Why island and not light?

There are some phrases in the suttas where it is said "be your own island". The word for "island" is "*dvipa*" in Sanskrit, meanwhile "*dipa*" means "light" or "lamp" in Sanskrit. However, in Pali, "*dipa*" means both "island" and "light" / "lamp". Due to this, it is quite common for the phrase to be mistaken as "be your own light", especially among speakers of Indian languages. Why does the sutta say "be your own island" instead of "be your own light"? What is the significance of "be your own island"? From SN 22.43 (translated by Bhikkhu Sujato): > “Mendicants, be your own island, your own refuge, with no other > refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other > refuge. > > *Attadīpā, bhikkhave, viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā > dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.* From this footnote by Maurice O'Connell Walshe: > *Atta-diipaa*. *Diipa* means both "island" (Sanskrit *dviipa*) and "lamp" (Sanskrit *diipa*), but the meaning "island" is > well-established here. The "self" referred to is of course the > unmetaphysical pronoun "oneself"