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Saraswati Saraswati, goddess of knowledge God of learning, the arts, and rivers Devanagari: सरस्वती Sanskrit Transliteration: Sarasvatī Affiliation: Devi Consort: Brahmā Mount: swan, peacock

For the Vedic river, see Saraswati River.

Saraswati (Sanskrit सरस्वती sarasvatī) 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.

[edit] Origins and context in Hinduism

Saraswati is a goddess worshipped in the Vedic religion. She is the goddess of learning and the arts (e.g., music). She is also worshipped as the goddess of thoughts of truth and forgiveness. She is mentioned in the Rig Veda as well as in Puranic texts. It is likely that She originated as a river Goddess because her name in Sanskrit means "she who has lakes or pools". She is also referred to as Shonapunya, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘one purified of blood’.

In Vedanta, she is considered to be the feminine energy and knowledge aspect--shakti--of Brahman. As in ancient times, she is the goddess of knowledge, speech, poetry and music. Vedantins believe that only through the acquisition of knowledge does one reach the final path to moksha, or liberation from reincarnation. Only by worshiping Saraswati and continuously seeking true knowledge with one's complete attention can one attain the enlightenment necessary for moksha.

[edit] Saraswati as a river

Main article: Sarasvati River

The Rigvedic hymns dedicated to Saraswati mention her as a mighty river with creative, purifying, and nourishing properties. The best theory regarding the Vedic Sarasvati River states that it was formed by the present headwaters of the Yamuna River. In ancient times, after they had left the Himalayan foothills, the waters of the Yamuna turned west instead of east at Paonta Saheb. Next, the river flowed southwest across the Punjab and Haryana regions along the course of the modern Ghaggar-Hakra River in a pathway roughly parallel to the smaller Indus River to its west. The Sutlej flowed further east than it does today, and joined the Sarasvati somewhere near Bahawalpur. Eventually, the wide river empties into the Rann of Kutch, which at the time was a more integral part of the Arabian Sea.

Along the course of the Sarasvati, the Harappan Civilization developed. The earliest known examples of writing in India have been found in the ruined cities that line the now dry riverbed of the ancient waterway. Some have postulated that the goddess Saraswati gained her role as personified communication and the giver of knowledge due to the role of the Sarasvati River in the development of written language in ancient India.

Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C., seismic activity caused the waters of the river's two main sources to change course. The Sutlej moved course westward and became a tributary of the Indus River. The Yamuna moved course eastward and became a tributary of the Ganga. The tremendous loss of water which resulted from these movements caused the once mighty river to become sluggish and dry up in the Thar Desert without ever reaching the sea. Without any water for irrigation or transportation, the dense population of the river basin soon shifted east with the waters of the Yamuna to the Ganga River valley. Late Vedic texts record the river as disappearing at Vinasana (literally, "the disappearing"), and as joining both the Yamuna and Ganga as an invisible river. Some claim that the sanctity of the modern Ganga is directly related to its assumption of the holy, life-giving waters of the ancient Sarasvati.

Recently, archaeologists using satellite images have been able to trace the course of the river. A small channel of water flows near Kurukshetra. A nearby signboard denoting the former path of the once great Sarasvati River can be seen along the main highway (GT road).

[edit] Other associations

As a river/water goddess, Saraswati symbolizes fertility and prosperity. She is associated with purity and creativity, especially in the context of communication, such as in literary and verbal skills. In the post-Vedic age, She began to lose her status as a river goddess and became increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc. Her name literally means "the one who flows", which apparently was applied to thoughts, words, or the flow of a river (in Sanskrit: "dhaara-pravaah").

In the Rig-Veda (6,61,7), Saraswati is credited, in association with Indra, with killing the serpentine being Vritraasura, a demon which hoarded all of the earth's water and so represents drought, darkness, and chaos. She is often seen as equivalent to other Vedic goddesses such as Vak, Savitri, and Gayatri. Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music, the arts, and power. She is not only worshipped for secular knowledge, but for the true divine knowledge essential to achieve moksha.

Saraswati Stuthi states 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 Asuras (demons), the gandharvas (the divine musicians), and the nagas (the divine serpents).

[edit] Appearance

Saraswati represented in Bamar fashion, seated on a hamsa, and holding scriptures of the Tipitaka, by a river.

Goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, fair-skinned woman dressed in pure white often seated on a white lotus (although Her actual vaahan is believed to be a swan), 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 mainly associated with the color white, which signifies the purity of true knowledge. Occasionally, however, she is also associated with the colour yellow, the colour of the flowers of the mustard plant that bloom at the time of her festival in the spring. She is not adorned heavily with jewels and gold, unlike the goddess Lakshmi, but is dressed modestly--perhaps representing her preference of knowledge over worldly material things.

She is generally shown to have four arms, which represent the four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. She is shown to hold the following in her hands:

• A book, which is the sacred Vedas, representing the universal, divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well as her perfection of 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 veena, a musical instrument that represents her perfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is also associated with Anurag, the love for and rhythm of music which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music. It is believed that children born with that name will prove to be very lucky in their studies.

A white swan is often located next to 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 discrimination 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 history as a water goddess. The swan and her association with the lotus flower 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 Hindus not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.

[edit] Festivals for Saraswati

The goddess Saraswati is worshipped during Navaratri. In South India, Saraswati Puja is a very important festival. The last three days of Navaratri 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 festival 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, and lawyers.

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

[edit] 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
• bramhANi (Brahmā's consort)
• Bharati ("One who radiates knowledge and wisdom")
• Hamsavahini ("one who has a swan for a mount")
• Shāradā
• 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 appear as Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament.
• Saraswati is worshipped in Myanmar as Thuyathati (သူရသ္သတီ), and is represented by a virgin or pee pee sitting on a hintha (hamsa). She is worshipped by Burmese Buddhists, particularly before examinations and tests.

[edit] Other meanings

• An Indian female name.
• In India there are other rivers called Saraswati, one of which flows from the west end of the Aravalli Hills into the east end of the Rann of Kutch.

[edit] See also

• Hindu Goddess
• [*Harahvatī] Aredvi Sura Anahita, Saraswati's equivalent in the Avesta.

[edit] External links

• Basar Saraswathi temple in Andhra Pradesh
• Goddess Saraswati Mantra
• Goddess Saraswati
• Saraswati, Goddess of Learning
• Contemplation of Saraswati - The Flowing Waters of Divine Poetry
• Goddess Saraswati Prayer for Kids
• Weekly podcast on Vedic Chanting and Vedic Mythology with stories from the Puranas