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Vishnu seated on the coils of the serpent Shesha, whose hoods rise behind him, with his two consorts on either side over the waters — a chromolithograph after Raja Ravi Varma.
Vishnu on Shesha with his two consorts — Chromolithograph after Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1890s

Dhanvantari, Lakshmi, Kubera, Yama · 30 minutes at pradosh

Dhanteras: Dhanvantari, Lakshmi & the Yama deepa

Kartik Krishna Trayodashi (6 Nov 2026; 27 Oct 2027)

In the simplest words

Diwali's first evening: welcome Dhanvantari and Lakshmi, buy one new thing, and set the year's first lamp facing south for Yama.

Diwali's first day holds three prayers in one evening: to Dhanvantari, who rose from the ocean with the pot of amrit, health before wealth; to Lakshmi-Kubera for the year's honest prosperity; and the four-wick lamp for Yama at the threshold, asking that untimely death pass this house by.

Perform this puja

5 steps, one at a time, with the lamp, the mantras and the bell, on this screen.

Samagri: what you need

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The vidhi, step by step

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  1. Dhanvantari smaran

    At pradosh, light the first lamp for the physician of the gods and offer the kheer; the household's health named before its wealth.

    ॐ धन्वन्तरये नमः

    Oṁ Dhanvantaraye Namaḥ

    Om, salutations to Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods. He surfaced from the churned ocean holding the pot of amrita (Bhagavata Purana 8.8). Healing, the image says, is what finally rises when the depths have been worked all the way through. The mantra asks that treatment carry more than chemistry: that the divine hand steady the human one.

    Source: Traditional nāma-mantra (Āyurveda tradition)

  2. The new purchase blessed

    The day's purchase, utensil, metal or dhania seeds, marked with roli-akshat and set before Lakshmi.

  3. Lakshmi-Kubera puja

    A shorter version of the Diwali worship: deepa, pushpa, naivedya and the Shreem jaap. The full form comes on amavasya night.

    ॐ श्रीं महालक्ष्म्यै नमः

    Oṁ Śrīṁ Mahālakṣmyai Namaḥ

    Om. Shreem. Salutations to Mahalakshmi. Shreem is shri compressed into a seed, planted by repetition. The mantra asks the goddess of abundance for her presence rather than her presents. Where Lakshmi dwells, the tradition says, sufficiency follows on its own.

    Source: Traditional bīja-mantra of the Devi worship corpus

  4. Kubera at the tijori

    The safe/cash-place cleaned and marked; the treasurer's mantra spoken over it.

    ॐ कुबेराय नमः

    Oṁ Kuberāya Namaḥ

    Om, salutations to Kubera, treasurer of the gods. He is their treasurer, not their owner: in this theology wealth is held in trust, guarded at the northern door, released where it serves. The mantra asks for the treasurer's own relationship with money: custody without capture.

    Source: Traditional nāma-mantra

  5. Yama deepa at the door

    After sunset the four-wick til-oil lamp is set outside the main door facing south, on the one night Yama is petitioned with light. It burns through the night.

Note: Dhanteras was National Ayurveda Day from 2016 to 2024 (since 2025 the day is fixed on 23 September); Dhanvantari's medicine outranks the shopping. The Yama deepa placement (outside, south-facing) is its one firm rule; wind-safe placement matters.

Dhanteras →Diwali · Lakshmi Puja →