Goddess Saraswati – Epitome of Wisdom & Learning

Goddess Saraswati : The stories of Hindu Gods and Goddesses have a rich mythological background. Over the years, Hinduism has evolved itself as one of the most practiced religions in the world. Gods and goddesses are the centripetal force of this widely followed religion. Hinduism believes that the divine energies are divided into Male and Female forms.  Male form of divinity is given the name of Shiva and the female form is popularly known as Shakti. Shakti further has many forms or avatars. One of the popular forms is of Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom and learning.

Goddess Saraswati - Epitome of Wisdom & Learning

Mythological facts behind the Goddess Saraswati

Hinduism is incomplete without mythology. Getting to know the mythological facts is certainly fascinating. Goddess Saraswati known for wisdom and Knowledge is not spared from the clutches of mythology. If mythology is to be believed, when God Brahma completed his task of creating the earth and universe, he was entrusted with the task bringing life. Thus, Saraswati was born. Brahma turned so amorous by the beauty of his own daughter that he wanted to marry her. She, in order to escape from the fling ran in all four directions. Brahma developed three more heads to keep an eye on her and finally convinced her to marry him.

Iconographic description

Goddess Saraswati is depicted as the goddess dressed in a white saree seated on a white lotus. Swan is the vahana or the carrier of Goddess. She has four arms, which symbolise four different aspects of the personality – the ahankara, the buddhi, the chitta, the mana. The goddess holds four different things in each of her hand- long musical instrument or veena, book or pustaka, garland or mala, and a water pot. Every item in each hand bears a special significance. The Book is adorned in the left hand. It exemplifies the fact that the attainment of knowledge and its application should be put forth in the betterment of the others. The Mala symbolises the meditative process to be followed for the attainment of knowledge. The Veena points the amalgamation of all the cosmic sound that reverberates in the universe. The Swan depicts the power to choose right and wrong.

Religious manifestation of Goddess Saraswati

The Goddess of purity, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped every year on Vasant Panchami. According to the Hindu calendar, Vasant Panchami is the fifth day of the lunar month of Magha. It is quite interesting that yellow is the predominant colour of this day. It symbolises the start of the spring season. Devotees chant Saraswati mantra and offer prayers to the goddess. The mantra is believed to dissipate ignorance.

Saraswati and her other forms

The mother goddess of wisdom, knowledge, intellect and consciousness is known by many names. Each name depicts her prowess. Some of the popular names and their meaning are mentioned below:

  • Vageshvari – One who has excellence in speech
  • Vinapani – One who holds the Veena
  • Brahmi – Wife of the creator- Brahma
  • Bharati – One who embodies eloquence

One who worships Sarawasti is always blessed with great knowledge. He will be conscious of the true knowledge and the reason for our being.