Saraswati
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.
Contents
Saraswati's Origins and
context in Hinduism
Saraswati is a Goddess that was worshipped in the Vedic 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
forgiving. She is mentioned in the Rig Veda as well as in Puranic texts. It was
likely that She originated as a river Goddess because Her name in Sanskrit means
"she who has lakes or pools".
In the Hindu philosophy of
Vedanta, She
is considered as 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 complete undeviating attention can one attain the
enlightenment
necessary for moksha.
She is also referred to as Shonapunya, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘one purified of
blood’.
Saraswati as a river
The Rigvedic hymns dedicated to Saraswati mention her as a mighty river with creative, purifying, and nourishing properties. There are also many references to the Sarasvati river in other Vedic and post-Vedic texts. 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. The Sarasvati river is often identified with the Ghaggar-Hakra River which dries up in the Thar desert. Before roughly 1600 BC, the both the Sutlej and the Yamuna were tributaries to the Ghaggar-Hakra, which emtied into the Rann of Kutch. The early Rigvedic "mighty" Sarasvati is traditionally often identified with this Old Ghaggar, while some scholars consider it more likely that it corresponds to the Helmand River of Afghanistan.
Other associations of Saraswati
As a water goddess, She
symbolizes 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 Sanskrit: "dhaara-pravaah").
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, Savitri 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 the true divine
knowledge which is essential to achieve self-realization, or "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 demons, the
gandharvas (the divine musicians), and the nagas (the divine serpents).
Appearance of Saraswati
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 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 color yellow, the color 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 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.
Adapted with permission from Wikipedia
