The festival of Dhanteras is round the corner. The festive vibe has taken over the country as the markets are full of Diwali shopping items. People are also gearing up for Dhanteras shopping, but do you know why we celebrate the festival of Dhanteras? Kartik Krishna Trayodashi is known as Dhan Trayodashi or Dhanteras. Lord Dhanvantari is worshiped on the day of Dhan Trayodashi. Lord Dhanvantari is said to be the physician of the gods and his devotion and worship provide health benefits.
According to the stories mentioned in the scriptures, during the churning of the ocean, on the day of Kartik Krishna Trayodashi, Lord Dhanvantari appeared with a pot of nectar in his hands. It is believed that Lord Dhanvantari is an incarnation of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Dhanvantari only for the expansion and spread of medical science in the world. The festival of Dhanteras is celebrated to commemorate the appearance of Lord Dhanvantari.
Another story related to Dhanteras is that on the day of Kartik Krishna Trayodashi, Lord Vishnu plucked out one eye of Shukracharya, the guru of demons, for obstructing the work of the gods. According to the story, to free the gods from the fear of King Bali, Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Vaman and reached the place of King Bali's yagya. Shukracharya also recognized Lord Vishnu in the form of Vaman and requested King Bali to refuse whatever Vaman asked for.
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Bali did not listen to Shukracharya. Vaman started taking a pledge to donate three steps of land and water from Kamandal as asked by the Lord. To stop Bali from donating, Shukracharya entered King Bali's Kamandal in a miniature form. Due to this the path of water coming out from Kamandal was closed. Vaman understood the trick of Lord Shukracharya and he placed the Kusha in his hand in Kamandal in such a way that one of Shukracharya's eyes burst. Shukracharya came out of the Kamandal struggling. Bali took a pledge and donated three steps of land.
After this, Lord Vaman measured the entire earth with one foot and the space with the other foot. Having no room to place the third step, Bali placed his head at the feet of Lord Vamana and lost everything in Balidan. In this way, the gods were freed from the fear of Bali and the gods got more wealth than what Bali had snatched from them. The festival of Dhanteras is also celebrated on this occasion and the reason behind buying gold on Dhanteras also comes from this story.
