||Yaa kundendu tushaara hara dhavalaa
yaa shubra vastraanvita,
Yaa veena vara danda manditakaraa
yaa shveta padmaasanaa,
Yaa brahmaachyuta shankara prarbhutibhir
Devaih sadaa vandita,
Shamaa paatu Saraswati bhagavatee
Nishesha jaadyaapahaa ||

“She who is immaculately white like the lily blossom, the moon and the wreath of snow, who dons a white robe and holds a veena in her hand, who is seated on a white lotus, who is ever adored by all the Gods including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and who deftly removes all types of inertia and ignorance.”


Maa Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom, is well loved by Hindus as she represents the very essence of the self (‘Sara’ meaning essence and ‘Swa’ meaning self). She is particularly worshipped by people within the educational field, such as students, teachers, scholars and scientists. Her form can often be seen in educational centres throughout Bharata (India).

Our Hindu scriptures have always believed that the whole of creation is energy. Science too agrees with this theory. Hindus believe that the manifested Energy of God is female (Shakti), hence the majority of Hindu Gods have a female counterpart. In the Hindu Puranas, Saraswati is described as the consort of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe (knowledge is necessary for creation). She is typically depicted as wearing a white sari, seated on a white lotus with a white swan and peacock resting beside her.

 

This association is not without any meaning; the colour white represents absolute purity, and as Saraswati represents the self, the colour white also symbolises the purity of the soul. This imagery shows that she herself is the embodiment of purity, and pure knowledge. Within Hinduism generally a lotus, kamal or padma, symbolises purity and transcendence. The symbolisim of being seated on the lotus represents the individual, who lives in turbid waters yet rises up and blossoms to the point of enlightenment obtaining the knowledge of the true Self (Atman Gnyaan or Moksha). Saraswati is shown playing the veena, which denotes the mind and intellect. It demonstrates how the seeker of true knowledge must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Possessing this subtle balance in life enables the individual to utilise the acquired knowledge for the welfare of all humanity.

The swan resting beside her symbolises the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or the real and the unreal. It is said that swans have the ability to differentiate between pure milk and milk diluted with water. By having the swan as her personal vehicle, Goddess Saraswati shows how one should acquire and apply knowledge by the use of the same discrimination (Vivek) for the good of humanity. It is important to remember that knowledge dominated by ego can potentially bring about the downfall of an individual and of others. The peacock on the other hand, represents mundane knowledge that is rather unstable and prone to be overcome by fear, anger, indecision and fickleness like a peacock is affected by the changes in weather. We should not let ourselves become too caught up within such moods as this clouds the mind from making right decisions, instead one should make every effort to overcome such behaviours.

Goddess Saraswati is known by many names including, Mahavidya, the one possessing transcendent knowledge, Vacdevi, representing the divinity of speech, Sharada, the giver of essence, and Brahmi, the power of the immense being (Lord Brahma). Mahavidya has four arms indicating her omnipresence and omnipotence nature as they point towards the four directions. The arms themselves signify the four attributes of the inner personality; the front right hand represents the mind (manas), the front left hand signifies the intellect (buddhi), the upper right hand represents the ego (ahankara) and the upper left hand indicates the conditioned consciousness (chitta).

A great ancient river, which once flowed through Bharata during the Vedic period, was also named after this Goddess. The Saraswati river is believed to have drained the North (Harayan) and Northwest (Punjab) region of Bharata. The river was thought to have stemmed from the Har-ki-Dun glacier situated in Garhwal within in the Indian state of Uttaranchal. She flowed magnificently towards the West of Bharata with many rivers such as the river Sutluj and the river Gaggar, merging with her. After passing through Punjab she flowed through Rajasthan then finally joined the Rann of Kutch via Nara in Sindh.

When it was at its full flow the River Saraswati was one of the mightiest rivers during the Vedic period. The sacred Rig Veda describes Saraswati as ambitambe, the best of mothers, naditambe, the best of the rivers, and devitambe, the best of the Goddesses. The river once supported a vast number of settlements along its banks including many towns and holy ashrams which once thrived with Dharmic and Vedic knowledge.

It is not known what caused this holy river to dry up, some say that the tectonic movements caused the tributaries of the Saraswati (rivers Sutluj and Yamuna) to change their course and so over several hundred years caused her to become dry. It is also alleged that the desertification of Rajasthan caused many sandstorms to develop thus contributing to the drying up the river. Saraswati’s demise had a devastating effect on the lives of the settlers. The shortage of water forced them to migrate towards the east to the Ganga-Yamuna banks, and towards the south to the Godavari plain. However, the river had such an impact on the lives of the settlers that many other rivers within Bharata were later named after her. For example, river Argandab (now in Afghanistan) was named Saraswati and the Luni river in Gujarat was also renamed as Saraswati.

The Hindu festival of Vasant Panchmi is celebrated on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month Magha (January/February). As well as overflowing with religious meaning, it also has seasonal and social significance and is celebrated by Hindus wherever they may be. This day is dedicated to Sharada, as it is believed that the Goddess was born on this day. It is also believed that the great Rishi Krishna Dvaipanaya finished compiling the Vedas for which he became known as Rishi Veda-Vyas.

On this day the murtis (deities) of Saraswati and other Gods are adorned wearing yellow garments and flower garlands. The colour yellow is given special importance on this day as it symbolises the approaching of the spring season. Mother Nature will decorate the trees with new blossoms, the wheat and crops will begin to sprout through the enriched soil and new life will be evident in the woods and fields. Hindu men, women and children prefer to wear yellow clothes on this day and sweets of yellowish colours are offered to the deities and distributed amongst the devotees.

However, the most significant aspect of this day is that young children are taught their very first words and how to read and write on this auspicious day. Educational institutions try to organise a special puja (worship) for Saraswati. It is not only people in the educational field but also holy people and individuals on the path of spiritual progress who attach great importance to the worship of Saraswati on this day for spiritual enlightenment and thanked for bestowing the gift of Knowledge.

The symbolism behind the image of Saraswati makes one realise the greatness and grandness of Hinduism. There is nothing within Hinduism that is without meaning and this also applies to the form of Saraswati. Our great Rishis have done an immense service to humanity by simplifying the higher wisdom into simple teachings that can be understood by the average person. It is up to the individual to repay back this debt by learning and taking interest in Hindu teachings and culture to find out for themselves what Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion, has to offer. May the blessings of Goddess Saraswati forever be with those who seek to know the truth.

Goddess Saraswati