Saraswati
Saraswati is one of the Hindu goddesses. The Vedas also mention her name. She is the goddess of speech, learning and knowledge. The legend states that she created the Sanskrit language and invented the vina, a musical instrument similar to a lute. The legend also says that she is the wife of Brahma, one of the gods of the Hindus.
| Saraswati | |
|---|---|
Mother goddess;
goddess of knowledge, music, arts, speech, wisdom, learning and the Saraswati River | |
| Member of Tridevi | |
| Other names | Sharada, Savitri, Brahmani, Bharadi, Vani, Vagdevi[1] |
| Devanagari | सरस्वती |
| Mantra | ॐ ऐं महासरस्वत्यै नमः, om shree mahasaraswatyai namaha. |
| Mount | Swan or peacock |
| Festivals | Vasant Panchami and seventh day of Navratri |
| Personal information | |
| Siblings | Shiva |
Birth
Mata Saraswati was born from the Samudra Manthan that arranged between the Devatas and the Asuras. She was born from the sea and was married to Lord Brahma thereafter. In another legend, Brahma created her by his imagination. However, she turned out to be so beautiful that he could not takes his eyes off her. Since he had five heads - four in the four cardinal directions - and one on top, his head kept turning in whichever direction Saraswati went.
Saraswati is mentioned in the Vedas, the Brahmans, the Aranyaks, the Upanishads and the Mahabharat. She is dressed in white, carries a book and a lotus. Her favorite instrument is a lute and she rides a swan. Generally, an image or a statue of Saraswati shows her with four arms. Two arms hold the vina. In other arms she holds a book and a lotus flower.
Saraswati Media
Saraswati Pata. The painting is divided into nine parts. In three central panels a temple enshrining Saraswati and her vahana, Hamsa, are depicted. Other panels are filled with attendants, musicians, dancers and Jain monks. Jain style, Gujarat, 1475–1500. National Museum, New Delhi.
Images of the goddess Saraswati may be found not only in the temples of India, but also in those of Southeast Asia, the islands of Indonesia, China and Japan. In Japan, she is known as Benzaiten (shown), and is traditionally depicted playing a biwa, in keeping with her status as a deity of music, knowledge and all that flows.
A carved idol of the crowned goddess Sharada from late-9th century Kashmir
Saraswati Devi idol at home
Saraswati Puja at Baranagore Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama High School, Kolkata, West Bengal
Statues of Chinese Buddhist gods, with Saraswati in the centre, at Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, China
Statue of Thurathadi at Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple (Yangon)
Saraswati in an 18th-century CE Tibetan artwork, holding a stick zither
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References
- ↑ Balf, Edward (1885). The Encyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia. p. 534 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Dowling, Elizabeth; Scarlett, W George (2005). Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development. SAGE Publications. p. 204. ISBN 978-0761928836.
- ↑ Kinsley, David (1988). Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the divine feminine in the Hindu religious traditions. University of California Press. pp. 55–64. ISBN 0-520063392.
- ↑ "Hinduism 101 Saraswati Symbolism". Hindu American Foundation (HAF). Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
Other websites
Media related to Sarasvati at Wikimedia Commons
