By Vivek Dubey
CNBC-TV18.com
Published Nov 10, 2023
A long long time ago, there was a king called Hima who had a teenaged son.
The horoscope of the prince had predicted that he would die of snakebite on his sixteenth birthday.
Despite the death threat, the prince decided to get married and even told his wife about the prediction.
His wife was determined to save his life. So, she decided to not let him sleep in order to prevent the snake from biting him.
Not just that, she placed lots of jewellery, and gold and silver coins outside the sleeping chamber, lighting up the entire place with radiant lamps.
The wife also sang beautiful hymns all night to keep the prince awake.
To fulfil the prediction, Lord Yama, the god of death, arrived...
...in the guise of a serpent that night to take the prince away.
But his eyes were blinded by the dazzling ornaments and lamps. He climbed atop the bejewelled heap and began listening to the songs sung by the prince’s wife.
As night turned to dawn, the enthralled serpent had no other option but to leave. For the horoscope had stated that the prince had to be bitten that very night.
Thus, the prince was saved and lived happily ever after. As a tribute, Dhanteras is celebrated every year ever since, with people buying jewellery and precious metals.
Dhanteras is also the day of ‘Yamadeepdaan’, a ritual where lamps are kept burning through the night to pay respects...
...to Lord Yama and keep away untimely death.