KarmaVaani
Vaishnava tradition
धन्वन्तरिDhanvantari
Adi Vaidya · Ayurveda Pravartaka · Amrita Kalasha Dhari
Physician of the gods, a form of Vishnu who rose from the churning ocean carrying the pot of amrita; the patron of Ayurveda.
- Abode
- Vaikuntha
- Colour
- Dark blue
- Arms
- 4
Dhanvantari is the divine physician, a partial avatar of Vishnu who rose from the Ocean of Milk at the end of the Samudra Manthan, holding the pot of amrita, the nectar of immortality. He is honoured as the giver of Ayurveda; in a later birth as Divodasa, king of Kashi, he is remembered as the teacher of the surgeon Sushruta. Healers pray to him before treating the sick, and his day, Dhanvantari Trayodashi, is Dhanteras.
Mantra
ॐ श्री धन्वन्तरये नमः
Om Shri Dhanvantaraye Namaha
Salutations to Lord Dhanvantari, the divine physician.
How Dhanvantari is shown
A four-armed, Vishnu-like figure rising from the ocean, crowned and jewelled, carrying the pot of amrita and healing herbs.
- Pot of amrita
- The nectar of immortality: health and long life.
- Medicinal herbs
- Ayurveda, the knowledge of life he gave to the world.
- Leech (jalauka)
- The cleansing of the blood, one of the oldest treatments in Ayurveda.
- Conch and discus
- His identity as a form of Vishnu.
Stories
The last gift of the ocean
When the gods and the asuras churned the Ocean of Milk with Mount Mandara as the rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope, treasure after treasure rose: the moon, the wish-granting cow, Lakshmi herself. Last of all came Dhanvantari, carrying the pot of amrita. The asuras seized it, and Vishnu took the form of Mohini to win it back for the gods.
The king of Kashi
The Puranas tell that Dhanvantari was born again as Divodasa, king of Kashi, to bring medicine to people on earth. The Sushruta Samhita opens with the sage Sushruta and his companions coming to him to learn the art of healing and surgery.
