Dhanteras

Long ago there was a king named Hima. Reading his son’s horoscope, the astrologers said that on the fourth day after his wedding he would die of a snakebite. The king and queen were heartbroken.

The prince married a wise and brave young woman. When she learned of the prophecy, she resolved to save her husband from death.

On the fourth night after the wedding she piled all her gold and silver jewellery and coins at the door of their room, and lit countless lamps all around. She did not let her husband sleep; all night long she told him stories and sang songs.

At midnight Yama, the god of death, came in the form of a serpent. But at the door the glitter of gold and silver and the light of the lamps dazzled his eyes, and he could not enter. He sat on the heap all night listening to the princess’s songs and stories. When dawn came, the hour of death had passed, and Yama quietly went away.

So the wife’s wisdom and devotion saved the prince from an untimely death. Since then, on the night of Dhanteras, a lamp is lit for Yama (Yamadeepdaan) at the main door, facing south, so that no one in the house meets an untimely death.

Another story tells that at the churning of the ocean, Lord Dhanvantari rose on this day holding a pot of amrit. He is the god of Ayurveda, so Dhanteras is also Dhanvantari Jayanti, a day to pray for good health; buying new utensils recalls his pot of nectar.

O Yama, O Lord Dhanvantari, keep health, long life and prosperity in every home.