Dhanteras 2026
Dhanvantari puja on Dhanteras 2026: vidhi and muhurat
Dhanteras 2026 is on Friday 6 November, and Dhanvantari puja is done that evening in Pradosh Kaal. In New Delhi, Pradosh Kaal runs from 5:32 to 8:09 PM. Panchangs mark the part of it with the fixed sign Vrishabha (Taurus) rising as the main muhurat: 6:02 to 7:57 PM in New Delhi. Trayodashi tithi runs from 10:30 AM on 6 November to 10:47 AM on 7 November, so the whole evening falls in it. The puja steps and Pradosh Kaal for 30 cities follow.
Why is Dhanvantari worshipped on Dhanteras?
The Puranas tell of Dhanvantari rising from the churning of the ocean (samudra manthan) with a pot of amrit in his hands, and tradition places that on Kartik Krishna Trayodashi. That is why the day is also called Dhanvantari Trayodashi. Dhanvantari is held to be a form of Vishnu and the god of Ayurveda, so the first prayer of the day is for health and long life, not for gold.
“Dhan” in Dhanteras is also read as wealth, which is where the custom of buying utensils, gold or silver comes from. Many homes worship Dhanvantari together with Lakshmi, Kuber and Ganesh in the evening. The best hours for the shopping are in our Dhanteras and Diwali 2026 choghadiya guide.
What do you need for Dhanvantari puja?
A home puja needs little. The usual set:
- a low stool (chowki) and a yellow or red cloth for it
- a picture or idol of Dhanvantari (and Lakshmi-Ganesh, if you worship them too)
- a ghee diya, incense
- roli, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice) and a lota of water
- yellow flowers, tulsi leaves, and sweets or fruit for the bhog
- a four-wick (chaumukha) mustard-oil diya for the Yama lamp
How is Dhanvantari puja done at home?
The puja is done in Pradosh Kaal, roughly the first two and a half hours after sunset. Clean the puja place, spread the cloth on the stool and set Dhanvantari’s picture on it, facing so that you sit towards the east or north. Light the ghee diya, remember Ganesh first, then Dhanvantari.
Offer water, roli, haldi, akshat, yellow flowers and tulsi, then the sweets or fruit as bhog. Chant “Om Dhanvantaraye Namah”; many people repeat it 108 times, though attention matters more than the count. Close with a prayer for the family’s health and your family’s own aarti. If someone at home is unwell, many families add a prayer in that person’s name.
Where do I find the Dhanvantari mantra and aarti?
The short mantra used everywhere is Om Dhanvantaraye Namah. A longer Dhanvantari mantra and an aarti are also popular, but their wording differs from book to book and site to site. We print a sacred text only when two or more reliable sources agree word for word, so take the long mantra and the aarti from your family’s puja book or your pandit.
When and how is the Yama lamp lit?
The other ritual of Dhanteras evening is Yama Deepam. In Pradosh Kaal a four-wick mustard-oil diya is lit and placed outside the main door, facing south. It is held to be the lamp for Yama, protecting the household from untimely death. Light it after the puja, while Pradosh Kaal lasts.
When is Pradosh Kaal on Dhanteras in my city?
Pradosh Kaal starts at sunset and is the first fifth of the night, so it moves with your city: it begins at 4:55 PM in Katihar and 6:07 PM in Rajkot. Each city name opens that city’s full choghadiya for the day.
| City | Pradosh Kaal (6 November) |
|---|---|
| New Delhi | 5:32–8:09 PM |
| Mumbai | 6:02–8:34 PM |
| Kolkata | 4:56–7:30 PM |
| Bengaluru | 5:51–8:20 PM |
| Patna | 5:05–7:40 PM |
| Lucknow | 5:20–7:56 PM |
| Jaipur | 5:40–8:16 PM |
| Ahmedabad | 5:58–8:32 PM |
See the other 22 cities
| City | Pradosh Kaal (6 November) |
|---|---|
| Surat | 6:00–8:33 PM |
| Rajkot | 6:07–8:40 PM |
| Vadodara | 5:57–8:30 PM |
| Jodhpur | 5:52–8:28 PM |
| Hyderabad | 5:42–8:13 PM |
| Chennai | 5:40–8:09 PM |
| Pune | 5:59–8:31 PM |
| Kanpur | 5:23–7:58 PM |
| Nagpur | 5:35–8:08 PM |
| Indore | 5:46–8:19 PM |
| Bhopal | 5:39–8:13 PM |
| Varanasi | 5:14–7:49 PM |
| Chandigarh | 5:31–8:09 PM |
| Jalandhar | 5:35–8:13 PM |
| Katihar | 4:55–7:30 PM |
| Ludhiana | 5:34–8:12 PM |
| Amritsar | 5:37–8:16 PM |
| Agra | 5:31–8:07 PM |
| Ranchi | 5:07–7:41 PM |
| Udaipur | 5:52–8:26 PM |
| Bhavnagar | 6:02–8:35 PM |
| Coimbatore | 5:56–8:24 PM |
The shorter Vrishabha window (6:02 to 7:57 PM in New Delhi) moves with each city, and this site does not compute the rising sign, so elsewhere use Pradosh Kaal from the table or check Vrishabha Kaal in your local panchang.
Do I need to check the choghadiya on Dhanteras evening?
No. Friday night opens with Rog and then Kaal, and Pradosh Kaal falls mostly in those two. Dhanvantari puja and the Yama lamp still belong to Pradosh Kaal, because the custom follows Pradosh, not the choghadiya. The choghadiya question is for shopping, and for that the morning Labh and Amrit are best. What to buy is in our Hindi guide on what to buy on Dhanteras.
Times worked out on 20 October 2026 for each city’s coordinates. The date and New Delhi’s Vrishabha window were checked against a reference panchang; see how we calculate.
Today’s timings for this
This post describes what the panchang tradition says about a window; it is not personal advice. Times on the linked pages are computed for the city you choose.