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The word "Dhana" signifies money or wealth and "Teras" means the thirteenth day as per the Hindu calendar. The festival of "Dhanteras" falls in the Hindu calendar month of "Kartik" (Oct-Nov) on the 13th lunar day of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight). This auspicious day is celebrated two days before the festival of lights "Diwali".
Tips on Celebrating Dhanteras
Because Dhanteras is the first day of five days festival it has its own importance. There are several things that people do on Dhanteras. People start decorating their house from this day and at night they used to lit lamps in their house. There are various ways to celebrate the festival and rituals are there. We have discussed everything here.
Significance Behind Dhanteras
Dhanteras according to Hindu Mythology signifies the emergence of Dhanvantri, a Divine Doctor and incarnation of Lord Vishnu, from the ocean with a pot of Divine Potion to end the battle between the Gods and the Demons.
Celebrated with great reverence in the month of October/November, this auspicious festival is enjoyed in lieu of happiness and prosperity, with people decorating their home and offices with lights, vibrant and colourful rangoli along with the footprints of Ma Lakshmi to invoke her presence in one’s house, with offerings of sweets, fruits, flowers and devotional songs, prayers, et all.
It is also a popular belief that one should buy new things like clothes, precious metals like gold or silver, or new utensils, appliances and automobiles, as it signifies wealth and good luck.
Home Décor
On Dhanteras, spaces are cleaned instead of Diwali, with a spring clean and whitewashing, while in the evening Lord Dhanvantri, the Divine Doctor is revered in the evening. The main entrance is always adorned with colourful lights, traditional rangoli motifs, with footprints of Goddess Lakshmi drawn in rice flour and vermillion all over the house. Through the night, diyas are kept burning in their honour as well.
When it comes to home décor, the main door of the house is cleaned and kept free of any obstructions, with diyas placed outside the home temple and at the main door as well. Designs for rangoli include patterns of Swastika, Aum or the Lotus Flower to welcome the Divine energies. Torans are hung on the doors to prevent any negative energy from entering the house and leaving doors open for only good luck and prosperity! Flowers adorn the house like the marigold, mogras and roses with Kumkum decorated Shubh Labh on the walls and near the Deities idol/images.
Types of Gifts that You Can Give on Dhanteras
Exchanging gifts on Dhanteras is considered as auspicious as is the festival with wishes for well-being and affluence. To make this a memorable and special day for your loved ones, you can explore a variety of options in terms of gifting.
For instance, Gold symbolizes good fortune and prosperity, so buying and gifting Gold jewellery is promising, as are gold bars/coins. Silver signifies purity and abundance, so people flock stores on Dhanteras to buy silver utensils or jewellery or choose from an assortment of religious idols, coins, puja accessories or showpieces.
From a spiritual perspective, you can choose some religious gifts like Goddess Lakshmi Idols, Shagun Coins with embossed deities, Silver Tulsi Plants or a combination of everything with edible gifts like dry fruits, chocolates, sweet treats and plants.
Dhanteras Gift Ideas
Dhanteras is the festival of buying things. People love to exchange gifts too at this festival. So we thought to give options for some of the popular gifts in the market. Since on this day, the market will be too crowdy and it will not be a good idea to go out and buy something when you can get the same or better at your doorstep. Check out these gifts and send them to your loved ones in a single click.
Pure Silver Astha Lakshmi Wooden Frame with Stand
The square-shaped Astha Lakshmi Yantra comes with 8 forms of Ma Lakshmi in a wooden frame with a stand, ideal for gifting in 99.9% silver. The pure silver frame can be placed anywhere with ease and looks gorgeous with its beautiful craftwork, used both for décor as well as reverence. The eight forms include Dhanya Lakshmi, Adi Lakshmi, Veera Lakshmi, Santan Lakshmi, Vijay Lakshmi, Dhana Lakshmi, Gaja Lakshmi and Aishwarya Lakshmi bestowing patience, persistence, wealth, purity & victory. Measuring 14 x 14 x 12 cm in length, height and weight the Pure Silver Astha Lakshmi Wooden Frame weighs 134 gm. You can get it from Amazon at Rs.650.
