Dīpa Dāna in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

Dīpa dāna is the offering of lamps to Bhagavān Vishṇu. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa describes it as one of the most meritorious acts of devotion open to a householder.

Chapters 166 and 167 of the first part (Pūrvārdha) form a pair. Chapter 166 gives the method of offering lamps and its phalaśruti (statement of fruits). Chapter 167 illustrates its power through a story, the Lalitikā Upākhyāna.

The Mahāvarti

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa says the ideal lamp for dīpa dāna uses the mahāvarti (great wick), a wick weighing eight palas. This large wick gives a bright, lasting flame that pleases Bhagavān Vishṇu especially.

The Best Times

Offering a lamp to Vishṇu brings merit at any time, but the Purāṇa names two occasions of special power:

  • Āśvayuja Amāvāsyā, the new moon of the month of Āśvina (Āśvayuja), which is the night of Dīpāvalī
  • The month of Kārttika: the whole month is especially set aside for offering lamps

These times match the wider tradition of the Kārttika vrata, in which a lamp offered to Vishṇu every day through the month brings very great merit.

The Best Places

The Purāṇa lists sacred places where offering lamps brings greater merit:

  • Before the mūrti (sacred image) of Bhagavān Vishṇu in the temple
  • At the feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s mūrti
  • Near the tulasī plant
  • At tīrthas (holy places) and sacred rivers
  • At the crossroads (catur-sīmā)
  • At the doors of one’s own house

Each place has its own phala (fruit). Offering a lamp in the temple brings the highest merit.

Phalaśruti: The Fruits of Offering Lamps

The Purāṇa declares:

  • Each lamp offered earns a long life in the divine worlds, in proportion to how long its flame burns
  • Lamps offered at Āśvayuja Amāvāsyā and through Kārttika earn svarga and bring one near to liberation
  • One who offers lamps through the whole month of Kārttika gains fruit equal to an Aśvamedha yajña (the great horse sacrifice)

The merit of offering lamps is said to drive away the darkness of pāpa (wrongdoing) as surely as a lamp drives away physical darkness.

The Story of Lalitikā

The story that shows the power of dīpa dāna is the Lalitikā Upākhyāna. It tells of a woman who, by chance, made Vishṇu’s lamp burn brighter and was reborn as a princess. She later taught the practice to her co-wives and led all of them to Vishṇu-loka, the realm of Vishṇu. The story stresses that the merit of dīpa dāna works even when the act is accidental, and that a lamp offered on purpose brings even greater fruit.

Sources

  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 166
  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 167