Goddess Saraswati

The name Saraswati is usually explained as 'she who possesses waters' or 'the flowing one'. In the Rigveda she is both a great river and a goddess, praised as purifying and generous and invoked to inspire thought and prayer. Britannica notes that later texts describe the river as having vanished into the desert, and that a physical river may once have existed; tradition holds that she still joins the Ganga and Yamuna invisibly at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj.

Over time the river-goddess came to be identified with Vac, the Vedic goddess of speech, and so with all knowledge, poetry and sacred sound. She became the consort of Brahma, the creator, since creation needs knowledge. Along with Lakshmi and Parvati she forms the Tridevi, the three great goddesses, and in the Shakta tradition she is Mahasarasvati, one of the three forms of the Devi in the Devi Mahatmya.

She is called Sharada (giver of the essence), Vagdevi and Vani (goddess of speech), Bharati, Vinapani (bearer of the veena), Hamsavahini (who rides the swan) and Vidyadayini (giver of learning). Saraswati is honoured in Jain tradition as the goddess of scriptural knowledge and in Buddhist traditions, and travelled as far as Japan, where she is known as Benzaiten.

Saraswati's image is calm and luminous, without weapons. Most images show her with four arms, seated on a white lotus beside water. The meanings below are those commonly taught.

The river of the Vedas. In the Rigveda, Saraswati is one of the most praised rivers; one hymn calls her the best of mothers, best of rivers, best of goddesses. Vedic people lived and sacrificed along her banks, and she is invoked to 'purify' and to bless the sacrifice with inspired thought, as in the verse 'Pavaka nah Sarasvati' below.

The goddess of speech. The great hymn of Vac in the tenth book of the Rigveda presents divine speech as the power that supports the gods and gives wisdom to the seer. Later tradition identified this power with Saraswati, which is why she is worshipped as the source of language, mantra and learning.

Brahma's companion. In Puranic accounts, Saraswati emerges from Brahma as he begins creation, and she becomes his consort and the knowledge through which he creates. Different Puranas tell the details differently.

Kumbhakarna's slip of the tongue. In the Uttara Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, when the giant Kumbhakarna was about to ask Brahma for a terrible boon, the gods prayed to Saraswati, who entered his speech so that he asked for long sleep instead. The story is told to show that speech is in her hands.

The Devi Mahatmya. Shakta tradition associates the third episode of the Devi Mahatmya, the destruction of Shumbha and Nishumbha, with Mahasarasvati, the Goddess as supreme wisdom.

Saraswati is the consort of Brahma, and in some Puranic accounts she is also described as his mind-born daughter. In Bengal she is worshipped as one of Durga's children, alongside Lakshmi, Ganesha and Kartikeya, during Durga Puja. Her vahana is the hamsa, a swan or goose; in some regional images she rides a peacock.

Students pray to Saraswati before study and exams, musicians before practice and performance, and writers before beginning a work. Children traditionally begin their education with a ceremony called vidyarambha or akshara abhyasam, writing their first letters in rice or on a slate in her presence, often on Vasant Panchami or Vijayadashami. No weekday is universally fixed for her, but many families offer a short daily prayer before study.

Offerings include white and yellow flowers, white sweets, kheer, curd, fruits and saffron rice. Books, pens and musical instruments are placed before her to be blessed, and on her festival days many households do not study, letting the books 'rest' in her presence. 'Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah' is a widely used mantra, with 'Aim' as her seed syllable. The two verses below, 'Ya kundendu' and 'Saraswati namastubhyam', are recited in schools and homes across India.

Vasant Panchami, the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Magha (January-February), marks the coming of spring and is Saraswati's great day. Britannica describes it as Saraswati Puja, when devotees often wear yellow and children are taught to write for the first time. In Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Bihar, schools and colleges set up Saraswati images and students offer pushpanjali; elsewhere people fly kites and eat yellow sweets and saffron rice.

During Sharad Navaratri, Saraswati is worshipped especially in the South. Books and instruments are placed for puja (in Kerala, Pooja Vaypu) around Durgashtami, Navami brings Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja, and on Vijayadashami the books are taken back and children are initiated into learning (Vidyarambham).

Temples devoted mainly to Saraswati are fewer than for other deities, which makes the existing ones special. The Sharada Peetham at Sringeri in Karnataka, associated by tradition with Adi Shankaracharya, worships her as Sharadamba. The Gnana Saraswati temple at Basar in Telangana, on the Godavari, is a favourite place for children's akshara abhyasam. The Koothanur Saraswati temple in Tamil Nadu and the Dakshina Mookambika temple at Panachikkadu in Kerala are famous for Vidyarambham, and the Mookambika temple at Kollur in Karnataka is also visited by those seeking learning. The Sharda Devi temple at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh draws many pilgrims, and the ancient Sharada Peeth in Kashmir, now in ruins, was once a renowned centre of learning.

In Hindu thought, Saraswati represents vidya, true knowledge, which leads from ignorance to wisdom and finally to liberation. She is linked with the idea of Shabda Brahman, the Absolute as sacred sound, from which the Vedas and all language arise. Her consort Brahma creates, but creation without knowledge would be chaos; so the tradition pairs them.

Saraswati is honoured by every sampradaya. Smarta households and Shankaracharya mathas such as Sringeri give her special place; Shaktas worship her as Mahasarasvati; Vaishnavas and Shaivas alike invoke her before learning and recitation. Musicians in both the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions regard her as their presiding deity. Her worship teaches humility in learning: the swan beside her is a reminder that knowledge is meant to discriminate truth from falsehood, not to feed pride.