In the Vedic system Saraswati (Sanskrit: , ; Chinese: Biàncáitiān, 辩才天; ; Japanese: 弁才天/ 弁財天 Benzaiten) is the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. Saraswatī has been identified with the Vedic Saraswati River. She is considered as consort of Brahma. She is the daughter of Durga and is seen alongside her during Durga Puja celebrations along with her sister Lakshmi and her brothers Ganesh and karthikeya. Saraswati's children are the Vedas, which are the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.

Saraswati as a 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 Saraswati River states that it was formed by the present headwaters of the Yamuna River. According to Vedic texts, after leaving the Himalayan foothills, the waters of the Yamuna turned west instead of east at Paonta Saheb in ancient times. The river then supposedly 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 is believed to have joined the Saraswati somewhere 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 Indus and Saraswati rivers, 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 Saraswati 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. 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. Late Vedic texts record the river as disappearing at Vinasana (literally, "the disappearing"), and as joining both the Yamuna and Ganges as an invisible river. Some claim that the sanctity of the modern Ganges is directly related to its assumption of the holy, and supposedly life-giving waters of the ancient Saraswati

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 Saraswati River can be seen along the main highway (GT road).

Maha Saraswati

According to Vedas, Maha Saraswati is the presiding "Goddess of the Final episode of Devi Mahatmya". Here she is believed to be a part of the trinity of Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati. She is depicted as eight-armed. Her dhyana shloka is, -

Mantra: aim guru-saraswatyai namaha

Mahavidya Nila Saraswati

Nilasaraswati is another form of Mahavidya Tara. There are separate dhyana shlokas and mantras for her worship in Tantrasara.

Origins and context in Hinduism

In the Rig-Veda (6,61,7), Saraswati is credited, in association with Indra, with killing the serpentine being Vritraasura, a demon 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 Vāc, Savitri, Shatarupa and Gayatri. Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music, the arts, and power. Hindus worship her not only for "secular knowledge", but for "divine knowledge" essential to achieve moksha. She is also referred to as Shonapunya, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘one purified of blood’. Veda's etymology explains the compound word Saraswati as "Saaram vaati iti saraswati" - "She who flows towards the absolute is saraswati" - thus edifying the ability of knowledge and communication to steer one towards spiritual absolutes.

In some Puranas (like Skanda Purana) she is associated with Shiva and in some Tantras with Ganesha.

According to Brahma Vaivarta Purana 1.6.13-95 Vishnu has three wives, who constantly quarrel with each other, so that eventually, he keeps only Lakshmi, giving Ganga to Shiva and Saraswati to Brahma. However, according to Rig Veda, Vishnu is believed to have only one wife which is Lakshmi.

The original (spiritual) forms of devas including Saraswati are present in the spiritual world:

Rupa Gosvami elaborates:

According to Vedanta she is considered to be the feminine energy and knowledge aspect (shakti) of Brahman, as one of many aspects of Adi Shakti.

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").

Saraswati is known as Benzaiten in Japan.

Sarasvati (a variant spelling) is the pseudonymous keeper of the Unicode mailing lists, and is often addressed by list members using titles appropriate to the goddess, such as "Her Divine Effulgency".

Iconography

The Goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful, white-skinned woman dressed in pure white often seated on a white Nelumbo nucifera lotus (although Her actual vahana 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. Alternatively, these four arms also represent the 4 Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus. The Vedas, in turn, represent the 3 forms of literature:

• Poetry — the Rigveda contains hymns, representing poetry

• Prose — Yajurveda contains prose

• Music — Samaveda represents music.

The four hands also depict this thusly — prose is represented by the book in one hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, music by the veena. The pot of sacred water represents purity in all of these three, or their power to purify human thought.

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 (rosary) of crystals, representing the power of meditation and spirituality.

• A pot of sacred water, representing creative and purificatory powers.

• The vina, a musical instrument that represents her perfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is also associated with anurāga, 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. Anurag is a great believer in Maa Saraswati

A 'white swan' (Sanskrit: hamsa) 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 river 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 not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.

Worship

In Vedic beliefs, great significance is attached to offering honey to this goddess, as honey is representative of perfect knowledge. Slokas (hymns) dedicated to her include Saraswati Vandana Mantra.

Festivals

Saraswati Puja is performed on the 5th day of Magha month of Vedic Calendar (also known as Basant Panchami).

In several parts of India, generally states to the south, Saraswati Poojas are conducted during Navaratri – a 9 day long festival celebrating the power of the feminine aspect of divinity or shakti. Navratri is celebrated in all goddess-temples of India, with especially great pomp and splendor in south and east India. 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), especially Sharad Navaratri celebrated by Durga Puja, 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 Vidyarambham (literally, Commencement of Knowledge). All students are traditionally required to study a part of all that they have learn till that day, and also to start the study of something new on the same day. Gurus (preceptors) are worshipped on this day as embodiments of Saraswati. In major part of India this Navratri is associated with goddess Durga, but in southern India is celebrated as Saraswati Puja.

Temples

Although Saraswati temples are rare, major temples for the goddess are located in Sarala temple of Jhankad in Cuttack district of Orissa,Basara Town (Andhra Pradesh), Shringeri, Pushkar, Panachikkad, Koothanur and Sharada Peeth in India and Bhadrakali, Gairidhara and Handigaon in Nepal also have Saraswati temples of historical and/or popular significance. A very small temple for Saraswathi Amman is located opposite to the famous Shiva temple Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India which is the only other Saraswathi Amman Temple in Tamil Nadu.

See also

• Sarasvati River

• Hindu Goddess

• Sharada Peeth

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

• Benzaiten a Japanese goddess equated with Saraswati.