Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती) is the first of the three great goddesses of Hinduism, the other two being Lakshmi and Durga. Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahmā, the Creator.

Origins and context in Hinduism

Saraswati (Sarasvati, Saraswathi, Shatarupā) is the first goddess worshipped in the Hindu religion. She is the Goddess of Knowledge and all literary arts including music, arts, and speech. She is also worshipped as the Goddess of thoughts of truth and forgivings. She is first mentioned in the Rig Veda. She is also mentioned in Puranic texts. It was likely that she originated as a river goddess. Her name is Sanskrit for "she who has lakes or pools".

In the Vedanta school, She is considered as the feminine gender and knowledge aspect Shakti of Brahman, and it is generally considered that only knowledge is the final path to Moksha, i.e., only by worshiping her and continuously seeking true knowledge with complete undeviating attention, can one attain Moksha.

Saraswati as a River

The Rig Vedic hymns dedicated to Saraswati mention her as a mighty river with creative, purifying, and nourishing properties. It was on these banks that the entire Vedic civilisation took root, as the Holy Vedas were composed here. The likeliest theory about the river that once bore her name is that it was formed by the present headwaters of the Yamuna turning west instead of east at Paonta Saheb where it leaves the Himalaya foothills, and flowing southwest across Punjab and Haryana and then along the Ghaggar and Hakra and Raini Nala and Eastern Nara and across the Rann of Kutch into the Gulf of Khambay. The Sutlej flowed further east than now and joined it somehere nearish to Bahawalpur. Along the old course of the Sarasvati river, the earliest writing in India has been found. As time passed, deforestation and overgrazing likely reduced the rainfall in parts of its headwaters area in what is now Pakistan and Rajasthan, and much of its water was diverted to irrigate fields, so that it dried in the desert instead of reaching the sea; finally it dried up completely due to its main headwaters changing their courses.

In addition, a curious legend surrounds Saraswati, the river:

Once the celebrated Vedic sage Vasishtha was practising

When the poor sages, who lived in hermitage on her banks, came for a bath, they were shocked to find a flowing stream of blood. Saraswati prayed to them, ‘ I was a river of pure water. But the sage Vishvamitra ordered me to bring his enemy, the good sage Vasishtha, floating to him. I sensed mischief but was afraid of Vishvamitra’s ire. So I carried Vasishtha away from where he sat, but instead of delivering the innocent sage to his ill-tempered colleague, I took him to a safer place. Vishvamitra realized my intention and cursed me. I feel so unclean and humiliated. Can’t you sages cleanse my water and restore my purity?’

‘We surely can and are definitely going to do just that,’ said the kind-hearted hermits, who were moved by her courage. So, through their magic powers Saraswati regained her purity and again became a river flowing with water. This is why she is also referred to as Shonapunya, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘one purified of blood’.

Other associations

As a water goddess, she symbolises fertility and prosperity. She is associated with purity and creativity, especially in the context of literary and verbal skills. In the post-Vedic age, she began to lose her status as a river goddess and was increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc. Her name literally means the one who flows, which can be applied to thoughts, words, or the flow of a river.

In the Rig-Veda (6,61,7), Saraswati is credited with killing the asura (demon) Vritra, who represents drought, darkness, and chaos. She is often seen as equivalent to the other Vedic goddesses like Vāk (divine word, also romanised as Vac), Savitri (illumination) and Gayatri. Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness and cosmic knowledge.

Perhaps as the ancient river dried up or changed course, the goddess became less related to the river. The Divine Mother Saraswati is the wife or consort of Lord Brahmā, the creator. Therefore, she stands for creativity. Goddess Saraswati stands for knowledge, education, enlightenment, music, arts, and power. She is not only worshipped for secular knowledge, but for

Saraswati Stuthi tells us that she is the only goddess to be revered by all the three great gods of Hinduism, Brahmā, Vishnu, and Shiva. She is the only goddess to be worshipped equally by all the gods, the demons, the gandharvas (the divine musicians), and the nagas (the divine serpents).

