This is the reason why Dhanteras is celebrated

The story behind Dhanteras, the "so-called" festival of wealth. Photo: Reuters

The Diwali week has begun and so has the shopping fever. After all, the onset of this five-day festival of lights starts with the festival of wealth--Dhanteras.

To make the meaning of this festival clearer for you, let's break it down further: 'Dhan' means wealth and 'teras' means thirteenth. Hence, Dhanteras is observed on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha, of the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November).

So, houses tidied up, exteriors lit up with colourful lights, footprints of Goddess Lakshmi drawn at the entrance, and pooja thalis sorted--we're pretty sure y'all have already prepped up for it. Are we missing something there?

Dhanteras preparations are going on in full swing. Photo: Reuters

What about the gold and utensil shopping spree that women get into on the auspicious day of Dhanteras? Well, before you actually head out for it, you've got to know why we celebrate this festival.

So here's the story behind the theory

Correction: Make that stories, please. Because owing to the story-telling capacity of our country's fellows, there are actually two main stories involved here:

#1 The legend of Samudra Manthan

According to a blog by Dr. K.K. Aggarwal, renowned lifestyle interventional cardiologist with deep interest in science behind mythology, what lies at the heart of the Dhanteras celebrations is a complicated tale of Indra's (the Lord of rains) tryst with Goddess Lakshmi.

But let's just make it easier for you: Basically, Indra managed to piss off sage Durvasa, who thought he was too proud of his wealth. He then cursed Indra, as a result of which Lakshmi (symbolic of wealth, power, bravery, enthusiasm, and radiance) left him and the asuras (demons) invaded heaven.

The legend of Samudra Manthan. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

However, Lord Vishnu suggested a way out: The sea of milk was to be churned, not for making a salty sea-water shake--but to produce amruta--which was to be consumed by the Gods in order to become immortal and defeat the demons.

Next, Mandara Mountain was used as the churning rod, Vaasuki (the king of the serpents) as rope, and Lord Vishnu in the guise of a tortoise as the rod-hoisting base for the mountain. Demons were tricked and made party to the plan since obviously this required a lot of man power, in this case Lord power.

Post some initial obstacles when the hard work finally paid off, Goddess Lakshmi appeared in her best form looking radiant as ever. Rewarding Indra for all the hard work, she put a garland around his neck and boom! He regained his lost glory. In the meanwhile, the amruta began to get produced which was soon handed over to the Gods, who drank it and became immortal.

#2 Prince Hima's near-death experience

This one involves curses too-except the guy who got cursed here was the 16-year-old son of King Hima. Apparently, he was supposed to die due to a snake bite on the fourth day of his marriage, but much to everyone's surprise (or maybe not), his wife saved him. She didn't let him sleep that night. But before you start getting wild ideas, let's make it clear that she sang songs all night and decorated the entrance of her room with her ornaments, pots of gold, silver coins, and lamps.

All this to distract the snake. So, when the God of death Yama came as a snake to take her hubby away, he was bedazzled and sat on the gold listening to songs and stories the mastermind wife was reciting, forgetting all about his intention of biting the husband. In the morning, the distracted snake went back upon missing his chance and thankfully, left the couple alone.  

Finally, a doze of reality post the mythology

Dhanteras has got to do more with celbrating happiness than wealth. Photo: Reuters

In all probability, after reading about the legend of Samudra Manthan, you think that Dhanteras is all about celebrating wealth. However, according to an article by Rupanjana Dutta, associate editor of Asian Voice, it also has one straight message for us all: Goddess of wealth would come with hard work. So guess what? Dhanteras is about striving to work hard and respecting the hard-earned money as well.

And well, if Hima's wife's master plan is your inspiration behind buying gold, then how about considering cleaning and decorating your house instead of pressurizing yourself to buy gold?

Not to mention, Goddess Lakshmi is also symbolic of happiness and radiance, so how about focusing on that rather than just being money-minded. Come on, peeps, traditions are for happiness. So, buy what makes you happy regardless of whether it's gold or not.