About Dhanteras
Dhanteras, or Dhanatrayodashi, opens the Diwali week, and in 2026 it falls on Friday, 6 November 2026. Families in north, west and central India buy something in metal, light a lamp for Yama outside the door, and worship Lakshmi and Kubera after sunset. The same day is Dhanvantari Jayanti, for the physician of the gods, which is why health and money are both wished for.
The name is two plain words stuck together: dhan, wealth, and teras, the thirteenth. Dhanteras is Trayodashi of the dark fortnight of Kartik, and in most of north, west and central India it opens the five days of Diwali. Shops stay open past midnight, and the evening puja itself is short.
Which deities are worshipped on Dhanteras?
Two deities share Dhanteras: most households treat it as a Lakshmi and Kubera evening, and an older tradition keeps the day for Dhanvantari. A low wooden seat, a clean cloth, the new purchase placed on it, a lamp, and a few minutes of prayer after dark.
The older name for the day is Dhanvantari Jayanti. In the churning-of-the-ocean story, the same ocean that gives up Lakshmi also gives up Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, holding a pot of amrita and, in the telling, the medical knowledge that becomes Ayurveda. Vaidyas, Ayurvedic colleges and some Vishnu temples keep the day for him. Health and money both belong to Dhanteras, and a wish that mentions only cash misses half of it.
That double meaning had an official life too. The Ministry of Ayush observed National Ayurveda Day on Dhanvantari Jayanti from 2016, which meant the date moved every year. A gazette notification in March 2025 pinned Ayurveda Day to 23 September instead. Since then the government observance and the religious one fall on separate days.
Priests set the puja in Pradosh Kaal, the stretch after local sunset while Trayodashi is still running, and many look for a fixed, or sthir, ascendant inside that window, usually Vrishabha. Take the exact minutes from a panchang set to your own city. They shift by an hour or more between Kolkata and Ahmedabad, and more again abroad.
What is the Yama Deepam on Dhanteras?
Yama Deepam is a lamp lit outside the house for the god of death on Dhanteras, and it is the quieter half of the day. It is not a cheerful ritual, and it is the one families most often skip. Many north Indian homes light a Yama diya again the next evening, on Choti Diwali, so families differ on which night it belongs to.
- Make or take a lampAn earthen diya, or in many homes a lamp shaped from wheat flour. Some families light thirteen of them, matching the number of the tithi.
- Light it at duskMustard or sesame oil, cotton wicks, lit during sandhya, the twilight right after sunset.
- Place it outside, facing southSouth is Yama's direction, so the lamp goes at the threshold or on the outer wall, not on the puja shelf inside.
- Say what it is forThe prayer asks Yama to spare the household from akaal mrityu, an untimely or accidental death, in the year ahead.
A folk tale is usually told alongside it. A young prince was warned he would die of snakebite on the fourth night after his wedding, so his bride kept him awake, piling gold and lamps at the bedroom door and singing through the night. Yama, arriving in the form of a serpent, was dazzled by the light and left. The story is about vigilance more than about jewellery, though the jewellery part is what stuck.
What people buy, and how not to get cheated
Buying something made of metal is the custom nearly everyone follows. It does not have to be gold. A steel patila, a brass diya, a silver coin with Lakshmi stamped on it, even a new broom, which many homes treat as Lakshmi walking in, all count. Jewellers, car showrooms and electronics chains plan their year around the date, and pre-booked deliveries are often timed to land on it.
If you are buying gold, the Bureau of Indian Standards has made the checks simple.
Ask for an itemised bill that separates metal rate, weight, making charges and any wastage. Making charges are negotiable; the metal rate is not. If you are buying silver, ask whether the piece is hallmarked, since silver hallmarking is not on the same mandatory footing as gold.
How is Dhanteras celebrated in different regions?
Dhanteras changes from region to region: Maharashtra keeps Vasu Baras the day before, Jain families call it Dhanya Teras, and in Tamil Nadu and Kerala it is not a general household festival.
| Where | What the day looks like |
|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Vasu Baras, or Govatsa Dwadashi, comes the day before: cows and calves are bathed, garlanded and fed, and the household keeps off wheat and milk products. On Dhanteras itself, dried coriander seeds crushed with jaggery are offered as naivedya. |
| Gujarat and Rajasthan | Vagh Baras closes the old accounting year just before Dhanteras, and Dhanteras brings the Lakshmi and Kubera puja along with daal baath and malpua in many homes. |
| Uttar Pradesh and Bihar | The Yama Deepam is taken seriously here, and brass or steel vessels are the usual purchase in households that do not buy gold. |
| Jain families | The day is Dhanya Teras or Dhyan Teras, remembering Mahavira withdrawing into deep meditation in the days before his nirvana at Pavapuri. |
| Tamil Nadu and Kerala | Dhanteras is not a general household festival here. Deepavali in the south turns on the pre-dawn oil bath of Naraka Chaturdashi, though Ayurvedic institutions and some temples still mark Dhanvantari Jayanti. |
What to write
Keep it short and specific. A Dhanteras message is usually read in the morning, before the shopping and the puja take over the evening.
