Lighting a lamp – or a ‘diya,’ historically – has been an innate part of our religious and spiritual existence. When used in the service of piety and devotion, these lamps transform from being a mere object of functional use to an auspicious element that brings us closer to the righteous path of dharma. As the ‘Deepa Joyti Strotam’ recites,
‘Deepajyoti Parabrahma Deepajyoti Janardhana//Deepo Me Haratu Paapam Sandhya Deepa Namastute.’
The mantra chants that light itself manifests as the supreme Brahman, protecting the world, and washing away the sins of adharma. This divinity extinguishes the negative tendencies of evil around us, and it is that spirit which this beautiful lamp exhibits. Mastering itself as a functional instrument and a work of art in its own right, the lamp mirrors the legacy of the Hoysala artistic tradition, and projects twenty-six wicks to be lit at several places along its body.
The ornateness of the lamp is capped with the spectacular image of Lakshmi, poised over two elephants that stand proud. This is symbolic of Lakshmi’s form of the Gajalakshmi, one of the most significant Ashtalakshmi aspects of the goddess. Gajalakshmi’s mythology is traced to the grand churning of the sea, or the ‘Samudra Manthan,’ where she arose to restore the power of Indra. Her four-armed manifestation carries two lotuses and presents the gestures of ‘Abhaya’ or fearlessness and ‘Varada’ or wish granting. The lotus stands symbolic of purity and prosperity, and the growth of abundance under the lustration of the elephants.
This lamp is therefore evocative of a dualism: by lighting it, not only are we paying obeisance and piety to the Gajalakshmi, but also basking in her blessings for our prosperous lives and material belongings.
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