The festival of Dhanteras will be celebrated on October 29, marking the beginning of the five-day Diwali celebrations. The festival is observed on the thirteenth day of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the Kartik month. This year, Dhanteras will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 29.

Dhanteras, also known as Dhanatrayodashi, is considered highly auspicious for buying gold. People believe that purchasing gold ensures prosperity and good fortune and brings financial stability to the household. On this day, numerous individuals will buy gold or other assets.

Why is it auspicious to buy gold on Dhanteras?

The word Dhanteras is derived from two words: ‘Dhan’ meaning wealth, and ‘teras’ meaning the 13th day of the month on which the festival is celebrated. On this day, people offer prayers to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber. The festival has many interesting stories tied to it.

One such story is a prophecy that indicated to 16-year-old King Hima and his newlywed wife that the king would die on the fourth day of their marriage.

To keep her husband awake and safe, the new bride is said to have piled up her decorations and gold and silver money at the door to the king’s sleeping space, and she sang songs and told him stories to keep him awake.

The next day, when the God of Death, Yama, arrived to take the king, the blazing gold and silver dazzled his eyes and prevented him from entering the king’s chamber.

Yama is thought to have ascended the stack of wealth and sat down to listen to the queen’s songs and stories. Yama was impressed by the queen’s efforts and went peacefully without taking the king.

Since then, purchasing gold or silver on this day, or any other form of ‘Dhan’, is considered auspicious because it is said to keep death and evil away.

Another story suggests that on this day, Goddess Lakshmi came from the ocean with a pot of gold in her hands during ‘Samudra Manthan’, and to be blessed by her, people invested in gold during this time.

Shubh Muhurat to purchase gold:

Dhanteras will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 29 this year. The Trayodashi Tithi will begin at 10:31 am on October 29 and will end at 01:15 PM on the following day. The puja muhurat timing is from 6:31 pm to 08:13 pm, with a time duration of 1 hour and 41 minutes.

The Pradosh Kaal will fall on the same date from 05:38 pm to 08:13 pm, while the Vrishabha Kaal will be from 06:31 pm to 08:27 pm. Meanwhile, the auspicious timing to buy gold is from 10:31 am on October 29 until 1:15 pm on October 30.