Diya
A small clay lamp lit with oil or ghee, the light of Diwali and every puja.
Also: deepa, oil lamp, deepam
A diya is a shallow lamp of baked clay holding oil or ghee and a cotton wick. It is lit at dusk in many Hindu homes, before the household shrine, and in rows along windows and steps at Diwali, when whole streets glow. The flame stands for knowledge driving out ignorance, and for the presence of the divine. Brass and silver lamps, some with many wicks, are used in temples. Potters in India begin work months before Diwali, and buying a few new diyas from a local maker is part of the preparations.
Region: South Asia