The spectacular brass figure of the goddess Saraswati, the goddess of Learning is given a refine and detail treatment. One of the most worshipped goddesses in Hinduism, the goddess is worshipped by students and musicians alike. She is considered the goddess of learning, speech and wisdom.
The goddess is depicted as a beautiful, yellow-skinned woman dressed in pure white often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes that she is founded in the experience of the Absolute Truth. In other words, she not only has the knowledge but also the experience of the Highest Reality. She is mainly associated with the color white, which signifies the purity of true knowledge.
She is normally shown to have four arms, which represent the four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. Alternatively, these four arms also represent the four Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus.
The veena, a musical instrument that represents her perfection of all arts and sciences. Saraswati is also associated with anuraga, the love for and rhythm of music, which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music. It is believed that children born with that name will prove to be very lucky in their studies.
A white swan is also located next to her feet. The sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. The swan thus symbolizes discrimination between the good and the bad or the eternal and the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Goddess Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsa-vahini, which means "she who has a swan as her vehicle".
|
