Saraswati

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Image:Dp-sarasvati.jpg 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.

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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 forgivings. 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’.

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Saraswati as a river

The Rig Vedic hymns dedicated to Saraswati mention her as a mighty river with creative, purifying, and nourishing properties. The likeliest theory about the vedic Sarasvati River is that it was formed by the present headwaters of the Yamuna River. In ancient times, after they had left the Himalaya foothills, the waters of the Yamuna turned west instead of east at Paonta Saheb . Next, the river flowed southwest across Punjab and Haryana 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 now and joined the Sarasvati somehere near Bahawalpur. Eventually, the wide river emptied 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 grew and 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 speech 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 Ganges River. 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 Ganges River valley. Some claim that the sanctity of the modern Ganges River is directly related to its assumption of the holy, life-giving waters of the 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).

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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, 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).

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Appearance

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 colour 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 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.

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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.

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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:-


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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.
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See also

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External links

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References

  1. redirect Template:Hindu Deities and Textsda:Sarasvati

de:Saraswati fr:Sarasvatî (déesse) hi:सरस्वती ja:サラスヴァティー no:Sarasvati nl:Sarasvati nn:Sarasvati pt:Sarasvati ru:Сарасвати sv:Sarasvati ta:சரஸ்வதி tr:Saraswati zh:辯才天

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