Dhanteras which marks the first day of Diwali is also known as Dhanvantari Jayanti as Lord Dhanvantari took birth on Earth
Here are 10 facts to know about Lord Dhanvantari-
1. Lord Dhanvantari is known as the God of Ayurveda or in other words the divine healer or the doctor of the celestial beings on Heaven
2. On the day of Dhanteras he appeared from the waters of the ocean when the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) were engaged in its churning (Samudra Manthan)
3. He appeared from the ocean as a four-armed celestial being carrying a conch, medicinal herbs, a book of Ayurveda and the pot of nectar (amrit) for which He was called Sudha Pani (bearer of nectar)
4. He is believed to be the well wisher and the preserver of the three worlds
5. Dhanvantari also reigned as the king of Kashi
6. As per Hindu scriptures, He was born as a son to King Dirghatamas of Kashi
7. King Dirghatmas, who was childless had prayed to Lord Vishnu and He incarnated himself as his son
8. According to some versions of Hindu texts, Dhanvantari is also known as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu
9. As a prince of Kashi, Lord Dhanvantari learned Ayurveda from sage Bharadwaja
10. He later created a classification of his knowledge of medicine into eight fields and disseminated it to a number of diverse disciples