SARASWATI - GODDESS OF KNOWLEDGE & ART

The wife of Brahma, Saraswati is,the goddess of knowledge and learning. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, it has been mentioned that Lord Vishnu had three wives, namely, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga. Since they were quarrelling with each other, he decided to offer Ganga to Shiva and Saraswati to Brahma. But this story is less discussed in other scriptures.

Saraswati is the mother of the Vedas. She is visualized in the form of an extremely beautiful woman, dressed in white. She sits on a lotus and carries a lute in her hands. The swan is her vahana. Goddess Saraswati has four hands. In her two other hands she carries a book and a garland of pearls known as Shiva Mala (The garland of Shiva) (What does she hold in her 4th hand?). It is believed that she invented writing (the Devanagari script). It is also believed that the Vedas have sprung from her head. Saraswati is worshipped on the day of Basant Panchami (the fifth day of expanding moon, a fortnight in the Hindu month of Magha (mid-Jan to mid-Feb). It’s also the first day of the spring season. Saraswati puja is very popular in eastern India.

Temples dedicated to Saraswati are very rare. Still, some Saraswati temples exist in India and Nepal.

Other Names of Saraswati

• Bharati (in her manifestation as Eloquence)
• Maha Vidya (Transcendental Knowledge)
• Vach Devi (Goddess of Speech)
• Maha Vani (TTranscendental Word)
• Arya (Noble One)
• Brahmi ( Power of Immense Being)
• Bhija Garbha (Seed of the Word)
• Dhameshwari(Diversity of Wealth)

The Goddess of Music
Saraswati is also the goddess of music. She is associated with music in all its aspects. If a person is studying and practicing music, he or she should invoke Saraswati for her blessings. For all intelligence related activities, Goddess Saraswati should be prayed for spiritual energy and devotion.

In mythology, some stories of enmity between Lakshmi and Saraswati are found. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and Saraswati is the goddess of learning. Their enmity  implies that wealth and learning can never be combined. In the quest of knowledge, wealth should not come in the way.

Saraswati has a unique position in Hindu mythology. Unlike the major gods and the goddess of Hinduism, she does not have a Purana dedicated to her. All the other deities have a Purana that tells us stories about them, as well as the benefits of worshipping them. But no such Purana is available in Hindu traditions. Saraswati has been worshipped since time immemorial as the goddess of learning, art and speech. She is the inspiration of students in acquiring knowledge. With devotion to Saraswati comes devotion and dedication in learning.

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PARVATI – THE SUPREME MOTHER

Parvati is Shiva’s consort and Hindu mythology has many an interesting tale of the love shared between Shiva and Parvati. Like other gods and goddesses
In Hindu mythology, Parvati is Shiva’s constant companion. In the scriptures, it’s found that Parvati often questions Shiva, on the abstractness of Hindu philosophy and Shiva explains it all to her. Many difficult issues are sorted out and explained in the form of questions and answers between Shiva and Parvati.

Why Parvati is Worshipped

Girls seek Parvati’s blessings so that they’ll be married to virtuous men. Married women also worship her for a happy married life.
In matters related to delayed marriages the swayamvara parvathi homa is advised; our scriptures talk about the rituals that should be performed in this homa.  The Parvati vrat should also be observed, which starts from the thirteenth day of Ashadha in the Shukla Paksha. It continues for five days. Consumption of salt is prohibited during this vrat.

Gangaur or the Fast of Gauri is observed on the first day of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). Women or girls make 16 idols of Goddess Gauri and they are worshipped with flowers and rice. Goddess Gauri is prayed for blessings This fast and the rituals continue for 16 days, after which the idols are immersed. The day of immersion falls on the second day of the bright moon. 

Form of goddess parvati:

Parvati as sati

Parvati as Uma

Parvati as Durga

Parvati as Kali

Parvati as Sati

Parvati was the daughter of King Daksha. In this birth her name was Sati. She was married to Shiva. Once, King Daskha organized a massive ceremony. But he did not invite Shiva and Sati. She told Shiva that as it was her father’s house, she didn’t need any formal invitation.

On arrival, when Sati sought an explanation from King Daksha as to why he hadn’t invited Shiva, Daksha started criticizing and insulting Shiva in front of a huge gathering. Sati could not bear this humiliation to Shiva and herself and, disillusioned, set herself on fire. When news of Sati’s death reached Shiva, he grew furious and sent his ganas to wreak havoc at the gathering and to kill Daksha. Shiva lifted Sati’s dead body on his shoulder and started the tandava or dance of destruction. It created great disturbances all over the world. 

Lord Vishnu sent his Sudarshana Chakra and cut Sati’s body into numerous pieces. Wherever a particular piece of her body fell became a place of pilgrimage and a temple of Sati was erected at that site. Even today, these temples exist.

Parvati as Durga

Durga is a multi-dimensional goddess. She has many names, many incarnations, many personalities and many appearances. Depending on her appearances and attributes, she has many names like Parvati (mountain girl), Himavati (daughter of Himalaya), Bhavani (goddess of the universe), Uma (the light), Gauri (the yellow-complexioned beauty), Jagatmata (mother of the world), Durga (the inaccessible), Kali or Shyama (the black-complexioned one), Chandika or Chandi (the fearful one), Bhairavi (the terrible one), Vagheshwari , etc.

Parvati as Kali

Kali is the most fearful and terrifying form of Parvati. She is worshipped in the form of a dark-complexioned woman with four hands. In one hand, she carries a sword; in another hand she carries the head of the demon and with the other two hands, she encourages her worshippers. She wears a garland of skulls, and her eyes are bloodshot. Goddess Kali is worshipped mostly in eastern India.

Parvati as Uma

Parvati was born as Uma, the daughter of Himalaya. Parvati wanted to be the consort of Lord Shiva. But after Sati’s self-immolation, Shiva had lost all interest in marriage, and had taken to meditating, living in a trance-like state. Realizing this, Uma undertook ascetic rites and prayed for a thousand years. After further testing her loyalty, Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife.

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