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Festival Calendar

Dhanteras 2012

Dhanvantari and Lakshmi worship — the buying day that opens Diwali.

Dhanteras 2011Dhanteras 2013
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Dhanteras 2012 date
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Tithi: Kartika Krishna Trayodashi
Tithi window: 01:30 PM, Sunday, 11 November 2012 → 10:36 AM, Monday, 12 November 2012
See the full panchang for Sunday, 11 November 2012

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)06:12
  • Pradosh puja muhurat17:11 – 19:35
  • Fasting window (tithi)13:30 → 2012-11-12 · 10:36
  • Parana (tithi ends)10:362012-11-12

Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.

Read the Dhanteras puja vidhi, vrat rules and katha

Dhanteras — Frequently Asked Questions

What should be bought on Dhanteras?

Metal — silver, steel or brass — and traditionally an empty vessel, which is filled before it is carried into the house. Gold and utensils are the common choices; the vessel is the older custom.

Why is a lamp placed facing south on Dhanteras?

It is the Yama deepam, offered after dusk to Yama for the safety of the household. It is set outside the house, facing south, and is not brought back in.

Who is worshipped first on Dhanteras?

Dhanvantari, the physician who rose from the churned ocean with the pot of amrita. Lakshmi and Kubera are invoked after him — health precedes wealth on this day.

Other major festivals in 2012