Chapter I
What it means
The diya is light in its humblest form: a clay saucer of oil and a wick. In Hindu thought light stands for knowledge and for the divine, darkness for ignorance. Lighting a lamp at dawn and dusk is an act of prayer, an invitation for the god to be present.
During arati A rite in which a lamp is waved before an image of a god, then offered to the worshippers. Glossary, a lamp with one or many flames is waved before the image of a god, and then offered to the worshippers, who draw its warmth towards their faces with their hands. The flame that is shared is a blessing passed from god to people.
Chapter II
Where it comes from
Clay lamps are among the oldest objects of Indian daily life. Lamps feature in rituals described in Hindu texts from the first millennium CE onwards, and the custom of rows of lamps, dipavali, gave its name to the festival of Diwali.
Jains, who mark Diwali as the night when Mahavira reached final liberation, and Sikhs, who celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas at the same time, also light lamps.
Chapter III
Where you see it today
At Diwali millions of diyas line windows, steps and riverbanks in India and in Indian communities around the world. Many homes light a lamp before the family shrine each morning and evening. Painted clay diyas fill the markets in the weeks before the festival.