Significance of Diyas

Significance of Diyas

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Diwali, also known as Deepawali, is a famous Indian festival which celebrates the triumph of good over evil. It is celebrated around mid-September and mid-November with the festivities generally lasting from five to six days. According to the legend, people decorated their homes by lighting diyas to celebrate the coming back of Rama, after he had defeated Ravana and rescued his wife Sita. It is also mainly related to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity and Ganesha, the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles. This festival usually comes up right after Dussehra in the Hindu calendar, and is a festival well-known for sweet treats like laddus as well as the beautiful lighting and intricate rangolis that people decorate their houses with.

The diya plays a really important role in Diwali traditions. The name itself, Diwali or Deepawali, more specifically, comes from the two words ‘deepa’ or ‘diya’ which refers to the oil lamp and the word ‘avali’ which means ‘row’ or ‘line’. It signifies the warmth and light of goodness, shows how light illuminates the dark and shuns the evil. It also symbolizes the ever-present light of knowledge and how it can remove ignorance from this world. The diya is a representative of many other beliefs, each of them having an important part in the overall celebration.

Diyas are also called thumb-pots. This is because they are usually made by pressing a thumb into a ball of softened clay, which helps in molding and shaping it further into the desired form. They are then baked in a potter’s kiln, which is a type of oven commonly used for the baking of most pottery items, until they become what potters call ‘bisque’ fired, which means that are dry, firm, and ready for painting.

The painting of diyas isn’t a common boring process. No, no, no, it is another interesting story on its own! Diyas are traditionally painted with fingers, not paint brushes. According to legend, this is done because our fingers represent the five elements. The thumb represents the sky, the index finger indicates air or wind, the middle finger plays the part of fire, the ring finger represents water, and the little finger symbolizes earth. Diyas are also only painted using a particular order of these fingers.

The ring finger is used first, because it symbolizes water. By using it first, the artists bring water’s calm and steady quality into their work. Next the thumb or index finger is used. This is to dry the water from the diya using wind, before exposing it to fire. At the end, the little finger is used, since the diya is made up of clay, which comes from the earth, and it is a way of showing gratitude to Mother Earth for using her.

In conclusion, diyas are a very important part of Indian culture and tradition. They are considered as bringers of light, knowledge, wisdom, warmth, comfort and safety, and serve as a constant reminder that good will always triumph over the evil. This Diwali, when you light a diya yourself, think about the years of history the small earthen lamp has, and its very important role in centuries of history. Spread goodness, and together, we shall make this world a better place.

Report:

Malavika Vinod, IIK Young Reporter

Disclaimer: Statements and opinions expressed in the article are those of the authors and written by them; the author is solely responsible for the content in this article. IndiansinKuwait.com does not hold any responsibility for them.

<< PREV

| HOME |

NEXT >>

Express your comments...

Submit your comments...

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are strictly personal and IndiansinKuwait.com does not hold any responsibility on them. We shall endeavour to upload/publish as many of the comments that are submitted as possible within a reasonable span of time, but we do not guarantee that all comments that are submitted will be uploaded/published. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene, unlawful, defamatory, libellous, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content; or have spam, commercial or advertising content or links are liable to be removed by the editors. We also reserve the right to edit the comments that do get published. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly.