Kartikeya
Kartikeya, also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha and Murugan , is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha.Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. It has been postulated that the Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretized with the Vedic deity of Subrahmanya following the Sangam era. He is regarded as the "God of the Tamil people" and is hailed as the lord of Palani hills, the tutelary deity of the Kurinji region whose cult gained immense popularity. Tamil Sangam literature has several works attributed to Murugan such as Tirumurukarruppaṭai by Nakkiranar and Tiruppukal by Arunagirinathar. Archaeological evidence from the 1st-century CE and earlier indicate his iconography associated with Agni, the Hindu god of fire, suggesting he was a significant deity in early Hinduism.
The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly; he is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl, called Paravani and sometimes with an emblem of a rooster upon his banner. He wields a spear weapon called vel, supposedly given to him by his mother Parvati. While most icons represent him with only one head, some have six heads which reflect the legend surrounding his birth wherein he was born as six boys who were later united into one by Parvati. He is described to have aged quickly from childhood, becoming a warrior, leading the army of the Devas and credited with destroying rakshasas such as Tarakasura and Surapadma. He is regarded as a philosopher who taught the pursuit of an ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.
Kaumaram is the denomination that primarily venerates Kartikeya. Apart from significant Kaumaram worship and temples in South India, he is worshiped as Mahasena and Kumara in North and East India. He is also worshiped in Sri Lanka, South East Asia notably in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, other countries with significant people of Tamil origin like Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa and Canada, Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, countries with significant Indian migrants including the United States and Australia.
Etymology and nomenclature: Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas" and the epithet is linked to the circumstances surrounding his birth.According to Skanda Purana, six divine sparks emerged from Shiva which developed into separate baby boys in the Ganges, aided by Vayu and Agni. They were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas and were later fused into one by Parvati.While he has 108 names according to existing Hindu literature, he is known by more given names.Most common amongst these include Skanda (from skand-, "to leap or to attack"), Murugan (handsome), Kumara (youthful), Subrahmanya (transparent), Senthil (victorious), Velan (wielder of Vel), Swaminatha (ruler of gods), Saravaṇabhava (born amongst the reeds), Arumugha or Shanmukha (six faced), Dhanadapani (wielder of mace) and Kandha (cloud).
On ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya, or Brahmanyadeva.On some ancient Indo-Scythian coins, his names appear in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara, and Vishaka.
Various Indian literature recite numerous different stories surrounding the birth of Kartikeya. In Valmiki's Ramayana, he is described as the child of deities Rudra and Parvati, whose birth is aided by Agni and Ganga.The Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of Mahabharata presents Skanda's legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati. As Shiva and Parvati were making love, they are disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen which incubates in Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya.
According to the Skanda Purana, the asuras surapadma, tarakasura, and Simhamukha performed austerities to propitiate Shiva. Shiva granted them various boons, which gave them the ability to conquer the three worlds and near immortality.They subsequently oppressed other celestial beings including the devas, and started a reign of tyranny in their respective realms. When the devas pleaded Shiva for his assistance, he manifested five additional heads, and a divine spark emerged from each of them.Initially, the wind-god Vayu carried the sparks, with the fire-god Agni taking over later because of the unbearable heat. Agni deposited the sparks in the Ganga river. The water in the Ganga started evaporating due to intense heat. Ganga took them to Saravana lake, where the sparks developed into six baby boys.The six boys were raised by handmaidens known as the Krittikas, and they were later fused into one by Parvati. Thus, the six-headed Kartikeya was born.
In the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, he is mentioned as the son of Agni and Svaha. It is recited that Agni goes to meet the wives of the Saptarshi (seven great sages) and while none of them reciprocate his feelings, Svaha is present there and is attracted to Agni. Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and sleeps with Agni. She is unable to take the form of Arundhati, Vasishtha's wife, because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of Agni into the reeds of Ganges river, where it develops and is born as the six-headed Skanda.
He is considered as the younger brother of Ganesha, while some texts regard that he is the elder.In the northern and western Indian traditions, Kartikeya is regarded as a celibate bachelor, though few Sanskrit texts mention Devasena, the daughter of Indra, as his wife.As per Tamil literature, he has two consorts, Devayanai (identified with Devasena) and Valli.
Worship: India, Palani Murugan Temple, one of the Six Abodes of Murugan, South India: Murugan being known as the God of the Tamils, has many temples dedicated to him across Tamil Nadu. Most renowned of them are the Six Abodes of Murugan, a set of six temples at Thiruparankundram Murugan temple, Tiruchendur Murugan Temple, Palani Murugan Temple, Swamimalai Swaminathaswamy Temple, Tiruttani Subramaniya Swamy Temple, and Pazhamudircholai which are mentioned in Sangam literature.Other major temples dedicated to Murugan include Kuzhanthai Velappar Temple, Sikkal Singaravelan Temple, Marudamalai Subramanya Swamy Temple, Kumarakkottam Subramanya Swamy Temple, Valliyur Subramanya Swamy Temple, Vallakottai Subramaniyaswami temple, Thiruporur Kandaswamy temple, Vayalur Murugan Temple, Viralimalai Murugan temple, Vadapalani Andavar Temple, Thindal Murugan Temple, Pachaimalai Subramanya Swamy Temple, Balasubramaniyaswamy Temple, Kolanjiappar temple, Uthanda Velayudhaswamy temple and Siruvapuri Sri Balasubrahmanyam temple.
Places of worship dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala include temples at Haripad, Neendoor, Kidangoor and Kodumbu.In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he is worshipped as Subrahmanya, Kumara Swamy or Skanda with major temples at Mopidevi, Biccavolu,Skandagiri,Mallam,and Indrakeeladri, Vijayawada.In Karnataka, the deity that is worshipped as Subrahmanya where he is regarded as the lord of the serpents in Kukke Subramanya Temple and Ghati Subramanya.
Other parts of India: In West Bengal, Kartikeya is associated with the birth of children and is worshiped on the last day of the month of Kartik wherein a clay model of the deity is kept at night before the day of worship (usually by friends) for the newly married couple before the door of their house. The deity is worshipped the next day in the evening and is offered toys. The deity is also worshipped during the Durga Puja festival wherein Kartikeya is visualized as a young man, riding a peacock and wielding a bow and arrows. He is stated to be Kumara, that is, a bachelor as he is unmarried.Temples also exist in the rest of India in Pehowa in Haryana, in Manali and Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.and Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand.
Outside India, Kartikeya is worshiped as Kumar in Nepal. Sithi Nakha (Kumar Shashthi) is celebrated on the sixth day of the waxing moon, according to the lunar calendar, in the Lunar month of Jestha. The festival is celebrated by cleaning water sources and offering a feast.Nallur Kandaswamy temple at Jaffna is dedicated to Murugan. In Sri Lanka, Murugan is predominantly worshiped by Tamil people as Murugan and by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo , a guardian deity. Numerous Murugan temples exist throughout the island including Kataragama temple, Nallur Kandaswamy temple and Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple.
Murugan is revered in countries with significant population of Tamil people and people of Tamil origin including South East Asia notably in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar, other countries with significant people of Tamil origin like Fiji, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, South Africa and Canada, Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, countries with significant Indian migrants including the United States and Australia.Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan, which has a statue of Murugan at the entrance, one of the largest Murugan statues in the world. There are some other temples in Malaysia such as Balathandayuthapani Temple and Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Marathandavar Temple and Kandaswamy Kovil.Sri Thendayuthapani Temple is a major Hindu temple in Singapore.Murugan temples also exist in several western countries like United States of America,Canada,United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand,Germany and Switzerland.
Festivals: Festivals pertaining to Murugan are:Thaipusam is celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Thai on the confluence of star Pusam.The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Murugan over the asuras and includes ritualistic practices of Kavadi Aattam, a ceremonial act of sacrifice carrying a physical burden as a means of balancing a spiritual debt. Worshipers often carry a pot of cow milk as an offering and also do mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers.
Panguni Uthiram occurs on the purnima of the month of Panguni on the confluence of the star Uttiram.The festival marks the celebration of Murugan's marriage to Devasena.
