What is Deepdaan? How to Perform It and What Are Its Benefits?

Almost all Puranas consider Deepdaan extremely auspicious and quickly rewarding. Essentially, Deepdaan means lighting a lamp and placing it in a specific location. This specific place can be the roof of the house, temple, well, crossroads, near a tree, riverbank, pond bank, or seashore. Deepdaan done on the riverbank is especially considered highly fortunate. Offering Deepdaan with prayer to God can remove sorrow, misfortune, and poverty.

When to Perform Deepdaan?

People often wonder when to perform Deepdaan. Usually, it can be done daily. If doing it daily is not possible, then it can be done on Panchami, Ekadashi, Purnima, Amavasya, or on any festival. According to some beliefs, offering Deepdaan in a Shiva or Vishnu temple on one’s birth star day is also very beneficial.

How to Perform It?

People usually perform Deepdaan using an earthen lamp, but in some places, lamps made of silver or gold are also used. The lamp should be filled with pure ghee made from cow’s milk. If ghee is not available, then a lamp of sesame oil can be lit. The wick can be straight or long. Use a white wick for Lord Shiva, white or yellow for Lord Vishnu, red for Lord Hanuman and Goddess Durga, and white for Goddess Lakshmi. People can also perform Deepdaan for planetary deities.

How Long Should Deepdaan Last?

If you perform Deepdaan at home, the lamp should burn for about 2–3 hours. If you perform it at a temple or any other place, you can fully fill it with ghee or oil and let it burn. While doing Deepdaan at temples or other locations, do not place the lamp directly on the ground; instead, place it on sacred leaves or, if possible, on wheat or rice.

Significance of Deepdaan on the Banks of the Ganga

People consider performing Deepdaan on the banks of the Ganga at pilgrimage sites like Varanasi, Haridwar, and Prayagraj especially auspicious and meritorious. Beliefs hold that offering a lamp into the Ganga destroys sins and grants peace to the soul. Prayers offered while floating lamps in the holy Ganga water are fulfilled quickly. This grants a person mental peace, inner balance, and spiritual strength. When the lamp lights float on the waves, the scene not only touches the heart but also provides a divine experience.

In the evening, thousands of lamps are lit at these holy places and devotees float them in the water. Similarly, performing Deepdaan at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar is a centuries-old tradition. These lamps are not only religious symbols but also symbols of devotion, faith, and surrender to God. On special occasions like Kartik Purnima, Ganga Dussehra, or Pitru Paksha, performing Deepdaan grants peace to the souls of ancestors and brings happiness and harmony to the home. In this way, Deepdaan performed at pilgrimage sites is not just a religious act but an expression of deep devotion from the soul.

Benefits of Deepdaan

Protection from untimely death and accidents.
Blessings from ancestors.
Special grace of God.
Fulfillment of wishes quickly.
Blessings of wealth and prosperity in the home.
Good news related to children.
Resolution of family disputes and quarrels.
Guidance during difficult times in life.