Lamps are used in Hindu temples and homes to purify and mark sacred space in mornings, evenings, or for the performance of a ritual. The lamp is the medium through which a deity is acknowledged and accessed by worshippers. For Hindu believers, fire is the earthly surrogate of the sun, the source of life and all knowledge. Light connects the mundane to the divine. The five reservoirs of this lamp held ghee (clarified butter) and small wicks to burn the oil. During a ceremony, the flame’s light is ritually waved and moved toward the deity or around the room, accompanied by singing or chanting.