Why people light diyas on Diwali

Diyas are small clay lamps, usually shaped with a pinched spout, filled with oil or ghee and lit with a cotton wick. The word Deepavali combines Sanskrit words meaning lamp and row, which is why the festival is often described as a row of lights.

Families offer several explanations. In the Ramayana, townspeople lit lamps along roads and rooftops to guide Rama, Sita and Lakshmana home to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. Many households believe the goddess Lakshmi visits clean, bright homes, so they sweep their homes, decorate doorways with rangoli and place lamps on the threshold.

In parts of southern India, the festival marks Krishna's victory over the demon Narakasura. For Jains, it marks the day Mahavira attained moksha, and lamps are lit to keep his memory alive. More broadly, the light is seen as a symbol of knowledge and new beginnings.