Karthika Deepam, a festival of lights celebrated on the full moon day of the Kartika.
Vaikasi Visakam, celebrates the birth anniversary of Murugan and occurs during the confluence of star Visakam in the month of Vaisakha.
Kanda Sashti falls in the month of either Aippasi or Kartikai of the Tamil calendar and commemorates the victory of Murugan over the demon Surapadman.
Matrikas:
Matrikas also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika. However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). In the Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of (different major Hindu) gods corresponding to their names. They are associated with these gods as their spouses or their energies (Shaktis).Brahmani emerged from Brahma, Vaishnavi from Vishnu, Maheshvari from Shiva, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya, Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda from Chandi.and additionals are Narasimhi from Narasimha and Vinayaki from Ganesha.
Originally believed to be a personification of the seven stars of the star cluster the Pleiades, they became quite popular by the seventh century and a standard feature of goddess temples from the ninth century onwards. In South India, Saptamatrika worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrika are venerated in Nepal, among other places.The Matrikas assume paramount significance in the goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism, Tantrism. In Shaktism, they are described as "assisting the great Shakta Devi (goddess) in her fight with demons. Some scholars consider them Shaiva goddesses. They are also connected with the worship of warrior god Skanda.
In most early references, the Matrikas are associated with the conception, birth, diseases and protection of children. They were seen as inauspicious and the "personification of perils", propitiated in order to avoid those ills, that carried off so many children before they reached adulthood. They come to play a protective role in later mythology, although some of their early inauspicious and wild characteristics continue in these legends. Thus, they represent the prodigiously fecund aspect of nature as well as its destructive force aspect.
Origins and development: Matris or Matrikas originated from the sweat of lord Shiva who chased the demons away from heaven when the later invaded heaven after defeating devas.According to Jagdish Narain Tiwari and Dilip Chakravati, the Matrikas were existent as early as the Vedic period and the Indus Valley civilization. Seals with rows of seven feminine deities or priestesses are cited as evidence for the theory.The Rigveda (IX 102.4) speaks of a group of seven Mothers who control the preparation of Soma, but the earliest clear description appears in select chapters of the epic Mahabharata dated to 1st century CE.Madhu Wangu believes that Matrika description in Mahabharata is rooted in the group of seven females depicted on Indus valley seals.
By the fifth century, all these goddesses were incorporated in mainstream orthodox Hinduism as Tantric deities.David Kinsley proposes that the Matrikas may be local village goddesses, who were being assimilated in the mainstream. He cites two reasons for his assertion: their description in Mahabharata as dark in colour, speaking foreign languages and living in "peripheral areas" and their association with god Skanda and his father, Shiva, who though Vedic has attributes.Sara L. Schastok suggests that the Matrikas maybe inspired by the concept of Yakshas, who are associated with Skanda and Kubera both are often portrayed with the Matrikas. In contrast to the Indus valley origins theory, Bhattacharyya notes:
The cult of the Female Principle was a major aspect of Dravidian religion, The concept of Shakti was an integral part of their religion The cult of the Sapta Matrika, or Seven Divine Mothers, which is an integral part of the Shakta religion, may be of Dravidian inspiration.The Sapta-Matrikas were earlier connected with Skanda (Kumara) and in later times, associated with the sect of Shiva himself.During the Kushana period (1st to 3rd century), the sculptural images of the matrikas first appear in stone. The Kushana images merged from the belief in Balagraha (lit "destroyers of children") worship related to conception, birth, diseases and protection of children. The Balagraha tradition included the worship of the infant Skanda with the Matrikas.
The goddesses were considered as personifications of perils, related to children and thus, were pacified by worship. The Kushana images emphasize the maternal as well as destructive characteristics of the Matrikas through their emblems and weapons. They appear to be an undifferentiated sculptural group but develop in standard and complex iconographic representation during the following Gupta period.In the Gupta period (3rd to 6th century A.D.), folk images of Matrikas became important in villages.The diverse folk goddesses of the soldiers like Matrikas were acknowledged by the Gupta rulers and their images were carved on royal monuments in order to strengthen the loyalty and adherence of the armed forces.The Gupta kings Skandagupta and Kumaragupta I (c. second half of fifth century) made Skanda (Kumara)their model and elevated the position of Skanda's foster mothers, the Matrikas from a cluster of folk goddesses to court goddesses.Since the fourth century, Parhari, Madhya Pradesh had a rock-cut shrine been solely devoted to the Sapta Matrika.
The Western Ganga Dynasty (350–1000 CE) kings of Karnataka built many Hindu temples along with saptamatrika carvings and memorials, containing sculptural details of saptamatrikas.The evidence of Matrika sculptures is further pronounced in the Gurjara–Patiharas (8th to 10th century CE) and Chandella period (8th to 12th century CE).The Chalukyas claimed to have been nursed by the Sapta Matrikas. It was a popular practice to link South Indian royal family lineage to a Northern kingdom in ancient times.During the Chalukya period (11th to 13th century), all Matrikas continued to figure among the deity sculptures of this period.
The Kadambas and Early Chalukyas from the fifth century praise the Matrikas in their preambles, as giver of powers to defeat enemies.In most of the relevant texts, their exact number has not been specified, but gradually their number and names became increasingly crystallized and seven goddesses were identified as matrikas, albeit some references indicate eight or even sixteen Matrikas.Laura K. Amazzone cites:The inconsistency in the number of Matrikas found in the valley [Indus] today (seven, eight, or nine) possibly reflects the localization of goddesses .Although the Matrikas are mostly grouped as seven goddesses over the rest of the Indian Subcontinent, an eighth Matrikas has sometimes been added in Nepal to represent the eight cardinal directions. In Bhaktapur, a city in the Kathmandu Valley, a ninth Matrika is added to the set to represent the center.
The iconographical features of the Matrikas have been described in Hindu scriptures such as the Mahabharata, Puranas such as the Varaha Purana, Agni Purana, Matsya Purana, Vishnudharmottara Purana and Devi Mahatmya (part of the Markandeya Purana) and also in the Agamas such as the Amsumadbhedagama, Surabhedagama, Purvakarnagama and Rupamandana.the Ashta-Matrikas as described in the Devi Mahatmya. Brahmani or Brahmi is the Shakti (energy) of the creator god Brahma. She is depicted yellow in colour and with four heads. She may be depicted with four or six arms. Like Brahma, she holds a rosary or noose and kamandalu (water pot) or lotus stalk or a book or bell and is seated on a hamsa (identified with a swan or goose) as her vahana (mount or vehicle). She is also shown seated on a lotus with the hamsa on her banner. She wears various ornaments and is distinguished by her basket-shaped crown called karaṇḍa mukuṭa. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Asithanga Bhairava.