Handcrafted Brass Singing Bowl
A meditation or singing bowl is known to help relax the mind and bring about tranquility in your immediate surroundings, producing sounds that invoke a deep state of relaxation. A quintessential aid to meditation, its mostly found on Buddhist altars, in temples and monasteries and meditation halls. However, it's not subject to any religious practices as such and can be used by anyone.
Made by South Indian artisans, this handcrafted brass singing bowl produces a soothing sound when rung gently with the included wooden mallet, as also make for an elegant décor item in one’s living space. Measuring 15 x 15 x 8 cm in dimensions and weighing 900gm, the Handcrafted Brass Singing Bowl is ideal for gifting on Dhanteras. You can get karnival.com at Rs.1,800.
Nuts & Bowls
On Dhanteras, buying or getting precious metals in any form is considered auspicious. So, if you’re looking to gift something appropriate for the festival to your loved ones, this beautiful combination of a Silver Set of 5 Handis, measuring 3” in diameter and 2” in height, with an 8” x 4” tray, a spoon measuring 4.5” and 100gm each of Almonds and Cashew Nuts is a wise choice for gifting on Dhanteras, making for a beautiful gift. priced at Rs.2,599, the Nuts and Bowls Silver Set is available on Ferns and Petals.
Dhan Varsha Kuber Yantra Chowki
Made of premium quality Brass, the Kuber Dhan Varsha Yantra Chowki has been energized with Divine mantras during an auspicious moment in time and features Lord Kuber sitting on a throne, Kurma with 3D Kuber Yantra and navgraha gemstones with sacred Hindu symbols. This Yantra is perfect for gifting and is best placed in the south corner of a house or office, worshipped for good fortune and wealth. Priced at Rs. 3,999, the Kuber Dhan Varsha Yantra Chowki will open doors for free-flowing abundance for its receiver, available on petrichor.com.
Designer Mughlai Style Dinner Set
A 6 piece designer Mughlai Styled Dinner Set from indianartvilla.in is an essential Dinnerware in the Indian Heritage for presenting Indian delicacies. Made of brass, the dimensions of this dinner set measure 0.5” x 11.5” weighing about 1400gm in Gold coloured Brass. The Brass Mughlai Style Dinner Set, priced at Rs.2,985, includes a plate, 3 bowls, a chutney bowl and a glass, a pitambari cleaning powder and an instructions booklet on the upkeep of the Dinner Set by Indian Art Villa. This Brass Mughlai Dinner Set has been handmade by the Indian Artisans.
Ganesh Lakshmi Embossed Silver Puja Thali Set
Available on Amazon, the 7 pieces Silver and Embossed Puja Thali Set is a unique blend of Indian tradition and modern designs. Inclusive of all puja essentials that can be used for one’s everyday puja ritual this Lakshmi Ganesh Puja Thali comes with an incense holder, a roli chawal container, 1 diya, a puja bells, 1 kalash and a spoon, with the entire set measuring 22 x 22 x 6 Cm in dimensions.
The Lakshmi Ganesh Silver Puja Thali Set comes embossed with a pretty floral pattern inside which the icons of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are embossed along with the sacred Aum symbol, packaged beautifully in a decorated gift box with velvet red lining inside the box to hold the puja essentials. The Lakshmi Ganesh Silver Puja Thali Set is priced at Rs.599 on Amazon.
Morphy Richards Inspira Dry Iron
The Philips Diva Dry Iron is one of the latest models from Philips that comes with an adjustable thermostat control feature that allows for the temperature to be set as per the fabric ironed. With a superior non-stick coated soleplate and a 360 swivel cord, the soleplate and heating element are both made in Teflon. Coloured white or black, the Dry Iron will allow you to iron clothes easily without any hassles and is priced at Rs.710, available on Amazon India..
