Brahma:

Brahma is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the Vedas.Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some Puranas, he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century, he had lost his significance. He was also overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu, Shiva, and Mahadevi and demoted to the role of a secondary creator, who was created by the major deities.

Brahma is commonly depicted as a red or golden-complexioned bearded man with four heads and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and are pointed to the four cardinal directions.He is seated on a lotus and his vahana (mount) is a hamsa (swan, goose or crane). According to the scriptures, Brahma created his children from his mind and thus, they are referred to as Manasaputra.In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and has substantially less importance than the other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in the ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India, owing to the absence of any significant sect dedicated to his reverence.Few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan. Some Brahma temples are found outside India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, which in turn has found immense popularity within the Thai Buddhist community.

             The origins of the term brahmā are uncertain, partly because several related words are found in the Vedic literature, such as Brahman for the 'Ultimate Reality' and Brāhmaṇa for 'priest'. A distinction between the spiritual concept of brahman and the deity Brahmā is that the former is a genderless abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism,while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu tradition.The spiritual concept of brahman is quite old and some scholars suggest that the deity Brahma may have emerged as a personification and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle of brahman. The existence of a distinct deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic texts.Grammatically, the nominal stem Brahma- has two distinct forms: the neuter noun bráhman, whose nominative singular form is brahma  and the masculine noun brahman, whose nominative singular form is brahma. The former, the neuter form, has a generalized and abstract meaning while the latter, the masculine form, is used as the proper name of the deity Brahma.

One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed around the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed  also called the Kutsayana Hymn, and then expounded.Sculpture of Brahma in Prambanan, Java Indonesia.In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn  the Upanishad asserts that one's Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living being. It equates the atman (Soul, Self) within to be Brahma and various alternate manifestations of Brahman, as follows, Thou art Brahma, thou art Vishnu, thou art Rudra (Shiva), thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Indra, thou art All.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇa, that is qualities, psyche and innate tendencies the text describes can be found in all living beings. This chapter of the Maitri Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged from darkness (tamas), first as passion characterized by innate quality (rajas), which then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness sattva.Of these three qualities, rajas are then mapped to Brahma, as follows:

    Now then, that part of him which belongs to tamas, that, O students of sacred knowledge (Brahmacharins), is this Rudra.
    That part of him which belongs to rajas, that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Brahma.
    That part of him which belongs to sattva, that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Vishnu.
    Verily, that One became threefold, became eightfold, elevenfold, twelvefold, into infinite fold.
    This Being (neuter) entered all beings, he became the overlord of all beings.
    That is the Atman (Soul, Self) within and without – yea, within and without!

 While the Maitri Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇa theory of Hinduism, the text does not depict him as one of the trifunctional elements of the Hindu Trimurti idea found in later Puranic literature.Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranas, During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during the 2nd to 6th century CE. Early texts like Brahmananda Purana describe that there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha, emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth, and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.

However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, their replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhists, Jains, and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to the Shiva Purana, where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest among them.

While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through the sky. They decided to locate the source and extent of this column. Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and journeyed towards the netherworld and Brahma mounted a goose and travelled towards the heavens. Vishnu accepted his defeat, declaring that he had been unable to locate the source. However, Brahma recruited the ketaki flower as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the source. Shiva emerged from the fire in his bodily form and cut off one of Brahma's heads for his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive worship. Pleased with Vishnu, Shiva offered him a high status and an active following dedicated to his worship.

The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the universe) and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging (metaphysical) and other secondary that is always changing (empirical), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Devi among the terms used for the primary creator,In contrast the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators often Brahma in post-Vedic texts, and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle.

      Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and among the most studied and described. Some texts suggest that Brahma was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and from Brahma's wrath, Shiva was born. In contrast, the Shiva-focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra, or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpa). Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma, and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the saguna (representation with face and attributes) Brahma is Vishnu,Shiva,Devi,respectively.

In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where the deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, A new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.Sculpture of Brahma flanked by Yama and Chitragupta, Tamil Nadu, 10th century

In the Bhagavata Purana, Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the "Ocean of Causes".Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe are born, inside a lotus rooted in the navel of Hari (deity Vishnu, whose praise is the primary focus in the Purana). The scriptures assert that Brahma is drowsy, errs and is temporarily incompetent as he puts together the universe.He then becomes aware of his confusion and drowsiness, meditates as an ascetic, then realizes Hari in his heart, sees the beginning and end of the universe, and then his creative powers are revived. Brahma, states Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combines Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and a tempest of causal nexus.The Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma,[citation needed] wherein he creates for the sake of creation, imbuing everything with both the good and the evil, the material and the spiritual, a beginning and an end.

