" In Her popular Saraswathi is the Goddess of learning, knowledge, and wisdom."
The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self". Thus Saraswathi means "the essence of the self." Saraswathi is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe, Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswathi symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswathi is worshiped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, Scholars, and scientists.
Images and pictures, Goddess Saraswathi is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show onlytwo arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (Veena). her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her Vehicle. There is a peacock by her side gazing at her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas :
The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswathi signifies that she is herself rooted in the supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The whote color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The whote sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that she is the embodiment of pure knowledge . the two front arms denote her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify her presence in the spiritual world . The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand. The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect.
A book in the rear left hand signigies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind. The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A rosary in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowlwdge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world. The Goodess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in her fron hands , which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to love in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.
Two swans are depicted on the left side of hte Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad.
Saraswathi uses the swan as her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of manking. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destory the world. A peacock is sitting next to Saraswathi and is anxiously waiting to serve as her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswathi is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge."
