If possible offer a lamp daily during Kartik, either in the temple or before your altar at home.
You can sing or play a recording of the Sri Damodarasataka prayers while offering lamps. These prayers are found in the
You can download an audio of the song from our website:www.iskcondurban.net. Go to the “downloads” tab and make your selection.
Generally in our temples we use clay lamps, each one having a single ghee wick. Brass lamps may also be used which should washed before reusing. A viable alternative is to use small birthday candles. The candles may be placed in a small bowl of sand after offering.
Offering Your Lamp
Remove your shoes and socks and wash your hands.
Light a lamp and sprinkle it lightly with water to purify the lamp before the offering.
Present it before the picture of Srila Prabhupada, and then follow this process:
1. Offer the lamp to Lord Damodar by circling seven times,
2. Then offer the lamp to Mother Yasoda by circling seven times,
3. And finally offer to Srila Prabhupada by circling his face three times.
Thereafter place the lamp before your altar. You can then bow down before your altar and offer your personal prayers.
HARIBOL. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW INSTEAD OF USING GHEE CAN I USE OIL WICKS WHEN OFFERING KARTIK LAMPS.
THANK U
HARE KRSNA
Hare Krishna,
Ghee wicks are ideal, however, if you do not have, then oil will do. Thank you.
Hare Krishna. Should we offer ghee lamp in the evening or both morning and evening. For how many days should we lite the lamp?
Hare Krishna why do we offer lamps for Kartika. Is there any scriptural injunctions backing this easy child asked me this and I don’t have a proper answer.
Hare Krishna, Thank you for your inquiry. You can offer a lamp once a day (morning or evening) until the end of Kartik (Saturday, 4 November).
Benefits of offering a lamp during Kartik.
The Pastimes of Lord Damodara.
Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. Even unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathura (or Vrindavana) in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s personal service”. During the Kartika month millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glorifying His playful childhood pastime of stealing yogurt.
GLORIES OF KARTHIKA MONTH FROM DIFFERENT TEXTS (DAMODHARA MONTH):
“When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink.”
“Please hear the glories of offering a lamp during pleasing to Lord Kesava. O King of brahmanas, a person who offers a lamp in this way will not take birth again in this world.”
“By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one attains a pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the river Narmada during a lunar eclipse.”
“O Tiger among sages! For a person who thus offers a lamp burning with ghee or sesame oil, what is the use of performing an asvasmedha-yajna? ”
“Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Karttika.”
“A person who during the month of Karttika offers a lamp to Lord Kesava has already performed all yajnas and bathing in all holy rivers.”
“The ancestors say: When someone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering to Him a lamp during the month of Karttika, then, by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarsana-cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation.”
“By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt.”
“A person who offers a lamp during the month of Karttika attains a result that cannot be obtained with even a hundred yajnas or a hundred pilgrimages.”
“Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offer a lamp during Karttika becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt.”
“O Narada, no sin exists anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Kesava during Karttika.”
“A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering.”
“As fire is present in all wood and may be extracted by friction, so piety is always present in the offering of a lamp during the month of Karttika. Of this there is no doubt.”
“O King of brahmanas, when someone offers Him a lamp on the full-moon day of the month of Karttika, Lord Krishna, finding that He does not have sufficient money to repay that gift, gives Himself in exchange for that lamp.”
“One who offers a steady lamp to Lord Hari during the month of Karttika enjoys pastimes in Lord Hari’s splendid spiritual world.”
“Even one who never performs religious rituals or even the worst sinner will surely be purified by this offering. O Narada, in the three worlds there is no sin that can stand before this Kartika dipa. In fact, by presenting this dipa before Lord Vasudeva, the eternal abode can be reached without obstruction.”
“All the results acquired by donating grains during pitri-paksha or by distributing water in the hot months of Jyeshtha or Ashadha are easily gained in the course of Kartika merely by reviving (relighting) a dipa offered by someone else.”
SRILA BHAKTIVINODE THAKURA States:
“In Kartik month, after bathing in the morning, one should worship Lord Damodara. At night, one should light brilliant lamps filled with either ghee or sesame-seed oil, and place them in these places – in the Lord’s temple, around the base of tulasi plants, and in the sky. During the month of Kartika, one should eat only vegetarian foodstuffs and Bhagavan’s prasad remnants. There should be incessant harinama-kirtana and smarana. The sole activity to be done during the observance of Damodara-vrata is the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara.”
Vasanta Das (taken from http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32586)
Hare Bol,
May I light up diya using vegetable ghee ?
Morning at what time should we light the lamp
Hi Poonam, you may offer a lamp at anytime during the day but we offer the lamp in the evenings around 7pm. Happy Kartik!
Hare Krishna , should I still offering ghee lamp once a week after the month of Karthik? Which day is favourable to Lord Damodara?
Hi Gally, you can connote to offer a lamp if you desire. It is always auspicious to offer a devotion to Lord Damodar so it does not matter which day you choose to do it. However note that we do not offer lamps to Lord Damodar after Kartik, but rather offer the regular aarti, which includes the offering of a ghee lamp.
Which is the preferred or correct ghee to used for Pooja butter ghee or vegetable ghee
And what is the difference between the two
Thank you
Can we offer lamp during periods
Hare Krishna Hamsapriya, It depends where you are offering your lamp. If at a temple then best to follow the temple standards, whatever that may be. But if you are offering a lamp at home, you can be more flexible and decide for yourself. The most important aspect of offering a lamp is to offer your heart to Lord Damodara.
Hello Savy, butter ghee is preferred and considered the traditional choice. Butter ghee is made from cow’s milk and vegetable ghee is made from vegetable origins. So, if you are a vegan, for example, it is perfectly acceptable to use vegetable ghee. The most important ingredient in an offering or puja is devotion. I trust this helps.
Radhe Radhe
I don’t have a picture of Sri Damodar nor Srila Prabhupad.
But I do have a wallpaper of Sri Krishna so can I offer a lamp to him?
If not I am good at painting so should I paint a picture of Sri Damodar?
But it would be kind of difficult to paint Srila Prabhupad photo.
So please tell me what I should do.
Hare Krishna Saisha, You can offer a lamp to your wallpaper of Sri Krishna. Remember it’s your mood when offering your lamp, that all Krishna sees…you love.