A discharge lamp of the short arc type having a trigger wire which can be installed in a state which is suitable for a directional capacity of the electrode regardless of what type of base the lamp has is achieved by the trigger wire on the outside surface of an arc tube having the following characteristic: an annular area that is formed by a portion of the trigger wire which is looped around the arc tube and elastically held against the outside surface of the arc tube; a first holding part which adjoins a first end of the portion of the trigger wire that forms the annular area and which extends in an axial direction along the arc tube; a second holding part which adjoins a second end of end of the portion of the trigger wire that forms the annular area and which extends in the axial direction along the arc tube.