PURPOSE: To provide an electric discharge lamp lighting device which can illuminate a plurality of positions with a single electric discharge light with high luminance.

CONSTITUTION: A high luminance electric discharge lamp 11 has luminance centers 111 and 112, which are different depending on polarity of applied voltage. A control circuit 2 supplies a switch signal 201 or a switch signal 202 to a polarity switching circuit 3 at polarity switch of the high luminance electric discharge lamp 11 and supplies a voltage Vo including a trigger voltage and a lighting maintaining voltage to the high luminance electric discharge lamp 11. The polarity switching circuit 3 is provided between the high luminance electric discharge lamp 11 and the control circuit 2 and switches the polarity of the lighting maintaining voltage to the polarity according to the switch signal 201 or 202 and applies it to the high luminance electric discharge lamp.