Vaishnavi , the Shakti of the preserver-god Shri Vishnu, is described as seated on the Garuda (eagle-man) and having four or six arms. She holds Shankha (conch), chakra (Discus), mace and lotus and bow and sword or her two arms are in varada mudra (Blessing hand gesture) and abhaya mudra . Like Vishnu, she is heavily adorned with ornaments like necklaces, anklets, earrings, bangles etc. and a cylindrical crown called kiriṭa mukuṭa. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Krodha Bhairava.Maheshwari is the power of god Shiva, also known as Maheshvara. Maheshvari is also known by the names Raudri, Rudrani, Maheshi and Shivani derived from Shiva's names Rudra, Mahesha, and Shiva. Maheshvari is depicted seated on Nandi (the bull) and has four or six hands. The white complexioned, Trinetra (three eyed) goddess holds a Trishula (trident), Damaru (drum), Akshamala (A garland of beads), Panapatra (drinking vessel) or axe or an antelope or a kapala (skull-bowl) or a serpent and is adorned with serpent bracelets, the crescent moon and the jaṭā mukuṭa (A headdress formed of piled, matted hair). She is regarded as the consort of the deity Ruru Bhairava
Indrani , also known as Aindri, Mahendri and Vajri, is the power of the Indra, the Lord of the heaven. Seated on a charging elephant, Aindri, is depicted dark-skinned, with two or four or six arms. She is depicted as having two or three or like Indra, a thousand eyes. She is armed with the Vajra (thunderbolt), goad, noose and lotus stalk. Adorned with variety of ornaments, she wears the kiriṭa mukuṭa. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Kapala Bhairava.Kaumari , also known as Kumari, Kartiki, Kartikeyani and Ambika is the power of Kartikeya, the god of war. Kaumari rides a peacock and has four or twelve arms. She holds a spear, axe, a Shakti (power) or Tanka (silver coins) and bow. She is sometimes depicted six-headed like Kartikeya and wears a cylindrical crown. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Chanda Bhairava
Varahi or Vairali also known as Verai, Dandini, Dhandai Devi is the power of Varaha, the third and the boar-headed form of Vishnu. She holds a Danda (rod of punishment) or plough, goad, a Vajra or a sword, and a Panapatra. Sometimes, she carries a bell, chakra, chamara (a yak's tail) and a bow. She wears a crown called karaṇḍa mukuṭa with other ornaments. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Unmatha Bhairava.Chamunda , is also known as Chamundi and Charchika. She is very often identified with Kali and is similar in her appearance and habit.The identification with Kali is explicit in Devi Mahatmya.The black coloured Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls and holding a Damaru (drum), trishula , sword and panapatra . Riding a jackal or standing on a corpse of a man (shava or preta), she is described as having three eyes, a terrifying face and a sunken belly. She is regarded as the consort of the deityBheeshana Bhairava.
Narasimhi is the divine energy of Narasimha (the fourth and lion-man form of Vishnu). She is also called as Pratyangira, the woman-lion goddess who throws the stars into disarray by shaking her lion mane. She is regarded as the consort of the deity Samhara Bhairava.Though the first six are unanimously accepted by texts, the name and features of the seventh and eighth Matrika are disputed. In Devi-Mahatmya, Chamunda is omitted after the Saptamatrika list,while in sculpture in shrines or caves and the Mahabharata, Narasimhi is omitted. The Varaha Purana names Yami – the Shakti of Yama, as the seventh and Yogishwari as the eighth Matrika, created by flames emerging from Shiva's mouth.
In Nepal, the eighth Matrika is called Mahalakshmi or Lakshmi is added omitting Narasimhi. In lists of nine Matrikas, Devi-Purana mentions Gananayika or Vinayaki – the Shakti of Ganesha, characterized by her elephant head and ability to remove obstacles like Ganesha and Mahabhairavi omitting Narasimhi. The Female power Shakti called as Kalyani devi of the god Matsya the first and fish avatar of Vishnu is also included sometimes in central India. Devi Bhagvata Purana mentions 2 other Matrikas Varuni (shakti of Varuna), Kauberi (shakti of Kubera) and Narayani, (shakti of Narayana).
There are several Puranic texts related to the origin of Matrikas. Matsya Purana, Vamana Purana, Varaha Purana, Kurma Purana and the Suprabhedagama contain references to Matrikas, and this asserts their antiquity.According to the Shumbha-Nishumbha story of Devi Mahatmya, Matrikas appear as Shaktis from the bodies of the gods – Brahma, Shiva, Skanda, Vishnu, Indra;having the form of each, approached Chandika (identified with Devi) with whatever form, ornaments and vehicle the god possessed. In that form, they slaughter the demon army. Thus, the Matrikas are goddesses of the battlefield. They are described as assistants of Durga having sinister as well as propitious characteristics. After the battle, the Matrikas dance drunk with their victim's blood. This description is repeated with little variation in Devi Bhagavata Purana and Vamana Purana.The Devi-Bhagavata Purana mentions three other goddesses, Shaktis of other gods' in addition to the Saptamatrika, making a group of 10 Matrikas.
According to latter episode of Devi Mahatmya, Durga created Matrikas from herself and with their help slaughtered the demon army. In this version, Kali is described as a Matrika, who sucked all the blood of demon Raktabija. Kali is given the epithet Chamunda in the text. When demon Shumbha challenges Durga to a single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas in herself and says that they are her different forms.In the Vamana Purana too, the Matrikas arise from different parts of Devi and not from male gods although they are described and named after the male deities.
In Matsya Purana, Shiva had created seven Matrikas to combat the demon Andhaka, who had the ability to duplicate from each drop of his blood that falls from him when he is wounded. The Matrikas drink up his blood and help Shiva defeat the demon. After the battle, the Matrikas begin a rampage of destruction by starting to devour other gods, demons and peoples of the world. Narasimha, Vishnu's man-lion incarnation, creates a host of thirty-two benign goddesses who calm down the terrible, fire-breathing Matrikas. Narasimha commanded the Matrikas to protect the world, instead of destroying it and thus be worshipped by mankind. At the end of the episode, Shiva's terrible form Bhairava is enshrined with the images of the Matrikas at the place where the battle took place.This story is retold in Vishnudharmottara Purana.Vishnudharmottara Purana further relates them with vices or inauspicious emotions like envy, pride, anger etc.
In Varaha Purana, they are created from the distracted mind of goddess Vaishnavi, who loses her concentration while doing asceticism. They are described as lovely and act as the goddesses' attendants on the battlefield.In the Bhagavata Purana, when beings created by Vishnu are enlisted; the Matrikas are listed with rakshasas (demons), bhutas (ghosts), pretas, dakinis and other dangerous beings. In the same text, milkmaids offer a prayer for protection of the infant-god Krishna from the Matrikas.The Devi Purana (6th – 10th century) mentions a group of sixteen matrikas and six other types of Matrikas mentioned, apart from the Saptamatrikas.It introduces the Loka-matara (mothers of the world), a term used in the Mahabharata, in the very first chapter. Kind to all creatures, the Matrikas are said to reside in various places for the benefit of children.
The text paradoxically describes the Matrikas as being created by various gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra as well as being their mothers.Devi Purana describe a pentad of Matrikas, who help Ganesha to kill demons.Further, sage Mandavya is described as worshipping the Māṭrpaňcaka (the five mothers) named Ambika (Kaumari), Rudrani, Chamunda, Brahmi and Vaishnavi and who have been established by Brahma; for saving king Harishchandra from calamities. The Matrikas direct the sage to perform worship of Māṭrchakra(interpreted as a Yantra or Mandala or a circular shrine to the Matrikas), established by Vishnu on the Vindhya mountains, by meat and ritual sacrifice.
Worship:According to Leslie, the Saptamatrika, who first appeared in South India in the eighth century, had once temples dedicated exclusively to them, but the ninth century onwards, they were demoted to status of "deities of the entourage" (parivara devata) of Shiva. Their images moved from the sanctums to corners of temple complexes and now they are as guardian deities in small village shrines.The Saptamatrikas are worshipped as Sapta kanya (the celestial nymphs) in most South Indian Shiva temples especially in Tamil Nadu. But the Selliyamman temple at Alambakkam in Tiruchirapalli district is important in worship of the Matrikas. Here once stood a temple dedicated to the Saptamatrika, which was replaced by the present temple.
In India, shrines of the Saptamatrikas are located in "the wilderness", usually near lakes or rivers, and are made of seven vermilion smeared stones. It is believed that the Matrikas kill fetuses and newborns unless pacified with bridal finery and prayers by women.A prominent Saptamatrika temple is located near Baitarani River, in Jajpur.The Saptamatrika images are worshipped by women on Pithori – new moon day, with the 64 yoginis represented by rice flour images or supari nuts. The goddesses are worshipped by ceremonial offerings of fruit and flower and mantras.
In Nepal: Vaishnavi or Bishnuvi (top) and Brahmi or Brahmayani (bottom) in the Bhairab Naach, The Matrikas function both as city protectors and individual protectors in both Hinduism and Buddhism. The Astha matrika are considered as Ajimas (grandmother goddesses, who are feared as bringer of disease and misfortune as well act as protectresses) in the Newar pantheon. Temples (pithas i.e. seats) of the ashta matrika built in and around Kathmandu are considered powerful places of worship.
