On the first day of the five-day Diwali festival, Dhanteras is observed. The suffix “Teras” in Hindi is equivalent to the Sanskrit word “Trayodashi,” which designates the thirteenth day of the waning moon’s phase. The various Dhanteras rituals are meant to be prayers for the husband’s health and long life, as well as for the household’s wealth. On Dhanteras, Laxmi puja is performed in a lot of homes. Dhanteras create a joyous and festive atmosphere for Diwali celebrations. Here is a legendary tale about Dhanteras that is really fascinating.
The mythological background to Dhanteras
There was a king named Hima who governed his kingdom using justice and love as his two main instruments of power. He had a son, and according to astrology, in the sixteenth year of his life, his son would perish from a snake bite. King Hima was plagued by a tremendous sense of pain, and he looked for solutions to save his son’s life. He had his son marry a woman with a favorable horoscope on the recommendation of a well-known astrologer. The couple enjoyed their time together for a while. As the youngster got closer to his sixteenth year, the monarch began to worry about his son’s approaching demise.
The young woman embarks on a journey.
The youngster will be bitten by a snake as he entered his sixteenth year on earth, according to astrological prophecies. The girl devised a cunning plot to spare her husband’s life the night before the boy turned sixteen. She gathered up all of her jewelry and arranged it in front of the entrance. Then she encouraged her spouse to stay up and not fall asleep herself. She sat by the front door, watching over the front door.
Story of Lord Yama’s arrival
Lord Yama, the god of death, appeared in front of the home as a serpent at the precise moment when the boy was to be killed. The snake slithered up to the home’s front door. The collection of ornaments stopped the snake as it approached the entryway. The ornaments were so bright that the snake was unable to see its surroundings well. The girl continued to sing pleasant tunes all night long. The songs were so seductive that the snake lingered at the doorway listening to them. Lord Yama in the shape of a snake was forced to abandon his plan to kill the youngster because the window for doing so had passed. Thus, the girl’s clever concept made a difference in her husband’s life.
Dhanteras’s birth narrative
The celebration of Dhanteras, which takes place annually on the same day of Krishna Paksha Trayodashi in the month of Kartika just before the festival of Diwali, is based on this mythology. The widely held conviction among Hindus that Dhanteras is the surest means to attract riches into the household and desire the long life of the spouse has helped maintain this sacred practice.
