The Traditional Oil Lamp: Nepal's lamp of celebration and welcome

In the Kathmandu Valley during Tihar, Nepal's festival of lights, it is rows of Panas lamps that illuminate doorways, courtyards, and staircases from household to household. The Panas is Nepal's great festival lamp: wide-bodied, multi-wicked, and designed to cast a broad, warm glow that welcomes deities, honors the departed, and fills the home with auspicious light. Each Panas in our collection is purely handmade by Nepalese artisans in copper and brass.

The Panas is a traditional Nepalese oil lamp used for an expansive purpose. It serves as a symbol of abundance and openness, designed to illuminate a space extensively rather than focus on a single flame. It is filled with mustard oil or ghee and, when lit, emits a broad, steady glow from its multiple cotton wicks, representing a powerful devotional presence and a visually striking light. In Nepalese culture, the number and brightness of lamps illuminated during festivals reflect the household's devotion, prosperity, and hospitality towards the divine.

Designed for an abundance of light

Tihar celebrations: The essential lamp for Nepal's festival of lights, placed along every doorstep to welcome Laxmi.

• Hindu devotees: Lit during Laxmi puja, Dasain, aarti, and all major Hindu auspicious occasions in the home.
  
• Buddhist sangha: Used in communal light offerings at chaityas, monasteries, and Newar Buddhist group puja.
• Newari families: A household staple, brought out each Tihar season and kept as a treasured festival object.
• Sacred gifting: One of the most auspicious gifts for a Nepali or Newari family, especially beautiful when given before Tihar.
• Altar & shrine: A multi-wick Panas elevates any home altar, its broad flame more generous and luminous than a single-wick lamp.

Crafted from sacred metals