2000
Tuesday, 24 October 2000
In 2000 the tithi runs from 4:56 pm on 24 Oct to 3:26 pm on 25 Oct; it is running at pradosh, the twilight just after sunset on Tuesday, 24 October 2000, so that is the day of Dhanteras.
2001
Monday, 12 November 2001
In 2001 the tithi runs from 6:58 pm on 12 Nov to 4:26 pm on 13 Nov, and it never reaches pradosh, the twilight just after sunset, so the day on which it begins is taken: Monday, 12 November 2001.
How the date is fixed
Dhanteras falls on the thirteenth day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashwina (Krishna Trayodashi). The date is the day on which that tithi is running at pradosh, the twilight just after sunset. In the North Indian (purnimanta) calendar the same fortnight is counted in Kartika.
About
Dhanteras falls on the thirteenth tithi of the dark half of Ashwina in amanta reckoning (Kartika Krishna Trayodashi in the north), two days before Diwali, in October or November. The governing period is pradosh, the hour and a half after sunset, so the day whose dusk carries Trayodashi is chosen. The day is also Dhanvantari Jayanti, the birth of the physician of the gods, and the evening of the Yama deepa, a lamp placed outside the door. Buying metal utensils on this day is the familiar custom.
How it is observed
Lakshmi and Dhanvantari worship at pradosh, a lamp for Yama outside the door, and the purchase of utensils or metal.