This page records how Hindus offer a lamp (diya) and perform arati, following pages published by Hindu temples and organisations themselves, checked against encyclopedias. The library's Hindu shrine follows what is written below: choose one or five wicks and the shrine lights exactly that many flames.
IHow Many Wicks
The single-wick lamp is the most common. The lamp used in arati may have one wick, five, or more. The sources read do not attach a doctrinal meaning to each number, and do not say that more wicks mean more devotion.
The library does not offer 7, 11, 21, 108 or 1008 flames. Seven-wick lamps exist and so do ceremonies of many lamps, but the library has not read a temple or lineage source that explains those numbers. Tables of how many incense sticks or how many circuits for each deity are regional customs and the sources disagree.
At the library's Hindu shrine, each lamp offering counts as one sincere visit, whether you choose one wick or five.
IIOffering The Lamp And Receiving The Flame
IIIEight Prayers And Where Each Icon Comes From
Britannica notes that a puja may be performed for a specific announced purpose or simply as an act of devotion. Hindus pray for worldly and spiritual things alike: health, learning, a good beginning, prosperity, peace, the ancestors, liberation. The general word for prayer is prarthana. The eight prayers below were chosen and worded by the library. Each icon is a real object, with a note on where it belongs and which source describes it.
The conch shell (shankha). The shanti mantras that open the Upanishads all end with Om and the word shanti, peace, said three times. The three stand for three realms to be calmed: the physical, the divine and the inner. The conch is an implement of arati: three blasts open the ceremony and three close it, and its sound stands for ether, the fifth element. Pairing the conch with the prayer for peace is the library's choice of icon.
An arati implement, paired with this prayer by the library · Source: Wikipedia, Shanti Mantras. ISKCON Educational Services, fact sheet The Arati Ceremony. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Hindu Temple WorshipThe tulsi plant in its planter. Tulsi (holy basil) is held sacred in Hinduism and is widely used in Ayurvedic and folk medicine. The best known prayer for health and long life is the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, Rigveda 7.59.12, recited for longevity and for health of body and mind. This page names the mantra and its source without printing the text.
A sacred plant of Hindu homes · Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, holy basil. Wikipedia, Mahamrityunjaya MantraBook and pen. Saraswati is the goddess of learning, the arts and music, usually shown holding a manuscript and the veena. At Vasant Panchami students and artists worship her, young children learn to write their first letters, and students and writers present books or pens to her. The icon shows only the book and pen, not the goddess.
Saraswati Puja · Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, SaraswatiA plate of round sweets. Ganesha is the god of beginnings, traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise, and a remover of obstacles. Britannica notes that he is inordinately fond of round Indian sweets, which images show him holding. Hindus call the sweets offered to Ganesha modak or laddu. The icon shows only the plate of sweets, not the god.
An offering to Ganesha · Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, GaneshaThe kalasha pot. The purna-kalasha is a pot of water crowned with mango leaves and a coconut. It is a symbol of abundance and the source of life, present at weddings, births, housewarmings and in daily worship. It can stand for Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune, who is celebrated above all at Diwali.
A ritual object common across Hinduism · Source: Wikipedia, Kalasha. ISKCON Educational Services, Hindu Symbols. Encyclopaedia Britannica, LakshmiThree pinda rice balls and a water pot. Shraddha is the rite in honour of dead ancestors (pitri), meant to nourish and support their spirits on their way. In it, pinda rice balls are offered to three generations of ancestors and water mixed with sesame is poured (tarpana). The main season is Pitru Paksha, usually in September. The lamp at the shrine does not replace shraddha. It is only a remembrance.
The shraddha rite · Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, shraddha. Wikipedia, ŚrāddhaJoined palms. A home puja ends with an apology. The Himalayan Academy guide translates it: we do not know the proper means of inviting you nor how to bid you farewell. ISKCON likewise advises praying for forgiveness for any offences made during worship. Joined palms are the sign of respect for the sacred. The icon shows only the hands.
The closing prayer of puja · Source: Himalayan Academy, Ganesha Home Puja. ISKCON Desire Tree, Practicing at Home. ISKCON Educational Services, Hindu SymbolsThe lotus. Moksha is liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). The prayer here draws on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28, printed earlier on this page. The lotus is the symbol of purity and transcendence: it grows out of the mud and is beautiful, and though resting on water it does not touch it.
A symbol common across Hinduism · Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, moksha. ISKCON Educational Services, Hindu Symbols. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28, as posted on VivekaVaniThe library does not draw deities as buttons, and does not draw the swastika even though it is an auspicious sign for Hindus. All eight icons are objects.
IVAfter The Offering
So at the Hindu shrine, once the lamp is lit, the library invites you to say your prayer silently or aloud, then pass both hands over the flame and touch them lightly to your eyes. The gesture of receiving the flame is described by BAPS, ISKCON and Himalayan Academy. The invitation to pray silently or aloud is the library's own: the sources only say that arati is accompanied by sung prayer. They do not say whether a personal prayer is silent or spoken.
BAPS explains arati as an image of the removal of darkness by true spiritual enlightenment.
VWhat The Library Is Not Sure Of
Are you a Hindu and see something wrong? Please send a correction with its source to thayungkhiem@gmail.com. The library will fix it and credit you.
VISources
Sources read on 5 October 2026. Van Dao Duong describes. It does not replace a real rite and does not represent any temple, lineage or Hindu organisation.
Go to the Hindu shrine to offer a lamp
?Quick Questions
How many wicks are correct when offering a lamp in Hinduism
One wick is the most common. The arati lamp may have one, five or more wicks, according to ISKCON's material. The sources read do not say that more wicks mean more devotion.
Why do worshippers pass their hands over the flame
After arati the offered lamp is brought to each person. They pass a hand over the flame and touch the eyes and head to receive the blessing of that flame. BAPS, ISKCON and Himalayan Academy all describe the gesture.
Where is Asato ma sad gamaya from
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, chapter 1, section 3, verse 28. It has three clauses: from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
Does choosing five wicks count as five visits at the shrine
No. Each offering is one sincere visit by one person, whether you choose one wick or five. The shrine does light exactly the number of flames you choose.