Happy Dhanteras, Maa and Papa. Buy something small for yourselves this year, not just for the house. And light the Yama diya at the door, please.
Shubh Dhanteras. May the year bring you good health first and everything else after. Also: send a photo of whatever you end up buying.
Wishing you and your family a very happy Dhanteras. Hope the puja goes well and the traffic to the market is kinder than last year.
Shubh Dhanteras to you and your team. Wishing your books a strong year ahead, and thank you for the work we did together.
Happy first Dhanteras in your own place. A new vessel, a lamp at the door, and that flat is properly yours now.
Happy Dhanteras. No pressure to buy anything shiny. Health, quiet and a steady year are the better haul anyway.
Wishing you a happy Dhanvantari Jayanti and Dhanteras. Thank you for looking after the rest of us.
Happy Dhanteras from home. Light one diya outside your door tonight, even if the neighbours wonder what it is for.
Dhanteras leads into Naraka Chaturdashi, then Lakshmi Puja, then Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. If you are sending only one message for the whole week, send it on the main Diwali night rather than on Dhanteras.
- Trayodashi
- The thirteenth lunar day of a fortnight; Dhanteras falls on the Trayodashi of Krishna Paksha in Kartik
- Pradosh Kaal
- The window just after local sunset when the Dhanteras puja is done
- Yama Deepam
- The lamp lit outside the door for Yama, to ward off an untimely death
- Vasu Baras
- The Maharashtrian cow-and-calf day that falls just before Dhanteras
- HUID
- The six-digit hallmarking unique ID stamped on hallmarked gold jewellery
- Dhanya Teras
- The Jain name for the day, tied to Mahavira's final meditation
How to wish someone on Dhanteras
A Dhanteras wish lands better when it mentions health as well as money, because the day belongs to Dhanvantari as much as to Lakshmi. Name what the family is actually doing: the shopping trip, the new vessel, the first Dhanteras in their own flat, the accounts being got ready. Avoid anything that reads as pressure to spend, and for a household that has had a death this year, send a plain note instead of a festive one.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is Dhanteras in 2026 and 2027?
Dhanteras is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 10 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Dhanteras in 2026?
Dhanteras 2026 falls on Friday, 6 November 2026.
What should you buy on Dhanteras?
Anything made of metal is traditional: gold or silver coins, a steel or brass vessel, cutlery, or even a new broom, which many homes treat as Lakshmi entering the house. Nothing obliges you to buy gold, and one small steel vessel counts as fully as a necklace.
Why is a lamp lit facing south on Dhanteras?
The lamp, called Yama Deepam, is offered to Yama, the god of death, and south is the direction associated with him. Families light it outside the main door at dusk and ask that the household be spared an untimely or accidental death in the coming year.
Is Dhanteras the same as Ayurveda Day?
Not any more. Dhanteras is also Dhanvantari Jayanti, and the Ministry of Ayush observed National Ayurveda Day on that day from 2016. A gazette notification in March 2025 moved Ayurveda Day to a fixed 23 September, so the two now fall on different dates.
How do you check that gold bought on Dhanteras is genuine?
Hallmarked gold jewellery carries three marks: the BIS standard mark, the purity in carats and fineness, and a six-digit alphanumeric HUID code. Enter the HUID in the Verify HUID section of the BIS Care app before you pay, and ask for a bill that lists making charges separately.
What do you say to someone on Dhanteras?
"Shubh Dhanteras" or "Happy Dhanteras" is the standard wish, and adding a line about health fits the day, since Dhanteras also honours Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods. Wishing someone a good year for their work or their new home reads warmer than wishing only for wealth.
Do people in south India celebrate Dhanteras?
Not widely. Dhanteras is mainly a north, west and central Indian observance, while Deepavali in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and much of the south centres on the pre-dawn oil bath of Naraka Chaturdashi. Some Ayurvedic institutions and Vishnu temples in the south do mark the day as Dhanvantari Jayanti.
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