Silver Diya Gift
A gorgeous décor accent in its silvery sheen, makes this silver-plated Brass Diya an ideal gift or keepsake, measuring 10.5cm x 6cm x 8.5cm in dimensions. Priced at Rs.1,848, the brass silver plated Diya comes with an embossed Sanskrit saying, a show symbol of the sacred Aum, a rudraksh shaped and styled incense holder and a diya, all silver plated. This brass silver plated Diya is best cleaned with a dry soft rag or feather duster to keep it dust-free and the lacquered piece should be cleaned with either a silver polish or washed in lukewarm mild soapy water, dried completely with a soft cloth. The Brass silver-plated diya is available on jaypore.com.
Gold Plated Necklace Set for Women
The spectacular Gold Plated Choker Necklace Set from Myntra is a necklace set made of metal alloy plated with pearls' droplets, and features traditional embellishment in an antique finish. Coloured golden, the alloy (gold plated) necklace set weighs 90gm and decorated with pearls and comes with beautifully designed pair of earrings, a maang tika and a choker necklace encrusted in the set, all priced at Rs. 1439.
Silver Trimurti Coin
The Taraash 999 Silver Trimurti Coin weighs 20gm and is about 3.2cm in diameter. Lord Ganesha is known as the God of Wisdom while Goddess Lakshmi symbolizes wealth, which further implies that if you have both their blessings and Goddess Saraswati’s blessings (who symbolizes knowledge) then you get a healthy blend of knowledge, wisdom and wealth. A premium silver coin, perfect for Dhanteras/Diwali gifting, the Silver Trimurti Coin is a harbinger of prudence, patience, opulence, beauty, wealth and affluence and can be used both for personal or professional gifting purposes. You can get it on Flipkart at Rs.1,430.
Bonus Idea: Inexpensive Things to Buy on Dhanteras & Invoke Abundance in Your Life!
Celebrated on the Trayodashi of Krishna Paksha or Karthik month, Dhanteras is the first day of the 5 day Diwali celebrations and symbolizes happiness, peace & prosperity in one’s life. It is believed that if one shops on Dhanteras day and if certain things are revered to prevent any economic challenges on the day, one will never lack anything in life. Here are some valuable and inexpensive ways of maintaining positive vibrations and invoking Divine blessings during the festivities.
- Purchase – New brooms and shrubs, new utensils in copper, brass or silver or jewelry to worship them.
- Puja Rituals – In the Puja ritual, include essentials like a betel nut, which symbolizes the presence of Lords Bhrama, Yam, Varuna and Indra, the betel leaf which is known to inhabit the Gods and Goddesses, a whole stack of coriander which signifies removal of financial troubles, Batasha and Keel which are an indulgence for Ma Lakshmi and open doors for wealth and prosperity, a diya to please Lord Yam, camphor in honor of Ma Lakshmi, Lords Kuber and Dhanvantri, and it also removes all negativity, inviting positivity into one’s house.
- Simple Dos’ - Placing Goddess Lakshmi’s footprints on the main entrance of your home/office such that they imply coming in, will ensure that there’s no dearth of money in life. Also drawing the sacred symbols of Aum and Swastik on the main entrance, especially on the east or in the north direction of the doorway prevents all illnesses and ensures health for all. A vessel of water near the main entrance with flowers in it, placed in the east or north direction invokes fame for the household head, while torans made of mango leaf, peepal or Ashoka leaves are considered auspicious, preventing any negative energy. Put a new seat in your office/shop at an auspicious time.
- Charity – In addition to buying new things on the day, if you donate things like food grains, yellow clothes, coconut or sweets to the less fortunate sections of the society, not only will you generate goodwill and Divine blessings in life, but also invoke virtues of peace, abundance, happiness and love manifold.
- Remedies – It is believed that if an owl’s picture is pasted on a vault or the place where the money is stored, then being Goddess Lakshmi’s vehicle, Owl destroys any negativity, opening ways for abundance
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Show Love, Not the Price
A gift will be a gift, the price tag doesn't matter. How much ever we can do, we do it for our loving ones. While gifting, don't forget to remove the price tag from the gifts. It really won't look good if someone will come to know the price. Because many people start comparing even if they don't want too. It's just their unconscious mind which starts comparing the price. Just gift whatever you can with a pure heart and unconditional love and it will affect the right place. Happy Gifting.