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Plate 1 A veena on the diagonal, its large gourd at the lower end and a smaller one under the neck, above a palm-leaf book

Saraswati

Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning, music and the arts, and the consort of Brahma. She is dressed in white, plays the veena, holds the Vedas and prayer beads, and sits on a lotus or a swan.

Hindu deities and their symbols. Also called goddess Saraswati, Sarasvati, saraswati symbol, saraswati symbols, Saraswati veena, Vasant Panchami.

Meaning

The Hindu American Foundation calls Saraswati a goddess of knowledge, learning and purity who already appears in the Rig Veda. She is Brahma’s consort and one of the Tridevi, the three goddesses, with Lakshmi and Parvati. She is usually shown with white skin, in a white sari with gold jewellery, seated on a pink lotus on a river, holding a celestial veena, with a white swan as her vehicle. The Himalayan Academy glosses her name as “the flowing one”: she is a river goddess, and Sarasvati is also the name of one of the seven sacred rivers mentioned in the Rig Veda. In Bengali folklore, the Cleveland Museum of Art notes, she and Lakshmi are sisters and daughters of the goddess Durga.

Origin and history

The Hindu American Foundation gives differing accounts of her birth, from Brahma’s mouth or from his head, and one in which she emerged from Brahma before the universe was made, to give him the order and direction he needed to create it. A verse of the Saraswati Vandana, in the foundation’s translation, prays to her “who is fair like the jasmine-colored moon”, dressed in radiant white, with the veena resting on her arm and a white lotus for her throne, to “remove my lethargy, sluggishness and ignorance.”

What Saraswati holds

The Hindu American Foundation explains her attributes. The book she holds is the Vedas, truth or pure knowledge; the japa mala, a string of prayer beads, is discipline and concentration. The veena stands for the arts, and is a reminder to tune heart and mind to live in harmony with others. Her white clothing is purity, and the white lotus is purity and knowledge. Her four arms are read in several ways, among them the four parts of inner life: mind, intellect, ego and consciousness.

The swan and the peacock

Her vehicle is the swan, which the foundation says is believed to be able to separate milk from water with its beak, a sign that people should always tell right from wrong. A peacock appears in some images of her. It stands for beauty and dance, and also for vanity and indecision, so its presence is a reminder to curb them.

Vasant Panchami and Navaratri

Her two main festivals are Vasant Panchami (also called Basant Panchami, or Sri Panchami in southern India) in spring, and Navaratri, whose last three days some traditions give to her. On Vasant Panchami, the Hindu American Foundation says, many people wear yellow for her favourite colour and for the mustard in bloom, and schools and universities in India hold prayers to her for academic and musical studies. Her image is decorated with flowers and garlands and offered fruit and sweets.

See also

Brahma, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Murugan, Vishnu.

Sources

  1. Dancing with Śiva: glossary (Sarasvatī), Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Dancing with Śiva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Catechism, glossary, Himalayan Academy (Kauai’s Hindu Monastery), glossary, s.v. Sarasvatī
  2. Saraswati: A Wealth of Knowledge (Hindu American Foundation), “Saraswati: A Wealth of Knowledge”, Hindu American Foundation, 2016, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  3. Hinduism 101: Symbolism of Saraswati (Hindu American Foundation), “Hinduism 101: Symbolism of Saraswati”, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  4. 9 things to know about Navaratri (Syama Allard, Hindu American Foundation), Syama Allard, “9 things to know about Navaratri”, Hindu American Foundation, 2020, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  5. Vasant Panchami (Hindu American Foundation), “Vasant Panchami”, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  6. Goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati (verso), from a Kalighat album (2003.150.b, Cleveland Museum of Art), Goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati (verso), from a Kalighat album, c. 1890, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.150.b, collection description, Cleveland Museum of Art, Description

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Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research

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