Author: Dr. Manasa Nagabhushanam, DAIV
Before we count our gold, Dhanteras asks us to count something we rarely include in the account: our health.
The festival is linked to Lord Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods. When the gods and demons churned the cosmic ocean, he rose from the waters carrying a pot of amrita, the nectar of life. It is striking that, on the day devoted to wealth, tradition places a healer at the centre rather than a banker. The ancient wisdom was clear about the order of things. Kalidasa states it in a single line: “Sharira madyam khalu dharma sadhanam”, the body is indeed the first instrument of dharma.
We spend years building comfort and security, and often at the cost of the very body that is to enjoy them. We skip meals, sit for hours without moving, sleep little, and postpone every check-up until the pain compels us. We then spend, in a few anxious months, what we saved over many years. Ayurveda, which Dhanvantari is said to have taught, never treats health as only the absence of illness. It speaks of a body, a mind and a spirit in balance. A person with a quiet mind and a moving body is richer than one with a full vault and a restless sleep. This Dhanteras, buy something for your body before you buy something for your home. Book the overdue check-up, or begin a daily walk of twenty minutes, and offer it as your first purchase to Dhanvantari.