The pithas are usually open-air shrines, but may be closed structures too. In these pithas, the Matrikas are worshipped with their followers (ganas) in form of stone statues or natural stones, while in dyochems (god-houses) in towns and villages, they are represented in brass images. The brass images (utsav-murtis) are paraded around town and placed at their respective pithas once every year. Like Vishnudharmottara Purana (discussed in Legends), the Matrikas are considered as representing a vice and are worshipped by pithapuja (a pilgrimage around the pithas) to free oneself from them.Though each pitha is primarily dedicated to a Matrika, the other Matrikas are also worshipped as subordinate deities.
The pithas, which are "theoretically located at the outer boundaries of the city" are said to form a protective mandala around the city and assisted to a certain compass point.In other temples like the ones dedicated to Pacali Bhairava, the Asthamatrikas are worshipped as a circle of stones.In Bhaktapur, the Ashtamatrikas are believed to the preserver goddesses of the city guarding the eight geometrical directions. Mary Sluser says "Not only do the Mātṛkās guard the compass points but they are also regarded as regents of the sky. Sometimes, they are paired with the Ashta Bhairava (Eight aspects of Bhairava) and sculpted on temple roofs or terraces. Nepali Buddhists worship the Matrikas as described in Dharanisamgrahas.
The Malla king of Nepal Srinivasa Malla built the Patan durbar (court) in 1667 AD and is believed to have seen the Matrikas dance in the durbar one night. The king ordered that the Ashta-matrika be worshipped during the Ashwin Navaratri and cost is defrayed by the durbar. The custom has continued into modern times.In the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, the Ashta-matrikas with a central village goddess are worshipped as protectors of the city or town. They are identified with the guardians of directions (digpala), places (lokapala) or lands (kshatrapala), satiated by blood sacrifice. Newar Buddhists associate the Matrikas with 24 human qualities, which can mastered by visiting three sets of eight Matrika pithas.
Tantric worship: Shiva, Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheswari, Kaumari, Varahi, Indrani, Chamundi and Ganesha at Panchalingeshvara temple in Karnataka.The 7th century Sanskrit author Banabhatta mentions the propitiation of Matrikas by a Tantric ascetic in his Harshacharita.The text mentions use of māṭrmandala (mandala of the Matrikas) or Yantra along with a special anusthana (ritual) to cure the ailing king. The text describes "young nobles burning themselves with lamps to propitiate the Matrikas in a temple dedicated to the Matrikas (matr-grha). Banabhatta's Kadambari, Bhasa's Cārudatta, Shudraka's Mrichakatika mention the ritual offerings of food and shrines of Matrikas at crossroads
Other offerings include flowers and clothes and meat and wine for some Matrikas. Tantric works like Tantraraja-Tantra and Kulacudamaṇi discuss the worship of Matrikas as Shaktis or letters of the alphabet.A process of this worship, Matrika-nyasa installation of the Mothers, is described in Devi Gita, part of Devi Bhagavata Purana.It involves installation of powers of Matrikas as letters of the alphabet in one's body, by "feeling the deity worshipped in different parts of the body" like head, face, anus and legs and reciting mantras.The Hrillekha-matrika-nyasa, a more specialized form of Matrika-nyasa, combines the installation of "most powerful set of all letters (Matrikas)" with the seed syllable Hrīṃ of Goddess Bhuvaneshvari.
Stone inscriptions of Tantric worship of The Matrikas are found in Gangadhar, Rajasthan(by king Vishvavarman identified as the first epigraphic evidence of Tantra worship); in Bihar (by Guptas – fifth century) and in Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh (by Svāmibhaṭa – sixth century).The Gangadhar inscripture deals with a construction to a shrine to Chamunda and the other Matrikas, "who are attended by Dakinis (female demons)" and rituals of daily Tantric worship (Tantrobhuta) like the ritual of Bali (offering of grain).The eight Matrikas are said to reside the second line of bhupura in Sri Chakra. They are frequently aligned with the Eight Bhairavas, as in Jňānārṇava Tantra. The Svacchaṇḍa Tantra explains that the primary function of Matrikas is to preside eight groups (vargas) of letters of Devanagari alphabet, while Brahmayamala states they issue originate from the vowels.
Rituals and goals of worship: The Natya Shastra recommends worship to Matrikas before setting up the stage and before dance performances.Indra declares in chapter 90 of Devi Purana that the Matrikas are the best among all deities and should be worshipped in cities, villages, towns and shields.Matrikas are generally to be worshipped on all occasions with Navagraha (the nine planets) and the Dikpala (Guardians of the directions) and at night with the Goddess.The Matsya Purana and Devi Purana prescribe that Matrika shrines should be north-facing and be placed in northern part of a temple-complex.The temples of the Matrikas are found earliest dating to the fourth century and from textual evidence, it is predicated that "there must be impressive shrines all over the [Indian] subcontinent".Although circular Mandalas and Chakras are mentioned in religious texts, most existing shrines are rectangular in nature. Pal speculates that earlier circular shrines, which open to the sky or under trees of less durable material were replaced by the Guptas in stone as rectangular shrines.
The Devi Purana mentions the Matrikas or Deva Shaktis (powers of the gods) as group of seven or more, who should be worshipped for Mukti (liberation) by all, but particularly kings for powers of domination.The Saptamatrika are worshipped for "personal and spiritual renewal with Mukti as the ultimate goal as well as for powers to control and rule and earthly desires (Bhukti).Also important are the banners of the Saptamatrikas, which are carved outside the Udayagiri caves. These banners are called "Indra's sisters" in the Devi Purana. The Purana lists them as:swan, bull, peacock, conch, discus, elephant and skeleton – attributes of the Matrikas. A king installing these banners is believed to get mukti and bhukti. As per the Nitisara, Matrikas acted as the king's tangible Shaktis and conferred the power to conquer and rule.
Saraswati:
Saraswati , also spelled as Sarasvati, is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, flowing water, abundance and wealth, art, speech, wisdom, and learning.She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.She is a pan-Indian deity, also revered in Jainism and Buddhism.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda.She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through the modern period.She is generally depicted with four arms (which hold four symbols: a book, a rosary, a water pot, and a musical instrument called the veena). The festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in many regions of India) is celebrated in her honour.Traditionally, the day is marked by helping young children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet.This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.In Buddhism, she is venerated in many forms, including the East Asian Benzaiten
Etymology: Saraswati, is a Sanskrit fusion word of saras meaning "pooling water", but also sometimes translated as "speech"; and vati (meaning "she who possesses". Originally associated with the river or rivers known as Saraswati, this combination, therefore, means "she who has ponds, lakes, and pooling water" or occasionally "she who possesses speech". It is also a Sanskrit composite word of surasa-vati which means "one with plenty of water".The word Saraswati appears both as a reference to a river and as a significant deity in the Rigveda. In initial passages, the word refers to the Sarasvati River and is mentioned as one among several northwestern Indian rivers such as the Drishadvati. Saraswati, then, connotes a river deity. In Book 2, the Rigveda describes Saraswati as the best of mothers, of rivers, of goddesses.
Her importance grows in the later Vedas composed after the Rigveda as well as in the later Brahmana texts, and the word evolves in its meaning from "waters that purify", to "that which purifies", to "vach (speech) that purifies", to "knowledge that purifies", and ultimately into a spiritual concept of a goddess that embodies knowledge, arts, music, melody, muse, language, rhetoric, eloquence, creative work and anything whose flow purifies the essence and self of a person.
