Diya (lamp)

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Diwali diyas
Symmetrical Diwali diyas
Diya for Diwali
A diya lamp with swastika engraved interior

A diya, diyo, deya,

romanized: Dīpam) is an oil lamp made from clay or mud with a cotton wick dipped in oil or ghee. These lamps are commonly used in the Indian subcontinent and they hold sacred prominence in Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain prayers as well as religious rituals, ceremonies and festivals including Diwali
.

Traditional use

Diyas are symbolically lit during prayers, rituals, and ceremonies; they are permanent fixtures in homes and temples. The warm, bright glow emitted from a diya is considered auspicious, regarded to represent enlightenment, prosperity, knowledge and wisdom. Diyas represent the triumph of light over dark, good over evil with the most notable example of this being on the day of Diwali. Diwali is celebrated every year to celebrate the triumph of good over evil as told in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Diwali marks the day Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana returned home to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, after the defeat of Ravana. According to tradition, to welcome Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana home, the citizens of Ayodhya are said to have lit up the streets with diyas. They are regarded to be associated with Lakshmi in Hindu iconography and worship.[2]

Festivals

  • Tealight diyas used for decoration during Diwali
    Diwali: The lighting of diyas forms a part of celebrations and rituals of the important day in the Hindu calendar. Houses are decorated with small diyas placed at boundaries and entrances.[3] In fact, the name of Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which means the row of lights ("deep" means Diya and "avali" means row).[4] Diwali is mentioned in early Sanskrit texts, such as the Padma Purana and the Skanda Purana, both of which were completed in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. The diyas are mentioned in Skanda Kishore Purana as symbolising parts of the sun, describing it as the cosmic giver of light and energy to all life and which seasonally transitions in the Hindu calendar month of Kartik.[5][6]
  • Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu
    .

Worship and prayers

Lit diyas that are placed before deities during prayer in temples and then used to bless worshippers is referred to as an

arati
.

A similar lamp called a

Buddhist
offerings as well.

Hindu rituals

Birth: The lighting of diya is also part of the Hindu religion rituals related to birth.[10]

Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a puja, in which light (from a flame lit using camphor, ghee or oil) is ritually waved for the veneration of deities.[13][14][15] Arti also refers to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Sikhs also perform arti in the form of arti kirtan which involves only devotional singing but Nihang Sikhs specifically perform arti which uses light as well.[16]

Types

Top of the ornamental Nachiarkoil or Annam lamp of Tamilnadu

In terms of the choice of material, the

stones
.

In terms of wick design, diyas with one wick are most common, followed by the two wick style, but other variations such as four, five or seven wick lamps are also made.

In terms of overall lamps design, the ornamental lamps come in various designs. The iconic Nachiarkoil lamp, also known as "Annam lamp", is produced exclusively in by the Pather (Kammalar) community in Nachiyar Koil of Tamil Nadu.[17][18]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diyas (lights).
  1. ISBN 978-1-4262-0336-7
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-429-62425-4
    .
  3. ^ The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia Front Cover Parbury, Allen, and Company, 1834, page 346
  4. ISBN 1317962850
    , 9781317962854
  5. ISBN 978-0-7914-8256-8. Archived
    from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8
  7. ISBN 978-81-8205-061-7. Archived
    from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ISBN 978-1-56308-576-5. Archived
    from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  9. ISBN 978-1-63806-511-1. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  10. ^ "Introduction to death & dying". srimatham.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  11. ISBN 978-1-317-43960-8
    .
  12. ISBN 978-81-7755-873-9
    .
  13. ^ admin (19 May 2021). "Aarti । Why do we do Aarti?". Simple Hinduism. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  14. ISBN 978-0-691-08952-2
    .
  15. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0
    .
  16. ^ "Aarti". 25 August 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  17. ^ PM Narendra Modi gifts Xi Jinping Annam lamp, Times of India, 11 October 2019.
  18. ^ Largest collection of traditional diyas (lamps), World Records India, 9 November 2020.
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