ISKCON Kurukshetra
Rows of lit clay lamps on a tray for the Kartik evening offering

Kartik Deep Daan Seva

Offer a Lamp to Lord Damodara

Every evening of Kartik, from 26 October to 23 November, devotees at ISKCON Kurukshetra offer lamps to Lord Damodara. Offer yours with them for ₹108 a lamp.

Offer Deep Daan

Offer Your Deep Daan

One lamp for one evening, or one for every evening of the month. Choose how many lamps you wish to offer to Lord Damodara this Kartik.

27 evenings of Kartik left

Devotees’ hands placing lit lamps on a large tray decorated with marigolds

Kartik 2026

₹108 a lamp

Kartik begins
Monday, 26 October
Kartik Purnima
Tuesday, 24 November
Every evening
Lamps and Damodarashtakam

Choose Your Lamps

₹108 for each lamp. You can offer them in your family’s name.

Why a Lamp in Kartik

Kartik is the month of Lord Damodara, Krishna as the child whom Mother Yasoda bound with a rope. The Caitanya-caritamrta names Him as the Deity who presides over this month (Madhya-lila 20.201), and Srila Prabhupada writes:

It is said that just as Lord Dāmodara is very dear to His devotees, so the month known as Dāmodara or Kārttika is also very dear to them.
The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 12

For this month he gave his disciples one simple practice. Speaking in Mayapur in October 1974, he said:

The duty will be that in the evening you’ll offer candle, a small candle, all of you, just before the Deity; not within the room, outside the room; and chant the Dāmodarāṣṭaka, namāmīśvaram.
Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.31, Mayapur, 11 October 1974

That small lamp is deep daan (दीपदान). Every evening of Kartik, devotees at ISKCON Kurukshetra offer lamps to Lord Damodara and sing Damodarashtakam together, on the land where Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita.

Offer Your Lamp
A lit ghee lamp held in a devotee’s cupped hands

Deep Daan at Home

Wherever you are this Kartik, you can offer a lamp each evening.

  1. Light a small lamp

    In the evening, light a small ghee lamp.

  2. Offer it to the Lord

    Stand before your home Deity, or a picture of Lord Damodara, and offer the lamp.

  3. Sing Damodarashtakam

    Sing its eight verses while you offer the lamp. The words and their meaning are on our Damodarashtakam page.

  4. Chant Hare Krishna

    Chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Frequently asked questions

Deep daan (दीपदान, also written deepdaan) means offering a lamp. In Kartik, devotees offer a small ghee lamp to Lord Damodara every evening while Damodarashtakam is sung.

Offer Deep Daan