Names and epithets: Saraswati (Sanskrit: Sarasvatī) is known by many names. Some examples of synonyms for Saraswati include Brahmani (power of Brahma), Brahmi (goddess of sciences),Bharadi (goddess of history), Vani and Vachi (both referring to the flow of music/song, melodious speech, eloquent speaking respectively), Varnesvari (goddess of letters), Kavijihvagravasini (one who dwells on the tongue of poets).Other names include: Ambika, Bharati, Chandrika, Devi, Gomati, Hamsasana, Saudamini, Shvetambara, Subhadra, Vaishnavi, Vasudha, Vidya, Vidyarupa, and Vindhyavasini.In the Tiruvalluva Maalai, a collection of fifty-five Tamil verses praising the Kural literature and its author Valluvar, she is referred to as Nāmagal and is believed to have composed the second verse.Outside Nepal and India, she is known in Burmese as Thurathadi , in Chinese as Biàncáitiān , in Japanese as Benzaiten and in Thai as Suratsawadi or Saratsawadi
Literature:In Hinduism, Saraswati has retained her significance as an important goddess, from the Vedic age up to the present day.She is praised in the Vedas as a water goddess of purification, while in the Dharmashastras, Saraswati is invoked to remind the reader to meditate on virtue, and on the meaning (artha) of one's actions (karma).In Vedic literature, Rigveda Saraswati first appears in the Rigveda, the most ancient source of the Vedic religion. According to Catherine Ludvik, the Rigvedic Saraswati "is a deified river representing abundance and might. She is associated above all with the Waters (Apas) and the Storm Gods (Maruts), and forms a triad with the sacrificial goddesses Ila and Bharati.
Saraswati is described as a loud and powerful flood who roars like a bull and cannot be controlled.According to Witzel, she was associated with the Milky Way, indicating that she was seen as descending from heaven to earth.The goddess is mentioned in many Rigvedic hymns, and has three hymns dedicated to her she is called: "Best of mothers, the best of rivers, best of goddesses".As part of the Apas (water deities), Saraswati is associated with wealth, abundance, health, purity and healing.In Book 10 (10.17) of the Rigveda, Saraswati is celebrated as a deity of healing and purifying water.In the Atharva Veda, her role as a healer and giver of life is also emphasized.In various sources, including the Yajur Veda, she is described as having healed Indra after he drank too much Soma.
Saraswati also governs dhi Dhi is the inspired thought (especially that of the rishis), it is intuition or intelligence - especially that associated with poetry and religion. Saraswati is seen as a deity that can grant dhi if prayed to.Since speech requires inspired thought, she is also inextricably linked with speech and with the goddess of speech, Vac, as well as with cows and motherhood.Vedic seers compare her to a cow and a mother, and saw themselves as children sucking the milk of dhī from her.In Book 10 of the Rigveda, she is declared to be the "possessor of knowledge". In later sources, like the Yajur Veda, Saraswati is directly identified with Vāc, becoming a deity called Sarasvatī-Vāc.
In the Brahmanas, Saraswati-Vac's role expands, becoming clearly identified with knowledge (which is what is communicated through speech) and as such, she is "the mother of the Vedas" as well as the Vedas themselves. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that "as all waters meet in the ocean...so all sciences (vidya) unite (ekayanam) in Vac. The Shatapatha Brahmana also presents Vac as a secondary creator deity, having been the first deity created by the creator god Prajapati. She is the very instrument by which he created the world, flowing forth from him "like a continuous stream of water" according to the scripture. This is the basis for the Puranic stories about the relationship between Brahma (identified with Prajapati) and Saraswati (identified with Vāc).
In other Rigvedic passages, Saraswati is praised as a mighty and unconquerable protector deity. She is offered praises and compared to a sheltering tree in Rigveda , while in cd she is said to provide "protection which is difficult to assail." In some passages she even takes a fiercesome appearance and is called a "slayer of strangers" who is called on to "guard her devotees against slander". Her association with the combative storm gods called Maruts is related to her fierce fighting aspect and they are said to be her companions
Like Indra, Saraswati is also called a slayer of Vritra, the snake like demon of drought who blocks rivers and as such is associated with destruction of enemies and removal of obstacles. The Yajur Veda sees her as being both the mother of Indra (having granted him rebirth through healing) and also as his consort.The Yajur Veda also contains a popular alternative version of the Gayatri Mantra focused on Saraswati: Om. May we know Saraswati. May we meditate on the daughter of Brahma. May the Goddess illuminate us.
Epic literature:In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, "Sarasvati appears above all as a sacred river, along which pilgrimages are made. She is also represented as goddess of speech and knowledge." She is called "the best of rivers and greatest of streams", and with calm and tranquil waters, in contrast to the mighty torrential Vedic Sarasvati. Her banks are filled with priests and sages (rishis) who practice asceticism and sacrifices on her banks. There are numerous depictions of people making pilgrimages to the river to perform sacrifices and bathe in her waters and she often appears in her human form to great seers like Vasishtha.
The Mahabharata also commonly presents her as a goddess of knowledge in her own right and sees Vac as merely a feature of hers. She is called the mother of the Vedas in the Shanti Parva Book of the epic.[13] Her beauty is also widely commented on by numerous passages and in one passage, the goddess herself states that her knowledge and her beauty arise from gifts made in the sacrifice. The Mahabharata also describes her as the daughter of the creator god Brahma. Later she is described as the celestial creative symphony who appeared when Brahma created the universe.
In the epic Ramayana, when the rakshasa brothers Ravana, Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna, performed a penance in order to propitiate Brahma, the creator deity offered each a boon. The devas pleaded with Brahma to not grant Kumbhakarna his boon. Brahma called upon his consort Saraswati, and instructed her to utter that which the devas desired. She acquiesced, and when the rakshasa spoke to invoke his boon, she entered his mouth, causing him to say, "To sleep for innumerable years, O Lord of Lords, this is my desire!". She then left his form, causing him to reflect upon his misfortune.
Puranic literature:Saraswati remains an important figure in the later medieval Puranic literature, where she appears in various myths and stories. Many Puranas relate the myth of her creation by the creator god Brahma and then describe how she became his consort. Sources which describe this myth include Markandeya Purana, Matsya Purana (which contains the most extensive account), Vayu Purana and Brahmanda Purana. Other Puranas give her slightly different roles and see her as the consort of other gods, such as Vishnu. In various Puranas, rites for her worship are given, and she is mainly worshiped for her command over speech, knowledge, and music.
Puranas like the Matsya also contain iconographic descriptions of Saraswati, which provide the basis for her classic four armed form holding a book (representing the Vedas), mala, veena, and a water pot while being mounted on a swan (hamsa).Association with Brahma.According to the Matsya Purana, Brahma generated Saraswati, here also called by other names like Shatarupa, Savitri, Gayatri and Brahmani, out of himself for the purpose of creation.The Matsya Purana then describes how Brahma begins to desire her intensely and cannot stop looking at her. Noticing his amorous glances, she begins circumambulating him. Not wishing to keep turning his face to see her, Brahma produced faces on the sides and back of his head. Saraswati then leapt into the sky and a fifth face emerged from Brahma, looking upwards. Unable to escape, Saraswati marries him and they make love for one hundred years. Brahma felt shame and due to his incestuous act, the god loses his ascetic power (tapas) and his sons are left to create the world.
The birth of Saraswati from the mind of Brahma is also described in the Brahmanda Purana (chapter 43). Saraswati is tasked to reside on tip of the tongue of all beings, a river on the earth and as a part of Brahma.In the Bhagavata Purana A legend in the Bhagavata Purana describes Saraswati as originally being one of the three wives of Vishnu, along with Lakshmi and Ganga. In the midst of a conversation, Saraswati observed that Ganga playfully kept glancing at Vishnu, behind Lakshmi and her back. Frustrated, Saraswati launched a furious tirade against Ganga, accusing her of stealing Vishnu's love away from her. When Ganga appealed to her husband to help her, he opted to remain neutral, not wishing to participate in a quarrel between his three wives, whom he loved equally.
When Lakshmi attempted to soothe Saraswati's anger by reasoning with her, the jealous goddess grew angry with her as well, accusing her of disloyalty towards her. She cursed Lakshmi to be born as the Tulasi plant upon the earth. Ganga, now enraged that Lakshmi had been cursed because she had defended her, cursed Saraswati that she would be incarnated as a river on earth. Saraswati issued the same curse against Ganga, informing her that sinful men would cleanse themselves of their sins with her water. As a result, Vishnu proclaimed that one part of Saraswati would remain with him, that another would exist as a river on earth, and that another would later become the spouse of Brahma.
