Dhanvantari Jayanti

Dhanvantari Jayanti. Today is Kaag Tihar, i.e. Krishna Paksha Trayodashi, and this day is known as  Dhanvantari Jayanti.  As mentioned in the Puranas, on this today Lord Dhanvantari appeared as a part of Lord Vishnu with an urn of nectar while various other objects appeared when the gods and demons were churning the ocean together known as Samundramanthan in Sanskrit. As per different texts and scripts, Samundramanthan (churning of the ocean) took place in Kchir Sagar (ocean of milk: also known as the residence of Lord Narayana and his wife Laxmi during chaturmas period i.e. Four months when Narayana goes to sleep) which actually is Mansarovar Pond below mount Kailash whereas Rakchas pond situated nearby is the one where it is even prohibited to take a bath by devotee till date. According to this belief, Dhanvantari Jayanti is celebrated today and he is also mentioned as the promoter and propagator of Ayurveda who came out of the Samudra Manthan with an urn of Amrita (nectar) and medicinal plants.

Therefore, traditional healers and Baidhyas as well as Brahmin society worship Lord Dhanvantari on this auspicious date and celebrate ‘Dhanvantari Jayanti’. Few people know that Dhanwantari was the father of Ayurveda.  He is believed to have made a complex and important invention like surgery. In the same way, Ayurveda students celebrate this day as “the Health Day” also known as “Arogya Diwas” also.

After the establishment of the Ayurveda Campus in Naradevi, Kathmandu in 1974 BS, Dhanwantari Jayanti was started as a celebration in Nepal. On the initiative of people involved in the field of Ayurveda, since 2056 BS, Dhanvantari Jayanti has been celebrated as a day of healing. The Ayurveda Campus, which is an integral part of Tribhuvan University, is currently located in Kirtipur.

Dhanbantari emerged from the ocean with Ayurveda, one of the important sub-Veda among the four sub-Vedas of Vedic Hindu Philosophy, in his hand along with different plants, etc therefore he is considered to be the founder of the field of Ayurveda. Since Lord Dhanvantari saved human life by using herbs in nature, this day is celebrated by the Kaviraj, Baidhyas, and Ayurveda teachers with various programs in memory of Lord Dhanvantari. A shloka or text devoted to Dhanvantari Deva is as follows:

ॐ शंखं चक्रं जलौकां दधदमृतघटं चारुदोर्भिश्चतुर्मिः।

सूक्ष्मस्वच्छातिहृद्यांशुक परिविलसन्मौलिमंभोजनेत्रम॥

कालाम्भोदोज्ज्वलांगं कटितटविलसच्चारूपीतांबराढ्यम।

वन्दे धन्वंतरिं तं निखिलगदवनप्रौढदावाग्निलीलम॥

सूक्ष्मस्वच्छातिहृद्यांशुक परिविलसन्मौलिमंभोजनेत्रम॥

Various programs are and will be held at Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana, Ayurveda Hospital Nardevi, Ayurveda Campus Kirtipur, Ayurveda Campus of Nepal Sanskrit University, Kathmandu, Ayurveda Production and Processing Company Limited Koteshwar, etc., as well as Ayurveda Hospitals, opened by the private sector in Nepal.

On the occasion of the Dhanvantari Jayanti festival which is celebrated in honor of the Ayurveda deity Shri Dhanvantari, our best wishes from Nepali Patro to all human beings of the world.