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Sarasvati is a Hindu goddess of the river, arts, knowledge, and music. She is the consort of Brahma and is often depicted with eight arms and a peacock or white swan as her mount. Sarasvati is associated with the Saraswati River and is said to have taught man to write.
Sarasvati, also sometimes referred to as Saraswati, is one of the principal goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. She is the goddess of the river as well as the arts, knowledge and music. She bears many similarities to the Greek figure of Apollo, although she is female. She is known as the consort of Brahma, the creator god of the trimurti, and together with Parvati and Lakshmi, the consorts of Vishnu and Shiva, she comprises the tridevi.
Sarasvati is said to be physically a beautiful goddess, with skin as white and radiant as the moon. She is sometimes depicted with eight arms, with each of her hands holding a symbol of her power, with one hand holding a trident, conch, pestle, bow, arrow, discus, bell, and one a plow . Her mount is usually the peacock or white swan. She may also sometimes be shown seated on a white lotus. Sarasvati is often said to be the mother of the Vedas, the sacred written texts of Hinduism.
Sarasvati has long been associated with a historical river in India, the Saraswati River, usually thought to be the modern Ghaggar-Hakra River or the Helmand River. Originally Sarasvati was seen as a mere manifestation of that river but eventually she became her full character in the pantheon of Hinduism. The Saraswati River played a crucial role in the development of the Harappan civilization, the culture which gave rise to the oldest known examples of writing in India. Many people think that it is this fact that led to the later personified goddess Sarasvati being the goddess of all knowledge, as it was her river that fostered the first written word.
In some mythical cycles, Sarasvati is presented as a very active goddess, especially in matters of water. Some versions of the myth of Vritra, in which the god Indra slays a mighty dragon that has hoarded the world’s water, present Sarasvati as an important aid in his mighty battle. She is also sometimes said to have been the goddess responsible for taming Brahma, bringing order to the world. One myth says that she was infatuated with the goddess Shatarupa, who represented the material world he created. Sarasvati showed him how to focus her energy and become more stable, and she turned to chanting the Vedas instead of wishing for Shatarupa. She is sometimes referred to as the co-creator of the universe, assisting her companion Brahma in the task of creating her.
As time went on Sarasvati became less and less associated with the river and her domain became much more clearly the world of the written word. It is said that she taught man to write so that he could write the songs of wisdom that she sang, which in turn became the Vedas that were her her children and the sacred texts of man. She is the goddess of libraries and schools as well as the written word, and many schools in India have statues in her honor of her.
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