Sarasvati

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The goddess Sarasvati on a temporary altar on her feast day Vasant Panchami , in her left hand her instrument, the vina

Sarasvati ( Sanskrit सरस्वती Sarasvatī f., "The flowing one", in Bali Saraswati ) is an Indian goddess of wisdom and learning and one of the most popular Hindu goddesses. In tantra she is worshiped as a blue or dark Sarasvati. It is said to have developed from the Vedic language goddess Vac .

Sarasvati is considered to be the female power ( Shakti ) of the god Brahma and the female personification of the absolute primordial Brahman . Hindu mythology depicts her as the daughter, creation and wife of Brahma. She seems to be subordinate to this; in the practice of faith, however, adoration is mainly for her, while adoration of Brahma has largely disappeared. As Vac (“Word”, “Logos”), another name, she embodies the word personified, the perfect speech. Other nicknames are Mahavidya ("the great wisdom"), Brahmani ("wife of Brahma") and Jagaddhatri ("mistress of the world"). The goddess Gayatri is often identified with her . Sarasvati is the goddess of learning, language, sciences, arts, poetry, literature, writing, wisdom, dance, song and music. She is considered the "mother of the Vedas", inventor of the Sanskrit alphabet and the Devanagari script . She is especially revered by school children, students, philosophers and intellectuals. In an important book of the worshipers of the goddess, the Devi Mahatmyam , she forms one of the female Trimurti as eight-armed Maha Sarasvati ( great Sarasvati ) together with Maha Kali and Maha Lakshmi .

Sarasvati in the Vedas

In the Apri songs ( āpriyas ), a text form of the Rig Veda , Sarasvati forms a trinity with Ida and Bharati (Mahi). Originally she was described as the nature and river goddess, which is why she is still associated with pure water and the mythical Soma today . She embodied the sacred river Sarasvati, which had its origin in heaven and is said to have run through all three worlds ( Triloka ). Sarasvati was primarily a goddess of fertility. Her voice was the waterfall, and she had the power to blow up mountains. Instead of Indra , she is said to have defeated the demon Vritra or at least helped with it.

Iconography, symbolism and myths

Woodcut miniature from 1875, sold as a souvenir for pilgrims at the Kalighat Temple in Calcutta.

The iconography shows Sarasvati in the middle of a lake, the primeval water, which is interpreted, among other things, as a symbol for the beginning of creation. Like her husband Brahma, she identifies herself as the creator of the universe. As a beautiful young woman, often with four arms, her most distinctive symbol is the vina (ancient stringed instrument still played today); also a mala (prayer beads) and a book, the Vedas and a water pot. Or one depicts her with two arms, with vina and various mudras (hand gestures), especially the gesture of argument. Occasionally there are also other emblems such as a wheel, club, shell or bell, hourglass and skull bowl. Your companion animal ( Vahana ) is the goose or a swan ( Hamsa ), in South Indian representations also a peacock. The beautiful and spirited goddess stands or sits on a lotus , signs of her beauty as well as her wisdom. She is also considered to be the embodiment of purity, which is also reflected in the characteristic color of her clothing, a brilliant white. Often she is also dressed in yellow. There is also overlap with the goddess Lakshmi , since both are considered Vishnu's wife . She is said to have a tense relationship with her (often interpreted philosophically as an unbridgeable contrast between wealth and wisdom).

Hindu mythology reports that Sarasvati was born of Brahma . He had the desire to bring about creation and went into meditation . His body then split into a male half and a female half - Sarasvati. According to other versions, it sprang from his head. Brahma united with her, and from this came Manu , the progenitor of mankind. It is also often said that Sarasvati came from the mouth of Brahma and was created when Brahma created the world through his creative speech. When Sarasvati was later absent from an important ritual, but a woman was needed, Brahma created his second wife, Gayatri, of himself to perform the ritual. When Sarasvati came back and found out about it, she condemned her husband to be worshiped only one day a year.

In another, less popular myth, the goddess arises from Krishna . This divided into male and female, spirit and matter, Purusha and Prakriti in order to create the world. The female half took the form of five dynamic forces or goddesses, one of which was Sarasvati.

public holidays

The most important holiday of the goddess, Vasant Panchami , also called Sarasvati Puja , takes place in spring. Hindus put up pictures of the goddess in schools and universities, in front of them books, writing utensils and musical instruments, and worship the goddess in them. You, the patron saint of learning, is sacrificed especially before exams, important exams and school lessons. There are cultural programs and processions throughout the day. In the south of India, Sarasvati is honored at Navaratri , especially in autumn , while in other parts of the country the goddess in the form of Durga is at the center of worship.

In Bali , the holiday falls on the last day of the Pawukon calendar , so it is observed twice in most calendar years. It is one of the most important holidays in Bali, right after Galungan and Nyepi .

Outside of Hinduism

Sarasvati is worshiped not only in Hinduism, but also in Jainism and Buddhism . After Myanmar Sarasvati is likely to spread of Mahayana have come -Buddhismus. Her name appears in inscriptions from the 11th century. Wall paintings in the temples of Bagan from this period can be interpreted as depictions of Sarasvati. In Buddhism she is considered the goddess of learning and instruction and the wife of the Bodhisattva Manjushri , the Bodhisattva of wisdom. In Japan she is one of the seven gods of luck . There she is known under the name Benten or Benzaiten .

Sarasvati is also a tributary of the Indus in the Rigveda .

literature

  • Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: The Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism . DuMont, Cologne 1983, ISBN 3-7701-1347-0 , p. 59 f.
  • Veronica Ions: Indian Mythology Hamlyn Publishing, Rushden 1988, ISBN 0-600-34285-9 , pp. 85 f.
  • David Kinsley: Indian Goddesses. Female deities in Hinduism. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt 1990, ISBN 3-458-16118-X , p. 22 f.
  • Rachel Storm: Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology. Reichelsheim 2000, ISBN 978-3-89736-305-2

Web links

Commons : Sarasvati  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: Die Bildsprache des Hinduismus , p. 59
  2. ↑ Axel Michaels : The Hinduism. History and present. CH Beck, Munich 1998, pp. 246–248 (Chapter: Wild and mild goddesses )
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Sarasvati . Rachel Storm: Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology. Reichelsheim 2000.
  4. ↑ Sarasvati . In: Gerhard J. Bellinger. Knaur's Lexicon of Mythology . Knaur, 1999.
  5. ↑ a b holy rivers . In: Rachel Storm: Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology . Reichelsheim 2000.
  6. ↑ David Kinsley: Indian Goddesses. Female deities in Hinduism. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt 1990, p. 22 f.
  7. ↑ Sarasvati . In: Gerhard J. Bellinger: Knaurs Lexikon der Mythologie . Knaur, 1999.
  8. ↑ Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: The visual language of Hinduism . P. 60
  9. ↑ Lakshmi . In: David R. Kinsley: Hindu Goddesses Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition . University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London.
  10. ↑ Than Tun: Saraswatï of Burma. (PDF) In: South East Asian Studies , Volume 14, No. 3, December 1976, pp. 433-441