Appearance

Goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, fair-skinned woman dressed in pure white often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes that she is founded in the experience of the Absolute Truth. Thus, she not only has the knowledge but also the experience of the Highest Reality. She is associated with the colour white, which signifies the purity of true knowledge. She is also associated with the yellow of the mustard flowers that bloom at the time of her festival in the spring. She is not adorned heavily with jewels and gold like the goddess Lakshmi, but is dressed austerely--perhaps representing her preference of knowledge over worldly material things.She is generally shown to have four arms representing four aspects of human personality in learning; mind, intellect, alertness and ego., holding in Her hands:-

• A book, which is the sacred Vedas, representing the universal, divine, eternal, true knowledge and her perfection of all the sciences and the scriptures.
• A mala of white pearls, representing the power of meditation and spirituality.
• A pot of sacred water, representing creative and purificatory powers.
• The musical instrument called the veena, representing her perfection of all arts and sciences.

A white swan is often besides her feet. The sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. The swan thus symbolizes discrimation between the good and the bad or the eternal and the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Goddess Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsa-vahini, which means "she who has a swan as her vehicle".She is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to her early origins as a water goddess. The swan and her association with the lotus also point to her ancient origin.

Sometimes a peacock is shown beside the goddess. The peacock represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and by having a peacock as her mount, the Goddess teaches us not to be proud of external appearances and be wise to know the eternal truth.

Festivals for Saraswati

The goddess Saraswati is worshipped during Navaratri. In eastern India, Saraswati Puja is a very important festival. The last three days of Navarathri starting from Mahalaya Amavasya (the New Moon day) are dedicated to the goddess. On the ninth day of Navaratri (Mahanavami), books and all musical instruments are ceremoniously kept near the gods early at dawn and worshipped with special prayers. No studies or any performance of arts is carried out, as it is considered that the Goddess herself is blessing the books and the instruments. The puja is concluded on the tenth day of Navaratri (Vijaya Dashami) and the goddess is worshipped again before the books and the musical instruments are removed. It is customary to study on this day, which is called Vidya-aarambham (literally, Commencement of Knowledge).

During Basant Panchmi, which comes either at the end of January or the beginning of February, prayers and pujas are offered to her, especially by artists, musicians, scientists, doctors, lawyers.

In Pushkar in Rajasthan, a temple has been made in her name on a mountain higher than that of Lord Brahmā's.

Saraswati in other cultures

Besides her role in Hinduism, she was also, like the Hindu goddess Tara, absorbed from Vedic culture into the Buddhist pantheon and came to China via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her. Now largely forgotten in China, she is still worshipped in Japan under the name Benzaiten. Other names for her include:-

• Vinidra ("she who is always awake")
• Brāhmī (Brahmā's consort)
• Bharati ("eloquence")
• Hamsavahini ("one who has a swan for a mount")
• Shāradā ("giver of essence")
• Arya ("The Noble One")
• Maha-vani ("the transcendent word")
• Vagishvari ("Goddess of speech").
• Vānī
• The Tibetan Buddhist dakini Yeshey Tsogyel is sometimes considered a manifestation of Saraswati.
• Some purport that in Judeo-Christo-Islamic religions Saraswati and a-Brahmā apppear as Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament, although the similarity between the names is coincidental.

Other meanings

• "Sarasvati" or "Saraswati" is sometimes used as an Indian woman's name.
• In India there are other rivers called Sarasvati or Saraswati. One of them flows from the west end of the Aravalli Hills into the east end of the Rann of Kutch.

See also

• Hindu Goddess

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.

Saraswati Sarasvatî (déesse) サラスヴァティー Sarasvati Sarasvati Sarasvati Сарасвати Sarasvatita:சரஸ்வதி 萨罗斯瓦蒂