“Dhana Trayodashi” :
It is observed on the thirteenth day of the Ashwija Krishna Paksha., i.e., on Trayodashi in Ashwija Maasa Krishna Paksha. Dhanteras is the other name for Dhan Trayodashi.
“Dhan” means ‘wealth’ and theras indicates ‘the thirteenth day’. “Deepdaana” is an important ritual observed on Dhantrayodashi day in. Lamps are lit in the name of all family members and ancestors and they are floated in a river or pond. Dhanatrayodashi is also observed as Yamadeepdaana by many communities. Goddess Lakshmi is welcomed into the house on this day in many regions in the evening. Rangoli is drawn on doorways and tiny footprints of Lakshmi are drawn in to symbolize her arrival. Devotional songs dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi are sung in the evening. Naivedya is offered to the Goddess on the day. A new utensil or gold or silver is bought for the house on the Dhanatrayodashi day. Some people also make it a point to make an investment on the day as it is believed that investments made on this day will appreciate.
Most people also wait for the day to purchase and give away Diwali gifts.
Story behind Dhana Trayodashi –
Once Goddess Lakshmi accompanied Lord Vishnu in his Yathra to bhooloka and told her not to fall for earthly temptation and she must not look in the southern direction. But Goddess Lakshmi was tempted to look in the southern direction and when she got an opportunity she looked in the southern direction.
In the south, direction she saw yellow mustard flowers, sugarcane fields and started dancing in the fields and decorated herself with the flowers and was enjoying the sugarcane juice. She fell for earthly temptations. Srihari told Lakshmi that “As you have violated the conditions, you will need to spend 12 years as labourer in the field of the person to whom the sugarcane and flowers belonged”. With the arrival of Goddess Lakshmi as labourer, the farmer became very prosperous. Twelve years passed and it was time for Goddess Lakshmi to return but the farmer was not ready to relieve a good labourer but Goddess Lakshmi was not ready to stay further.
Goddess Lakshmi asked the farmer and his family to take a pilgrimage to Ganga River and they will decide on her future stay there on his return. Goddess Lakshmi also gave four small shells to the farmer to offer to Goddess Ganga. When the farmer was offering the shells to River Ganga, four hands came up and accepted the offering.
Farmer soon realized that the shells he offered was no ordinary shell and the person who gave it was no ordinary woman. He prayed to Goddess Ganga to enlighten him. Goddess Ganga then revealed that the woman at the farmer’s home is Goddess Lakshmi.
The farmer returned home happily realizing that it was Goddess Lakshmi who was staying in his house. He requested her not to leave. Goddess Lakshmi said that she cannot live on earth permanently and has to return. But she said that she will visit him on all “Dhan Trayodashi” Day. She asked the farmer to keep the house clean and light and earthern lamp. The farmer said as directed by Goddess Lakshmi and he became very prosperous and people who came to know about the incident started performing the same ritual on this day. (This story is from skanda purana collected from different sources)
Story about Dhana Trayodashi and Yamadeepa Daana –
A story about this day is of the sixteen year old son of King Hima. As per his horoscope he was doomed to die by a snake-bite on the fourth day of his marriage. On that particular fourth day of his marriage his young wife did not allow him to sleep. She laid all the ornaments and lots of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance of her husband’s boudoir and lighted innumerable lamps all over the place. And she went on telling stories and singing songs. When Yama, the god of Death arrived there in the guise of a Serpent his eyes got blinded by that dazzle of those brilliant lights and he could not enter the Prince’s chamber. So he climbed on top of the heap of the ornaments and coins and sat there whole night listening to the melodious songs. In the morning he quietly went away.
Thus the young wife saved her husband from the clutches of death. Since then this day of Dhanteras came to be known as the day of “YAMADEEPDAAN” and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in reverential adoration to Yam, the god of Death.
According to another popular legend, when the gods and demons churned the ocean for Amrit or nectar, Dhanavantri (the physician of the gods and an incarnation of Vishnu) emerged carrying a jar of the amrutha on this day of Dhan Trayodashi.
ಧನತ್ರಯೋದಶಿ
ಆಶ್ವೀಜ ಬಹುಳ ತ್ರಯೋದಶಿ
– ಯಮದೀಪದಾನ – ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಯೆ ಹೊಸ್ತಿಲಿನ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಅಕ್ಕಿಯ ರಾಶಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಎಳ್ಳೆಣ್ಣೆಯ ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಹಚ್ಚಿ, ಸಂಜೆ ಮನೆಯ ಹೊರಗೆ ಯಮನಿಗಾಗಿ ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಹಚ್ಚಬೇಕು. ಇದರಿಂದ ಅಪಮೃತ್ಯು ಪರಿಹಾರವಾಗುವುದು. ಮನೆಯ ಹೊರಗೆ ಎರಡು ಬದಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿಡಬೇಕು. ಒಂದೇ ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಇಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವಿರುವವರು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಭಿಮುಖವಾಗಿ ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಹಚ್ಚಿಡಬೇಕು. ಈದಿನ ತಳಿರುತೋರಣಗಳಿಂದ ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಅಲಂಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿರಬೇಕು.
