Dhanteras this year will be celebrated on 5 November 2018. It is one of the most significant days in the Hindu calendar and comes on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight of Kartik month. It always falls in October or November. A day or two before the Diwali is Dhanteras.

For today the auspicious times are

Significance of Dhanteras

The festival of Dhanteras is celebrated all across the country and with great enthusiasm. On the day of Dhanteras the Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped. The translated meaning of Dhanteras is wealth and the thirteenth day. Thirteen as it is the thirteenth day in the month of Kartik.

There are eight forms of Goddess Laksmi and they are:

1. Adi Laksmi – It is the most ancient form of Laksmi.
2. Dhana Laksmi – This is the form in which she is worshipped for wealth.
3. Dhyana Laksmi – In this form the goddess bless people with agricultural wealth
4. Gaja Laksmi–   In t his form the goddess sits on an elephant and she is worshipped for animal wealth.
5. Santana Laksmi – in this form the goddess is worshipped for children.
6. Veera Laksmi – The goddess is worshipped in this form for strength and power.
7. Vijaya Laksmi – This is another popular form of Laksmi in which she is prayed for success and victory.
8. Vidya Laksmi – As the name suggests this goddess is worshipped for education and knowledge.

On the day of the Dhanteras the Dhana Laksmi is worshipped all over the country. We will discuss in details about all the forms of the Goddess Laksmi in another article of ours.

New Clothes

On the day of the Dhanteras in the evening the ladies of the house must dress in a red or yellow saree if possible. The saree must be new for better results. They must clean the place where the idol of the goddess is kept.

Prepare Rangoli

Make a rangoli in the main entrance of the door. The rangoli must have the print of the goddess Lakhsmi’s foot. The foot should be as if the goddess is entering the house. A lamp must be lighted and kept on the main door of the house so that the goddess can spot the house and enter the same. Then a lamp must be lighted in front of the Goddess and aarti must be done.

If you do not know the songs of Goddess Laksmi you can play them too as you do the aarti. You must read out the 1008 names of the Goddess Laksmi.

We have an article with the list of these 1008 names that you can read out loudly so that all those present can hear. If you do not have the time for 1008 names you can read the 108 names too.

On the day of the Dhanteras you must light fourteen diyas all around the house in the evening. The lamp that you light in front of the goddess should be a ghee one. The aarti thali should consist of a diya, agarbatti, sweets, silver and a gold coin. After the aarti is over take the aarti around the house. You must make prasad that can be fruits and also food items and offer to the goddess.

On the day of Dhanteras buying gold is considered very auspicious. If you have bought gold or silver then ensure you place it in front of the Goddess before you keep it in the locker. Kuber is considered to be the treasurer of the Gods.

On the day of the Dhanteras he is also worshipped. He is worshipped so that he blesses the devotees and ensures that their wealth is intact and only increases with time. If you pray to both Goddesses Laksmi and Kuber it will ensure that the prayers of yours become even stronger. The jewellery shops on Dhanteras do really well all across the country as people consider it to be a good day to buy gold. This is one reason why on Dhanteras the cost of gold generally increases. We recommend all the readers to buy gold on this day and be blessed.

Gambling?

Some people also believe that it is a good day to gamble. Of course we do not support this theory still it is just for information as many people gamble on this day not for real money but just for sake of going through the motions of the tradition.

The lamps that you light on the Dhanteras which is also the naraka chaturdasi must be lighted all through the night. This will please the God of death and ensure that your house is protected from all evil.

Story of King Hima

In the olden days there was a king named Hima. The child had a bad horoscope. It said that on the fourth day of the marriage he will die of a snake bite. The king told the wife of his son about the horoscope. She ensured that on the fourth day the prince does not sleep. She made a heap of all her ornaments and kept a lamp in the room. This ensured that the gold start to dazzle. The shine was so bright that the prince was wide awake all through the night.

The wife kept telling him stories. The king of death Yama arrived to the house of the king in the form of a snake. He came to bite the prince but he was as dazzled by the shine of the gold and the stories were so interesting that he forgot why he came. He was lost in the stories and as it was morning the snake left. This way the prince was saved. To remember this day the festival of Dhanteras is celebrated even today.

Some say that on this day of Dhanteras the Samudra manthan started. There are many stories that are related to the festival of Dhanteras. We tried to discuss some of the most important stories of Dhanteras. We hope that this article will help you to understand the importance of Dhanteras.

Do ensure that you follow the points that we have mentioned in this article. It is a very auspicious day and must be celebrated with full dedication. This will ensure that there is peace, happiness and prosperity in your house for ever. Have a very happy and prosperous Dhanteras.