Dhanteras opens the five-day Diwali festival: households buy gold, silver or new utensils, worship Lakshmi and Kubera for prosperity, and light the first lamps of the season, including the yama-deepam for protection from untimely death. It falls on Kartika Krishna Trayodashi (October–November), two days before Diwali.
When: Kartika Krishna Trayodashi — thirteenth day of the dark fortnight of Kartika (October–November), two days before Diwali
Where: Across north India — Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar — and throughout the country
Deity: Goddess Lakshmi and Kubera, treasurer of the gods; Lord Dhanvantari, physician of the gods, whose jayanti this is
Observance: Buying gold, silver or utensils; evening Lakshmi–Kubera puja; lighting the yama-deepam facing south
Regional name: Dhanteras · Dhantrayodashi · Dhanvantari Jayanti (as National Ayurveda Day in India)
The physician of the gods and the lamp for Yama
Two stories meet on this tithi. Tradition holds that when the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk, Lord Dhanvantari emerged on Kartika Krishna Trayodashi bearing the pot of amrita — the physician of the gods and fount of Ayurveda, which is why the day is also honoured as Dhanvantari Jayanti. The second story explains the evening lamp: a young prince was fated to die of snakebite on the fourth night of his marriage, but his bride kept him awake all night, piling her ornaments and gold coins at the door and lighting lamps everywhere, singing until dawn. Yama's serpent messenger, dazzled by the blaze of light and gold, could not enter, and the prince's hour passed. From this comes the yama-deepam — a lamp lit at the doorway facing south, the only night of the year a lamp faces Yama's direction — offered so that untimely death may pass the household by.
How Dhanteras is kept
Dhanteras is the great shopping day of the north Indian year. Buying something new and enduring — gold or silver if means allow, otherwise a brass or steel utensil, and in modern practice anything from appliances to vehicles — is held to invite Lakshmi's abundance, and bazaars from Chandni Chowk to small-town markets stay open late. At home the house is cleaned and the first rangoli of the Diwali season drawn, often with small footprints of Lakshmi entering the door. In the evening, at the muhurat, families perform Lakshmi–Kubera puja: the new purchase is placed before the deities, and prayers ask for dhana (wealth) in its widest sense — health first, as Dhanvantari's presence on the day reminds. Thirteen lamps are traditionally lit, and the yama-deepam is set outside the main door facing south. In many homes the day also begins the stringing of lights that will burn through to Bhai Dooj.
Keeping Dhanteras in Ottawa & Canada
Dhanteras adapts to Canadian life without strain. The evening Lakshmi–Kubera puja is a home observance — check the site's calendar for the tithi, and note that the traditional pradosh-kala muhurat falls in the early Ottawa evening, conveniently after work hours. For the symbolic purchase, Ottawa families buy silver coins from jewellers, a steel utensil from an Indian grocery, or simply something new and useful for the kitchen; the shastra never demanded gold, only the welcoming of auspiciousness. The yama-deepam can be placed at the front door or on a balcony facing south — use a covered lamp or LED diya if late-October wind and cold make an open flame impractical. Since Dhanvantari is the lord of health, many families also treat the day as one for gratitude for the household's wellbeing, a meaning that needs no bazaar at all.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
Do I have to buy gold on Dhanteras?
No. The custom is to bring home something new and lasting as a token of Lakshmi's entry — gold and silver are traditional, but a new utensil is the time-honoured alternative in most households, and even a packet of whole coriander seeds or a broom serves as the token purchase in some regional traditions. The intent of welcoming auspiciousness matters more than the price.
What is the yama-deepam and which way should it face?
It is a single oil lamp offered to Yama, lord of death, on Dhanteras evening, placed outside the main door with its flame facing south — Yama's direction. Tradition holds that this offering protects the family from untimely death for the year. It is the one occasion when a lamp is deliberately faced south, which is otherwise avoided.
Why is Dhanteras linked with Ayurveda?
Because the day is Dhanvantari Jayanti — the appearance of Lord Dhanvantari, physician of the gods, who rose from the churning of the ocean carrying the pot of amrita. The Government of India observes the day as National Ayurveda Day, and traditional physicians worship Dhanvantari on it. Health is thus counted the first wealth of Dhanteras.
Source: North Indian household and bazaar tradition, opening the five days of Diwali. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.