Decorative oil lamp with stylised bird on handle.
On Diwali houses are lit up with oil lamps, candle and colourful electric lights. Traditionally the earthen lamps with cotton wicks are lit in the most of houses. In Hinduism light signifies purity, goodness, good luck and power. Light means non existence of darkness and evil forces.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
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