Who is saraswati

He also created Maa Saraswati, whose knowledge and creativity was required by him to imbue his various other creations. Thus, Maa Saraswati is considered his daughter and his cerebral progeny. Below, artist Majari Sharma describes the symbolism in her photograph of the goddess, which appears in the exhibition Transcendent Deities of India: The Everyday Occurrence of the Divine.

Think about these symbols and their meaning as you work a puzzle made from the photograph of Maa Saraswati. Click here to see the entire photograph. Complete the puzzle. Maa Saraswati. Brahma discovered the melody of mantras in the cacophony of chaos. In his joy he named Saraswati, Vagdevi , goddess of speech and sound. The sound of mantras filled the universe with vital energy, or prana. Things began to take shape and the cosmos acquired a structure: the sky dotted with stars rose to form the heavens; the sea sank into the abyss below, the earth stood in between.

Gods became lords of the celestial spheres; demons ruled the nether regions, humans walked on earth. The sun rose and set, the moon waxed and waned, the tide flowed and ebbed. Seasons changed, seeds germinated, plants bloomed and withered, animals migrated and reproduced as randomness gave way to the rhythm of life. Saraswati was the first being to come into Brahma's world.

Brahma began to look upon her with eyes of desire. She turned away saying, "All I offer must be used to elevate the spirit, not indulge the senses. Brahma could not control his amorous thoughts and his infatuation for the lovely goddess grew. He continued to stare at Saraswati. He gave himself four heads facing every direction so that he could always be able to feast his eyes on Saraswati's beauty. Saraswati moved away from Brahma, first taking the form of a cow.

Brahma then followed her as a bull. Saraswati then changed into a mare; Brahma gave chase as a horse. Every time Saraswati turned into a bird or a beast he followed her as the corresponding male equivalent. No matter how hard Brahma tried he could not catch Saraswati in any of her forms.

The goddess with multiple forms came to be known as Shatarupa. She personified material reality, alluring yet fleeting. Angered by his display of unbridled passion Saraswati cursed Brahma, "You have filled the world with longing that is the seed of unhappiness. You have fettered the soul in the flesh. You are not worthy of reverence. May there be hardly any temple or festival in your name.

So it came to pass that there are only two temples of Brahma in India; one at Pushkar, Rajistan and the other in Kumbhakonam, Tamil Nadu. Undaunted by the curse, Brahma continued to cast his lustful looks upon Saraswati. Saraswati is also the name of a major river of ancient India. By about B. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. As centuries passed, she grew further to embody the concepts of intelligence, consciousness, knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment and power. This embodiment of everything associated with refinement and culture points to her importance in the founding of an independent civilisation that has endured for thousands of years.

Today Saraswati is depicted as a beautiful, light-skinned woman dressed in white, signifying the purity of true knowledge. She may be depicted near a flowing river, relating to her early history as a river goddess. Her mount is the swan, symbolising her ability to discriminate between good and bad; however she is more often pictured seated on a white Nelumbo nucifera lotus, indicating her association with Absolute Truth and with enduring purity.

Occasionally she is associated with the colour yellow, the colour of the mustard plant flowers that bloom at the time of her festival in the spring. She is dressed modestly without ornaments or jewels, representing her preference for knowledge over material things.

Her consort is Brahma. Saraswati has four arms, representing the four aspects of human personality in learning: the mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. These four arms also represent the 4 Vedas the sacred books of the Hindu faith , which in turn represent the 3 forms of literature, poetry, prose and music. She holds in her hands a book prose , a rosary of crystal beads poetry and a vina music. Her final hand holds a pot of sacred water, which represents the purity of these three arts and their power to purify human thought.

Saraswati in white, with a peacock at her feet and a river, the source of her original power, in the background. By Raja Ravi Varma —