Dhanvantari

Dhanvantari is the divine physician and the god of Ayurveda, an avatar of Vishnu who rose from the churning of the ocean holding a pot of amrita, the nectar of immortality. He is shown with four arms holding a conch, a discus, a leech or herbs and the pot. He is worshipped in the Vaishnava tradition, especially by physicians and Ayurveda students. In Odisha, the Anasara period of Jagannath, the fortnight after Snana Yatra when the deities are treated with herbal remedies, reflects a tradition of healing. Dhanvantari Jayanti falls on Dhanatrayodashi in Kartika.

According to the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, when the gods and asuras churned the ocean of milk, using Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope, many treasures rose from the waters. Last of all came Dhanvantari, bearing the pot of amrita. The Vishnu Purana...