Shakta texts: 19th century South Indian painting of Raja-Matangi with veena and parrot.Saraswati is a key figure in the Indian goddess centered traditions which are today known as Shaktism. Saraswati appears in the Puranic Devi Mahatmya (Glory of the Goddess), a central text for Shaktism which was appended to the Markandeya Purana during the 6th century CE. In this text, she is part of the "triple goddess" (Tridevi) along with Mahakali, and Mahalakshmi. In Shaktism, this trinity (the Shakta response to the male trimurti of the other Hindu sects) is a manifestation of Mahadevi, the supreme goddess (and the highest deity out of which all deities, male or female, are born), which is also known by other names like Adi Parashakti ("Primordial Supreme Power").
According to the Devi Mahatmya, this supreme goddess is the primordial creator which is supreme formless (nirguna) consciousness (i.e. parabrahman, absolute reality) and the tridevi are her main saguna ("with form", manifest, incarnated) emanations.Mahasaraswati is said to be creative and active principle (which is Rajasic, energetic and active), while Mahalakshmi is the sustainer (sattvic, "goodness") and Mahakali is the destroyer (tamasic, "darkness").In other influential Shakta texts, such as the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Upanishad, Saraswati (along with all Hindu goddesses) is also said to be a manifestation of the supreme Mahadevi.
In Tantric Shakta sources, Saraswati takes many forms. A key tantric form is Matangi, a deity considered to be the "Tantric Saraswati". Mātaṅgī retains many attributes of Saraswati, like music and learning, but is also associated with defeating enemies, disease, pollution/impurity, and outcasts (chandalas).She is often offered half eaten or leftover food and is green in color. Matangi is also part of the Shakta set of goddesses known as the ten Mahavidyas.Matangi is important in Shri Vidya Shaktism, where she is also known as the dark blue Shyamala ("dark in complexion") and is a manifestation of Lalita Tripurasundari's Jñana Shakti (wisdom power), having arisen out of Lalita's sugarcane bow.She is celebrated in the holiday Syamala Navaratri and is seen as Lalita's prime minister. There are various chants and odes (stotras) to this deity, perhaps the most important being the Śrī Śyāmalā Daṇḍakam by the great Indian Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.
Symbolism and iconography: The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes light, knowledge and truth.She not only embodies knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality. Her iconography is typically in white themes from dress to flowers to swan – the colour symbolizing Sattwa Guna or purity, discrimination for true knowledge, insight and wisdom.Her dhyana mantra describes her to be as white as the moon, clad in a white dress, bedecked in white ornaments, radiating with beauty, holding a book and a pen in her hands (the book represents knowledge).She is generally shown to have four arms, but sometimes just two. When shown with four hands, those hands symbolically mirror her husband Brahma's four heads, representing manas (mind, sense), buddhi (intellect, reasoning), citta (imagination, creativity), and ahamkāra (self consciousness, ego).Brahma represents the abstract, while she represents action and reality.
The four hands hold items with symbolic meaning – a pustaka (book or script), a mālā (rosary, garland), a water pot and a musical instrument (vina).The book she holds symbolizes the Vedas representing the universal, divine, eternal, and true knowledge as well as all forms of learning. A mālā of crystals, representing the power of meditation, inner reflection, and spirituality. A pot of water represents the purifying power to separate right from wrong, the clean from the unclean, and essence from the inessential. In some texts, the pot of water is symbolism for soma – the drink that liberates and leads to knowledge.The most famous feature on Saraswati is a musical instrument called a veena, represents all creative arts and sciences,and her holding it symbolizes expressing knowledge that creates harmony.Saraswati is also associated with anurāga, the love for and rhythm of music, which represents all emotions and feelings expressed in speech or music.
A hamsa – either a swan or a goose – is often shown near her feet. In Hindu mythology, the hamsa is a sacred bird, which if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to have an unique ability to separate and drink the milk alone, and leave the water behind. This characteristic of the bird serves as a metaphor for the pursuit of wisdom amidst the complexities of life, the ability to discriminate between good and evil, truth from untruth, essence from the outward show, and the eternal from the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsavahini, which means "she who has a hamsa as her vehicle". The swan is also a symbolism for spiritual perfection, transcendence and moksha.
Sometimes a citramekhala (also called mayura, peacock) is shown beside the goddess. The peacock symbolizes colorful splendor, the celebration of dance, and – as the devourer of snakes – the alchemical ability to transmute the serpent poison of self into the radiant plumage of enlightenment.As a water and river goddess Depiction of Saraswati from a market in Bengal (19th century, pre-1895 CE). The British Library curator's summary states, "Sarasvati, the goddess of learning and knowledge, is seated on the banks of a river. Her feet rest on a lotus flower, a palm leaf manuscript to represent the vedas is next to her and she holds a vina. Her mount, a swan, is positioned nearby."
In early texts like the Rigveda, Saraswati was a river goddess and the personification of the Sarasvati river.As a river goddess, she represented fertility and purity.There are three hymns in the Rigveda which are dedicated to the Sarasvati River.A Rigvedic prayer also describes her as 'the best of mothers, of rivers and of goddesses'.The story of Saraswati becoming a river is mentioned in the Srishti Khanda of Padma Purana as well as in Skanda Purana. In the Skanda Purana, after the events of the Tarakamaya War, the devas deposited their arsenal of weapons at the hermitage of Dadhichi. When they sought the return of these weapons, the sage informed them that he had imbibed all of their power with his penance, and offered his own bones instead, which could serve as the source of new weapons.
Despite the objections of the deities, the sage sacrificed himself, and his bones were employed in the manufacture of new arms by Vishvakarma. The sage's son, Pippalada, upon hearing these events, sought to wreak his vengeance on the devas by performing a penance. A mare emerged from his right thigh, which in turn gave birth to a fiery man, Vadava, who threatened to be the doom of all of creation.Vishnu convinced Vadava that his best course of action would be to swallow the devas one by one, and that he should begin by consuming the primordial water of creation, which was the foremost of both the devas and the asuras. Vadava wished to be accompanied to the source of these waters by a virgin, and so Saraswati was dispatched for his purpose, despite her reluctance. She took him to Varuna, the god of the ocean, who then consumed the being. For good measure, Saraswati transformed into a divine river, flowing with five channels into the sea, making the waters sacred.
In the Padma Purana, it is stated that there was a terrible battle between the Bhargavas (a group of Brahmanas) and the Hehayas (a group of Kshatriyas). From this, an all-consuming fire called Vadavagni was born, which threatened to destroy the whole world. In some versions, a sage named Auva created it. Indra, Vishnu, and the devas visited Saraswati, requesting her to deposit the fire in the western ocean, in order to protect the universe.Saraswati told Vishnu that she would only agree to assist them if her consort, Brahma, told her to do so. Brahma ordered her to deposit the Vadavagni in the western ocean. Saraswati agreed, and accompanied by Ganga, she left Brahmaloka, and arrived at Sage Uttanka's ashrama. There, she met Shiva, who had decided to carry Ganga. He gave the Vadavagni in a pot to Saraswati, and told her to originate from the plaksha tree. Saraswati merged with the tree, and transformed into a river.
From there, she flowed towards Pushkara. Saraswati continued her journey towards the ocean, and stopped once at Pushkarini, where she redeemed humans from their sins. At last, she reached the end of her journey, and immersed the fire into the ocean.
Forms and avatars,ti with eight-hands (above) is depicted in three panels of the Hoysaleswara temple, Halebid Karnataka (c. 1150 CE). One of these is shown above. She is in a classical Indian dance posture, and in one of her eight hands she holds a pen, a palm leaf manuscript, a musical instrument and the tools of major arts. The shilpins thus depicted her as the goddess of knowledge and all arts.There are many avatars and forms of Goddess Saraswati.
She is venerated as Mahasaraswati in the Kashmir Shakti Peetha, as Vidhya Saraswati in Basara and Vargal, and as Sharadamba in Sringeri. In some regions, she is known by her twin identities, Savitri and Gayatri.In Shaktism, she takes her Matrika (mother goddess) avatar as Brahmani. Saraswati is not just the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, but also the Brahmavidya herself, the goddess of the wisdom of ultimate truth. Her Mahavidya form is Matangi.
Vidhya, she is the formless concept of wisdom and knowledge in all of its aspects.
