Happy Dhanteras 2018: History, Significance and Importance of this day

Lucknow: Dhanteras or Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanvantari Trayodashi is the first day that marks the five-day celebrations of Diwali.

Dhanteras marks the festival of Diwali in India and the festival of Tihar in Nepal.

On the day of Dhanteras, Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda who imparted the wisdom of Ayurveda for the betterment of mankind and to help rid it of the suffering of disease, is also worshipped on this day.

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Tiny diyas are lit to remove the shadows of evil spirits and 'Lakshmi Puja' is performed in the evening.

People clean their houses and Goddess of wealth is worshipped in the evening. The entrance of the home are decorated with lanterns, lights and rangolis.

There is also a ritual of keeping burning diya throughout the night of Dhanteras in honor of Lakshmi and Dhanvantari.

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Hindus find this day auspicious to make new purchases, especially gold or silver articles and new utensils.

In modern times, Dhanteras is also marked as the most auspicious occasion for buying gold, silver and other metals. People also purchase automobiles, new vehicles etc.

On the evening of Dhanteras, the diya is offered to Yama, host of death , to avert death or any negative incident.

Interestingly, in villages, farmers worship their cattles as they are the main source of their income.

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The Indian ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, announced its decision to observe Dhanteras, as the 'National Ayurveda Day' which was first observed on 28 October 2016.