10 Nov,2023
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Since centuries, fire or agni has played a pivotal role in our rituals. The all-consuming fire cleanses, purifies and destroys.
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The glowing diya depicting fire is held sacred in Indian culture, lighting up not only our environs but also our mind, soul and spirit. With its soft and soothing glow, it dispels evil, gloom and darkness.
Lighting lamps during Divali is linked with the welcome accorded to Lord Rama on his triumphant return to Ayodhya.
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Some historians associate Divali with Raja Vikramaditya’s victory over the Huns, which was celebrated by lighting rows of clay lamps. His reign marked the onset of the Vikrami calendar.
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Apparently, it was the caveman that lit the first lamp. Skulls and hollowed stones in which wicks of dry grass or moss were dipped in animal fat, formed the early lamps.
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Such lamps have been unearthed in Kosambi and Patliputra. Taxila University had pillars topped with lamps.
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With the advent of pottery, clay lamps became popular. Harappa and Mohenjodaro excavations unearthed such lamps.
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Imaginative potters made clay diyas with spouts and those shaped like cocks, peacocks, birds, leaves, elephants, buffaloes, women, tiered ones, those that forked out like branches, etc.
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As the years rolled by, lamps began to be made of metals like brass, copper, silver and gold, some embossed with enameling and made to look extremely ornamental. Aluminium
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Ancient texts mention akaashdeepam, the tradition of carrying bamboo poles with lamps at one end to show the way to the souls of ancestors, usually carried in November.
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Social history informs of tribals’ singing and dancing in groups to offer lamps to please their deity, lamps being lit amidst the rangoli and dancers twirling with diyas in their palms, etc.
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The journey of light saw the advent of candles, gas lights, hurricane lanterns and electric lights. But the flame of the little diya continues to twinkle and illuminate our lives.
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