Gayatri, she is the personification of the Vedas
Savitri, She is the personification of purity, the consort of Brahma
Maha Saraswati:In some regions of India, such as Vindhya, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam, as well as east Nepal, Saraswati is part of the Devi Mahatmya Shakta mythology, in the Tridevi of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. This is one of many different Hindu legends that attempt to explain how the Hindu trimurti of gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and goddesses (Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati) came into being. Various Purana texts offer alternate legends for Maha Saraswati.Maha Saraswati is depicted as eight-armed and is often portrayed holding a Veena whilst sitting on a white lotus flower.
Her meditation verse given at the beginning of the fifth chapter the Devi Mahatmya is: Wielding in her lotus-hands the bell, trident, ploughshare, conch, pestle, discus, bow, and arrow, her lustre is like that of a moon shining in the autumn sky. She is born from the body of Gauri and is the sustaining base of the three worlds. That Mahasaraswati I worship here who destroyed Sumbha and other asuras.Mahasaraswati is also part of another legend, the Navshaktis (not to be confused with Navdurgas), or nine forms of Shakti, namely Brahmi, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Varahi, Narsimhi, Aindri, Shivdooti, and Chamunda, revered as powerful and dangerous goddesses in eastern India. They have special significance on Navaratri in these regions. All of these are seen ultimately as aspects of a single great Hindu goddess, with Maha Saraswati as one of those nine.
Mahavidya Nila Saraswati:In Tibet and parts of India, Nilasaraswati is sometimes considered as a form of Mahavidya Tara. Nila Saraswati is not much a different deity from traditional Saraswati, who subsumes her knowledge and creative energy in tantric literature. Though the traditional form of Saraswati is of calm, compassionate, and peaceful one: Nila Saraswati is the ugra (angry, violent, destructive) manifestation in one school of Hinduism, while the more common Saraswati is the saumya (calm, compassionate, productive) manifestation found in most others. In tantric literature of the former, Nilasaraswati has 100 names. There are separate dhyana shlokas and mantras for her worship in Tantrasara.She is worshipped in parts of India as an incarnate or incarnation of Goddess Tara but mostly outside India. She is not only worshipped but also been manifested as a form of Goddess Saraswati.
The earliest known shrine dedicated to goddess worship in Kashmir is Sharada Peeth (6th–12th centuries CE), dedicated to the goddess Sharada. It is a ruined Hindu temple and ancient centre of learning located in present-day Azad Kashmir. The goddess Sharada worshipped in Sharada Peeth is a tripartite embodiment of the goddess Shakti: Sharada (goddess of learning), Saraswati (goddess of knowledge), and Vagdevi (goddess of speech, which articulates power).Kashmiri Pandits believe the shrine to be the abode of the goddess.In line with the Kashmiri Pandit belief that springs which are the abode of goddesses should not be looked at directly, the shrine contains a stone slab concealing the spring underneath, which they believe to be the spring in which the goddess Sharada revealed herself to the rishi Shandilya. It advanced the importance of knowledge and education in Kashmiri Pandit culture, which persisted well after Kashmiri Pandits became a minority group in Kashmir.
As one of the Maha Shakti Peethas, Hindus believe that it represents the spiritual location of the goddess Sati's fallen right hand. Sharada Peeth is one of the three holiest sites of pilgrimage for Kashmiri Pandits, alongside the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath Temple.
Worship:Saraswati temple at Pilani in North Indian style (above), and South Indian style (below). Her temples, like her iconography, often resonate in white themes.There are many Hindu temples dedicated to Saraswati around the world. Some notable temples include the Gnana Saraswati Temple in Basar on the banks of the River Godavari, the Wargal Saraswati and Shri Saraswati Kshetramu temples in Medak, Telangana. In Karnataka, one of many Saraswati/Sharada pilgrimage spots is Shringeri Sharadamba Temple. In Ernakulam district of Kerala, there is a famous Saraswati temple in North Paravur, namely, Dakshina Mookambika Temple North Paravur. In Tamil Nadu, Koothanur hosts a Saraswati temple. In her identity as Brahmani, additional Saraswati temples can be found throughout Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Jnaneshwari Peeth in Karki village of coastal Karnataka also houses a temple dedicated to Saraswati, where she is known as Jnaneshwari.
Festivals and pujas: One of the most famous festivals associated with Goddess Saraswati is the Hindu festival of Vasant Panchami. Celebrated on the 5th day in the Hindu calendar month of Magha, it is also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in India. In south India, In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the last three days of the Navaratri festival, i.e., Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami, are celebrated as Saraswati Puja.The celebrations start with the Puja Vypu (Placing for Worship). It consists of placing the books for puja on the Ashtami day. It may be in one's own house, in the local nursery school run by traditional teachers, or in the local temple. The books are taken out for reading, after worship, only on the morning of the third day (Vijaya Dashami). It is called Puja Eduppu (Taking [from] Puja). On the Vijaya Dashami day, Kerala and Tamil Nadu celebrate the Eḻuthiniruthu or "Initiation of writing" for children, before they are admitted to nursery schools. This is also called Vidyarambham. The child is often ritually taught to write for the first time on rice spread in a plate with their index finger, guided by an elder of the family, or by a teacher.
In east and northeast India, Saraswati Puja, Chandannagar, West Benegal.In Assam, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami, a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 5th day in the Hindu calendar month of Magha (about February). Hindus celebrate this festival in temples, homes and educational institutes alike.
In north, west, and central India, In Bihar and Jharkhand, Vasant Panchami is commonly known as Saraswati Puja. On this day, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in schools, colleges, educational institutes as well as in institutes associated with music and dance. Cultural programmes are also organised in schools and institutes on this day. People especially students worship Goddess Saraswati also in pandals (a tent made up of colourful clothes, decorated with lights and other decorative items). In these states, on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in the form of idol, made up of soil. On Saraswati Puja, the idol is worshipped by people and prasad is distributed among the devotees after puja. Prasad mainly consists of boondi (motichoor), pieces of carrot, peas and Indian plum (ber). On the next day or any day depending on religious condition, the idol is immersed in a pond (known as Murti Visarjan or Pratima Visarjan) after performing a Havana (immolation), with full joy and fun, playing with abir and gulal. After Pratima Visarjan, members involved in the organisation of puja ceremony eat khichdi together.
In Goa, Saraswati Puja starts with Saraswati Avahan on Maha Saptami and ends on Vijayadashami with Saraswati Udasan or Visarjan.In 2018, the Haryana government launched and sponsored the annual National Saraswati Mahotsav in its state named after Saraswati.In Indonesia, Pura Taman Saraswati, Bali, Watugunung, the last day of the pawukon calendar, is devoted to Saraswati, goddess of learning. Although it is devoted to books, reading is not allowed. The fourth day of the year is called Pagerwesi, meaning "iron fence". It commemorates a battle between good and evil.
Saraswati is an important goddess in Balinese Hinduism. She shares the same attributes and iconography as Saraswati in Hindu literature of India – in both places, she is the goddess of knowledge, creative arts, wisdom, language, learning and purity. In Bali, she is celebrated on Saraswati day, one of the main festivals for Hindus in Indonesia.The day marks the close of 210 day year in the Pawukon calendar.On Saraswati day, people make offerings in the form of flowers in temples and to sacred texts. The day after Saraswati day, is Banyu Pinaruh, a day of cleansing. On this day, Hindus of Bali go to the sea, sacred waterfalls or river spots, offer prayers to Saraswati, and then rinse themselves in that water in the morning. Then they prepare a feast, such as the traditional bebek betutu and nasi kuning, that they share.
The Saraswati Day festival has a long history in Bali.It has become more widespread in Hindu community of Indonesia in recent decades, and it is celebrated with theatre and dance performance.Southeast Asia, Saraswati was honoured with invocations among the Hindus of Angkorian Cambodia. She and Brahma are referred to in Cambodian epigraphy from the 7th century onwards, and she is praised by Khmer poets for being the goddess of eloquence, writing, and music. More offerings were made to her than to her husband Brahma. She is also referred to as Vagisvari and Bharati in the Khmer literature of the era of Yasovarman, Hindu king of the Khmer Empire.
