listening to songs and stories sitting on the top of the pile. In the morning he returned without taking him. From that day we are celebrating Dhenteras as his wife saved him from the clutches of death with the help of gold and silver.
Cultural Importance Of Dhanteras:
In the evening Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Dhanvantri get worshipped by the devotees to bring all happiness and peace to the house. There is reliance in Hindu culture that Lakshi will come in a clean house. On this day people clean and whitewash their houses to welcome the Goddess. They decorate the entrance with lights, toran, diyas, and Traditional rangolis. To welcome the goddess of wealth and prosperity they even put small footprints all over the house. Throwing out all the useless items is a much more important custom of the day. People light up diyas on the Tulsi Plant, Peepal tree, and over the banyan tree as well.
People consider the day extremely auspicious to purchase new gold, silver, broom, and utensils. They find it as good luck for their wealth and well-being. On this day the market also sees a high rise in shopping for heavy kitchen appliances and automobiles. People also prefer to worship their main source of income as shopkeepers worship in their shops and farmers decorate their cattle.