Dhanteras 2026: Date, Puja Muhurat, Vidhi & What to Buy

Dhanteras 2026 is on Friday, 6 November. The evening puja is done in pradosh kaal, which begins at sunset (5:32 pm in New Delhi) and lasts until about 7:56 pm.

Timings for New Delhi:

• Trayodashi tithi: 10:31 am on 6 November to 10:48 am on 7 November
• Sunset on 6 November: 5:32 pm
• Pradosh kaal: about 5:32 pm to 7:56 pm, with Trayodashi in effect throughout
• Yama deepdaan: in the evening, after sunset

On 7 November Trayodashi ends in the morning, so the evening worship belongs to 6 November. Timings shift by city, so check a local panchang or our daily panchang. Dhanteras opens the five days of Diwali; Lakshmi Puja follows on Sunday, 8 November, and our Diwali 2026 guide covers it in full.

The same evening is also Shukra Pradosh, since Trayodashi falls at sunset on a Friday. Families who keep the Pradosh vrat for Shiva can find the coming dates in our Pradosh vrat guide.

Dhanteras, also called Dhantrayodashi, falls on the Trayodashi (thirteenth day) of Kartik Krishna Paksha. The name joins dhan, wealth, and teras, thirteen.

Three strands of tradition meet on this day:

• Dhanvantari Jayanti: according to the Puranas, Dhanvantari rose from the churning of the ocean (samudra manthan) holding a pot of amrit. Tradition honours him as the deity of Ayurveda, and many people connected with Ayurveda worship him on this day.
• Lakshmi and Kuber: households and traders worship Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and Kuber, the keeper of wealth, two evenings before Diwali.
• Yama deepdaan: a lamp is lit for Yama, the god of death, with a prayer that no untimely death touches the family. A well-known story tells of a young prince whose death was foretold for the fourth night of his marriage; his wife kept lamps burning and heaped her jewellery at the door, and Yama, dazzled by the light, could not enter.

Dhanteras is a day of gratitude and of prayer for the family's health and wellbeing, not only a day for shopping.

• A picture or idol of Dhanvantari, and of Lakshmi and Ganesh; business families add Kuber
• A wooden chowki with a red or yellow cloth
• Roli, haldi, akshat, chandan and mauli
• Flowers, a garland, incense and camphor
• Ghee diyas for the puja, and 13 small diyas that many families light on this evening
• A four-sided (chaumukha) clay diya with mustard oil for Yama deepdaan
• Sweets, fruit, and naivedya such as kheer or jaggery
• The new utensil, coin or item you have bought, washed and ready to place at the puja
• Whole coriander seeds (sabut dhaniya) and a few coins
• Water in a lota, and a little panchamrit if you wish to bathe the idols

1. In the morning, clean the house, especially the entrance and the kitchen, and draw a small rangoli at the door.
2. Bring your purchases home before evening, and wash utensils so they can be placed at the puja.
3. After sunset, bathe and set up the chowki with Dhanvantari, Lakshmi and Ganesh, and Kuber if you worship him.
4. Take a short sankalp with your name, gotra and a prayer for the family's health and wellbeing.
5. Worship Ganesh first with water, roli, akshat and flowers.
6. Worship Dhanvantari with chandan, flowers, incense and a lamp, praying for the health of everyone in the home.
7. Worship Lakshmi and Kuber: offer kumkum, flowers, sweets and the coins, and place the new utensil or silver coin before them. Many families put a little water, rice or sweets in the new vessel before placing it.
8. Sing Om Jai Lakshmi Mata. Some families also read the Kanakadhara Stotram.
9. Light diyas around the house, and finish with Yama deepdaan, described below.

Yama deepdaan is short and done after sunset. As tradition describes it:

1. Take a four-sided (chaumukha) clay diya, fill it with mustard oil and set four wicks.
2. Light it and place it outside the main entrance, facing south, the direction associated with Yama.
3. Offer a little water and a flower, and pray for the long life and safety of the family.
4. Leave the lamp there. Some families follow the custom of not looking back at it after placing it.

Place the lamp on a metal plate or a stone, clear of anything that can catch fire, and out of reach of children and animals. In a flat, the doorstep or a balcony facing outside works just as well.

Buying something new on Dhanteras is a custom. Common purchases:

• A metal utensil for the kitchen, often brass, copper or steel
• A silver or gold coin, or a small piece of jewellery
• A new broom, linked in folk belief with welcoming Lakshmi into a clean home
• Whole coriander seeds, which some families keep at the puja and later sow in a pot
• Diyas, idols and puja items for Diwali
• Something the home genuinely needs and the family has already planned for, such as an appliance

Some families avoid buying glass, sharp objects such as knives and scissors, or black items on Dhanteras. These are regional customs. If your family does not follow them, there is no reason to worry.

An honest note on money: buying gold or anything expensive on Dhanteras is a custom, not a religious requirement. The worship of the day does not depend on what you spend. Never take a loan or run up a credit card bill just to shop on this day. A small steel vessel bought with a clear mind is as much a part of Dhanteras as a gold coin.

If you want a temple offering on Dhanteras, you can book a Lakshmi Archana at our verified temple in Delhi. The temple pandit chants the 108 names of Lakshmi (Lakshmi Ashtottara) with your sankalp and offers lotus, kumkum and haldi. It takes about 30 minutes. You give your name, gotra and prayer when booking, and receive photo proof and a completion certificate by email, typically within 24 hours of the archana. At the time of writing it costs ₹499. It sits alongside your own evening puja at home; it does not replace it.