ಆಚಮನ, ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ – ಪ್ರಣವಸ್ಯ……………..ತ್ರಯೋದಶ್ಯಾಂ ಪ್ರದೋಷೇ, ಶುಭತಿಥೌ, ಯಮಾಂತರ್ಗತ ಶ್ರೀ ಭಾರತೀರಮಣ ಮುಖ್ಯಪ್ರಾಣಾಂತರ್ಗತ ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಷ್ಣುಪ್ರೇರಣಯಾ, ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಷ್ಣು ಪ್ರೀತ್ಯರ್ಥಂ ಯಮಸ್ಯ ದೀಪದಾನಂ ಕರಿಷ್ಯೇ. ಯಮನ ಪ್ರೀತ್ಯರ್ಥ ಅಪೂಪಗಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಯಮನಿಗೆ ನಿವೇದಿಸಿ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರಿಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ತಾನೂ ಭುಂಜಿಸಬೇಕು.
ದೀಪದಾನ ಮಂತ್ರ –
ಮೃತ್ಯುನಾ ಪಾಶದಂಡಾಭ್ಯಾಂ ಕಾಲೇನ ಶ್ಯಾಮಯಾಯುತ: |
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ಇಂದಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿದಿನ ಕಾರ್ತೀಕ ಮಾಸದ ಅಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆಯವರೆಗೂ ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಜ್ವಲಿಸಬೇಕು. ಇದು ವಿಶೇಷ ಫಲಕಾರಿ. ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಕನಿಷ್ಟ ಕಡೇ ಐದು ದಿನಗಾಳಾದರೂ ದೀಪ ಬೆಳಗಿಸಬೇಕು. ಅದೂ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಬೇರೆಯವರು ಹಚ್ಚಿದ ದೀಪದ ತುದಿಯನ್ನು (ಕರಿಯನ್ನು) ತೆಗೆದು ಉಜ್ವಲಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು, ಮತ್ತು ದೀಪ ಆರಿಹೋಗದಂತೆ ನೋಡಿಕೊಂಡರೂ ಕೂಡ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಪುಣ್ಯ.
ನೀರು ತುಂಬುವ ಹಬ್ಬ – ತ್ರಯೋದಶಿಯಂದು ರಾತ್ರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಂಡೆಯನ್ನು (ಅಥವಾ ನೀರು ಕಾಯಿಸುವ ಸಾಧನ) ಸ್ವಚ್ಚ ಮಾಡಿ, ನೀರು ತುಂಬಿಸಿ, ಗಂಗಾ ಪೂಜೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಹಂಡೆಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಅಲಂಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿ, ಅರಿಶಿನ ಕುಂಕುಮದಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಿ, ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಹಾಕಬೇಕು. ಅಂದು ರಾತ್ರಿ ವಿಶೇಶ ಅಡಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿ ದೇವರಿಗೆ ನಿವೇದಿಸಿ, ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ ಮುತ್ತೈದೆಯರಿಗೆ ಭೋಜಿಸಿ, ತಾನೂ ಭುಂಜಿಸಬೇಕು. ಅಂದಿನಿಂದ ರಾತ್ರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತುಲಸೀ ವೃಂದಾವನ, ಗೋಶಾಲೆ (ಹಸುವಿನ ಹಟ್ಟಿ) ಯಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ದೀಪಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆಳಗಿಸಬೇಕು
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*Yamadeepa daana* –
On this day, lamps are kept burning through the night in reverential adoration to Yamadharmaraja – and prayers offered to him to keep away death and despair. There is a very interesting story about this day.
Once there lived a king whose son was supposed to die of a snake bite on the fourth day of his marriage as per the horoscope.
On the fourth day of his marriage his young wife did not allow him to sleep. She laid all the ornaments and lots of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance of her husband’s palatial room and lighted infinite numbers of lamps all over the place. After all these, she went on telling stories and singing songs so that her husband is not able to sleep. Throughout the night, the prince could not sleep by the acts of his wife.
Yamadharmaraja came, in the form of a snake. His eyes got blinded by the dazzle of those brilliant lights and he could not enter the Prince’s chamber. So, he climbed on top of the heap of the ornaments and coins and sat there whole night listening to the melodious songs. In the morning he quietly went away.
Thus the young wife saved her husband from the door of death. Since then this day was regarded as the day of “Yamadeepdaan” and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in remembering Yamadharmaraja, the god of Death.
Lamps made of wheat floor and lighted with gingelli oil are placed outside the house, facing southwards (direction of Yama), in the evening. Normally a lamp is never allowed to be kept facing southwards. But on this day, it is an exception and the light is facing the south direction only. The stotra to be chanted on this day is while doing the deepadaana is :
dIpadaana maMtra –
mRutyunaa paashadanDaabhyaam kaalEna shyaamayaayuta: |
trayOdashyaam dIpadaanaat sUryaja: prIyataaM mama |