Sarasvati

Sarasvati (also romanized as Saraswati and Saraswathi) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge that includes art, science, wealth, education and writing. There have been mentions, due to her association with the more general Hindu divine mother concept of Devi, of relations to water and fertility. In the Rig-Veda (6,61,7), she is credited with killing the asura (demon) Vritra (also romanized as Vrtra). Her husband is Brahma.

She was originally a river-goddess (see Vedic Saraswati River). As a river-deity, she came to be the goddess of everything that flows: words (and knowledge, by extension), speech, eloquence, and music. She is often seen as equivalent to the other Vedic goddesses like Vaak (divine word), Savitri (Illumination) and Gayatri. In the Shakta Brahmanism (worshippers of Shakti or Devi, the female aspect of the divinity), Saraswathi represents intelligence, consciousness and cosmic knowledge.

In Indian art she is depicted in human form, as a woman with four arms, often playing a string instrument called the Veena. She rides a peacock.

In India today, Hindus still revere Saraswati as the Goddess of Knowledge. On special days in the Hindu calendar special pujas are arranged for, and she is present in representation in many educational centers.

In Indian Classical Music Saraswati is the patron Goddess of practically all musicians, whether Hindu or Muslim. Some of the world's greatest instrumentalists who revere Saraswati as the Mother of Music are Ravi Shankar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.

Saraswati In Non-Hindu Culture

Besides her role in Hinduism, she became part of the Buddhist pantheon and came to China via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her. Now largely forgotten in China, she is still worshipped in Japan under the name Benzaiten. Other names for her include Sarada, Sharada, Vani.