Dhanawantari Jayanti and Arogyata Diwas being marked today

Kathmandu: The Dhanawantari Jayanti and Arogyata Diwas is being marked throughout the country today by organizing various programmes.

Dhanawantari Jyanti commemorates the birthday of Dhanawantari, the Hindu deity who propounded the Ayurveda, the Vedic medical practice based on herbal treatment. The Arogyata Diwas or the Salubriousness Day is being celebrated coinciding with the Dhanawantari Jayanti since 1999 at the initiative of the people associated with the Ayurveda sector.

The Dhanawantari Jayanti and Arogyata Diwas is observed every year on Kartik Krishna Trayodashi or the 13th day after the full moon day in the month of Kartik as per the lunar calendar. The Ayurveda medical practitioners observe the Day as an occasion to initiate their profession by making religious resolution.

The Dhanawantari Jayanti started to be formally celebrated with the establishment of the Ayurveda Campus that went by the name Rajakiya Ayurveda Mahavidhyalaya at Naradevi of Kathmandu. The Campus also doubled as the Ayurveda teaching hospital.

History reveals that Rajakiya Ayurveda Vidhyalaya was the first to start technical education in the country in 1993 BS. Ayurveda Teaching Hospital (ATH), under T.U. Institute of Medicine (IOM), was established on 1972 AD. It is designated as a center of excellence in the fields of Ayurveda treatment. ATH, led by a team of highly qualified, experienced and dedicated medical professionals, is well supported by fully devoted paramedical and non-medical staff.

Center has also been trying its level best to keep in pace with recent advances in patient care. The god Dhanawantari is worshipped as per the time-honoured tradition on the occasion of Dhanawantari Jayanti and Arogyata Diwas.

The Day is being celebrated today by organizing programme at the Singhadurbar Vaidyakhana Development Committee, the Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine Department, Teku, the Ayurveda Hospital Naradevi, the Ayurveda Campus Kirtipur, the Nepal Sanskrit University, Ayurveda Campus Dang, the Herbs Production and Processing Company Ltd Koteshwar and the Ayurvedic hospital and colleges run in the private sector today.