In Buddhism: In Buddhism, Saraswati became a prominent deity which retained many of her Vedic associations, such as speech, texts, knowledge, healing and protection. She also became known as the consort of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom (prajña). According to Miranda Shaw's Buddhist Goddesses of India Sarasvati's association with the intellectual sphere assured that she would find favor among Buddhists, who highly value wisdom and its servants: mental clarity, reasoning ability, memorization, and oratorical skill. Sarasvati thus has an affinity with Prajñaparamita, the goddess of perfect wisdom. They may be in voked by the same mantra, reflecting the kinship between the wisdom goddess and the patroness of learning.
Shaw lists various epithets for Saraswati used by Buddhist source including: "Emanation of Vishnu," "Gandharva Maiden," "Swan Child," "Daughter of Brahma", "Lady of the Lake", "Sister of the Moon", "Goddess of Speech", "Divine Lady Who Empowers Enlightened Speech", "Goddess Rich with the Power of Adamantine Speech", "Bestower of Understanding", "Goddess of Knowledge", and "Wisdom Goddess."According to Shaw, Buddhist depictions of Saraswati are influenced by Hindu ones. A popular depiction is called "Lady of the Adamantine Lute" (Vajravina) which is described by Shaw as.
a white, two-armed epiphany in which she plays her supernal lute, or vina. The instrument is made oflapis lazuli and has a thousand strings capable of eliciting every musical note. Sarasvati's melodies pervade the universe and delight all types of beings in accordance with whatever is most pleasing to their ears. She sits with ankles crossed and knees raised in a distinctive posture suitable for balancing a musical instrument.
According to Catherine Ludvik, Saraswati's earliest appearance in a Buddhist text is in the 1st century CE Mahayana Golden Light Sutra (of which there are different versions / translations). This text is first attested in a Chinese translation in 417 CE and includes an entire chapter devoted to the goddess, which is our best source for the earliest Buddhist depictions of Saraswati.In the Golden Light Sutra, A Japanese depiction of Saraswati as a protector deity with eight arms holding various weapons (c. 1212), University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts.
In the Golden Light Sutra (Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra), Saraswati appears and pays homage to the Buddha. As Shaw writes, she then "promises that she will grace the preachers of the scripture with eloquence, oratorical power, perfect memory, inconceivable knowledge, penetrating wisdom, illumination, skill in liberating others, scholarly expertise in every field, proficiency in all the arts, merit, prosperity, and long life."
Saraswati's chapter in the Golden Light Sutra presents three main aspects of the goddess. First, it presents her as a goddess of eloquence and speech, then it presents her as a healing goddess who teaches a ritual which includes a medicinal bath, finally it presents Saraswati as a goddess of protection and war.Ludvik mentions that the earliest version of the Golden Light Sutra (the translation by Dharmaksema) actually only includes the first depiction.The early Chinese Buddhist translators chose to translate her name as "great eloquence deity" the later translations by Yijing use "Eloquence Talent Goddess" (Biancai tiannu), though phonetic translations were also applied (e.g. Yijing's "mohetipi suoluosuobodi").
In the Golden Light Sutra, Saraswati is closely associated with eloquence, as well as with the closely connected virtues of memory and knowledge.Saraswati is also said to help monks memorize the Buddhist sutras and to guide them so they will not make mistakes in memorizing them or forget them later. She will also help those who have incomplete manuscripts to regain the lost letters or words. She also teaches a dharani (a long mantra-like recitation) to improve memory.The Golden Light goes as far as to claim that Saraswati can provide the wisdom to understand all the Buddhist teachings and skillful means (upaya) so that one may swiftly attain Buddhahood.
In some versions of the Golden Light Sutra, such as Yijing's, the goddess then teaches an apotropaic ritual that can combat disease, bad dreams, war, calamities and all sorts of negative things. It includes bathing in a bath with numerous herbs that has been infused with a dharani spell. This passage contains much information on ancient materia medica and herbology. Ludvik adds that this may be connected to her role as healer of Indra in the Yajur Veda and to ancient Indian bathing rites.In the latter part of the Golden Light's Saraswati chapter, she is praised as a protector goddess by the Brahman Kaundinya. This section also teaches a dharani and a ritual to invoke the goddess and receive her blessings in order to obtain knowledge.In latter sections of Kaundinya's praise, she is described as an eight armed goddess and compared to a lion. The text also states that is some recites these praises, "one obtains all desires, wealth and grain, and one gains splendid, noble success.
The poem describes Saraswati as one who "has sovereignty in the world", and states that she fights in battlefields and is always victorious.The hymn then describes Saraswati's warlike eight-armed form. She carries eight weapons in each hand a bow, arrow, sword, spear, axe, vajra, iron wheel, and noose.Kaudinya's hymn to Saraswati in Yijing's translation is derived from the Aryastava ("praise of she who is noble"), a hymn uttered by Vishnu to the goddess Nidra (lit. "Sleep", one of the names applied to Durga) found in the Harivamsha.As the Golden Light Sutra is often concerned with the protection of the state, it is not surprising that the fierce, weapon-wielding Durga, who was widely worshiped by rulers and warriors alike for success in battle, provides the model for the appearance assumed by Saraswati, characterized as a protectress of the Buddhist Dharma.
Bernard Faure argues that the emergence of a martial Sarasvatī may have been influenced by the fact that "Vac, the Vedic goddess of speech, had already displayed martial characteristics. Already in the Vedas, it is said that she destroys the enemies of the gods, the asuras. Admittedly, later sources seem to omit or downplay that aspect of her powers, but this does not mean that its importance in religious practice was lost.Other Indian Mahayana sources, A statue of Vajraśāradā, a classic Buddhist form of Saraswati, Pala Period (8th Century CE), Indian Museum, Kolkata.
In some later Mahayana Buddhist sources like the Sādhanamālā (a 5th-century collection of ritual texts), Saraswati is symbolically represented in a way which is similar to Hindu iconography. The description of the deity (here called Mahasarasvati) is as follows: The worshipper should think himself as goddess Mahāsarasvatī, who is resplendent like the autumn moon, rests on the moon over the white lotus, shows the varada-mudrā in her right hand, and carries in the left the white lotus with its stem. She has a smiling countenance, is extremely compassionate, wears garments decorated with white sandal-flowers. Her bosom is decorated with the pearl-necklace, and she is decked in many ornaments; she appears a maiden of twelve years, and her bosom is uneven with half-developed breasts like flower-buds; she illumines the three worlds with the immeasurable light that radiates from her body.
In the Sadhanamala, the mantra of Saraswati is: oṃ hrih mahasarasvatyai namah The Sadhanamalaalso depicts other forms of Saraswati, including Vajravīṇā Sarasvatī (similar to Mahasarasvati except she carries a veena), Vajrasarasvati Saraswati (who has three eyes, sits on a white lotus, her head is decorated by a crescent and holds a book and a lotus), Vajrasarasvati (has six hands and three heads with brown hair rising upwards), and Āryasarasvatī (sixteen year old girl carrying the Prajñapramita sutra and a lotus).According to the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (c. 4th century - 5th century CE.), Saraswati was born from the eyetooth of Avalokiteshvara.
She is commonly enshrined in Chinese Buddhist monasteries as one of the Twenty-Four Devas, a group of protective deities who are regarded as protectors of the Buddhist dharma. Her Chinese iconography is based on her description in the Golden Light Sutra, where she is portrayed as having eight arms, one holding a bow, one holding arrows, one holding a knife, one holding a lance, one holding an axe, one holding a pestle, one holding an iron wheel, and one holding ropes. In another popular Buddhist iconographic form, she is portrayed as sitting down and playing a pipa, a Chinese lute-like instrument.
The concept of Saraswati migrated from India, through China to Japan, where she appears as Benzaiten Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries. She is often depicted holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute musical instrument. She is enshrined on numerous locations throughout Japan such as the Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine; the three biggest shrines in Japan in her honour are at the Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay, the Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, and the Itsukushima Island in Seto Inland Sea.