A discharge lamp ballast circuit is provided which can prolong the life of a discharge lamp, and reduce the size and cost of the ballast circuit. It generates from an AC voltage boosted by a DC-AC inverter circuit a DC voltage higher than the breakdown voltage of an HID lamp, or a superimposed voltage in which a pulsating component is superimposed on the DC voltage, and starts the discharge by applying the DC voltage or the superimposed voltage to the HID lamp. It can make the life of the HID lamp longer than that of the case where a high voltage short pulse is applied to the HID lamp.