The Puranas describe Brahma as the deity creating time.They correlate human time to Brahma's time, such as a mahakalpa being a large cosmic period, correlating to one day and one night in Brahma's existence.The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana, for example, goddess Parvati is called the "mother of the universe", and she is credited with creating Brahma, gods, and the three worlds. She is the one, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas - into matter (Prakrti) to create the empirically observed world.The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas-quality god expands in the Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Saraswati has Sattva (quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, holistic, constructive, creative, positive, peaceful, virtuous), thus complementing Brahma's Rajas (quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, action qua action, individualizing, driven, dynamic).[

Sangam literature: Sangam literature mentions several Hindu gods and Vedic practices around Ancient Tamilakam. Tamilians considered the Vedas as a book of Righteousness and is used to perform Yagams or Velvi.Several kings have performed Vedic Sacrifices and prayed various gods of Hinduism. Several sangam texts mentions Brahma as a four-faced god born from the Navel of Vishnu. He is considered to be the father of all living beings, Cholas also claim Brahma as their fore fathers and Vishnu as the father of the Universe.Silappathikaram also has several mentions of Brahma as the four-faced god.

Iconography: Left: 19th century painting of four-headed Brahma as an aged man, holding lotus, manuscript (Vedas) and a ladle; Right: 6th century Brahma in Badami cave temples holding a writing equipment, ladle, and mala.Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms.Each face of his points to a cardinal direction. His hands hold no weapons, rather symbols of knowledge and creation. In one hand he holds the sacred texts of Vedas, in second he holds mala symbolizing time, in third he holds a sruva or shruk  ladle types symbolizing means to feed sacrificial fire, and in fourth a kamandalu  utensil with water symbolizing the means where all creation emits from.His four mouths are credited with creating the four Vedas. He is often depicted with a white beard, implying his sage-like experience. He sits on lotus, dressed in white (or red, pink), with his vehicle (vahana) hansa, a swan or goose.

Chapter 51 of Manasara-Silpasastra, an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making Murti and temples, states that a Brahma statue should be golden in color.The text recommends that the statue have four faces and four arms, have jata-mukuta-mandita (matted hair of an ascetic), and wear a diadem (crown).Two of his hands should be in refuge granting and gift giving mudra, while he should be shown with kundika (water pot), akshamala (rosary), and a small and a large sruk-sruva (laddles used in yajna ceremonies).The text details the different proportions of the murti, describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddess Saraswati. Brahma is associated largely with the Vedic culture of yajna and knowledge. In some Vedic yajna, Brahma is summoned in the ritual to reside and supervise the ritual in the form of Prajapati.Brahma's wife is the goddess Saraswati.She is considered to be "the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions".

Brahma is also worshipped in temple complexes dedicated to the Trimurti. Some of these are: Thanumalayan Temple, Sri Purushothaman Temple, Ponmeri Shiva Temple, Thripaya Trimurti Temple, Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple, Kodumudi Magudeswarar Temple, Brahmapureeswarar Temple.In Tamil Nadu, there is also a shrine for Brahma in Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple in a rare posture along with his consort Goddess Saraswathi.There is a temple dedicated to Brahma in the temple town of Srikalahasti near Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. There is a Chaturmukha Brahma temple in Chebrolu, Andhra Pradesh, and a seven feet height of Chatrumukha (Four Faces) Brahma temple at Bangalore, Karnataka. In the coastal state of Goa, a shrine belonging to the fifth century, in the small and remote village of Carambolim, Sattari Taluka in the northeast region of the state is found.

A shrine of Brahma can be found in Cambodia's Angkor Wat. One of the three largest temples in the 9th-century Prambanan temples complex in Yogyakarta, central Java (Indonesia) is dedicated to Brahma, the other two to Shiva (largest of three) and Vishnu respectively.The temple dedicated to Brahma is on the southern side of siva temple.A statue of Brahma is present at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand and continues to be revered in modern times.The golden dome of the Government House of Thailand houses a statue of Phra Phrom (Thai representation of Brahma). An early 18th-century painting at Wat Yai Suwannaram in Phetchaburi city of Thailand depicts Brahma.The name of the country Burma may be derived from Brahma. In medieval texts, it is referred to as Brahma-desa.

Brahma in Buddhism is known in Chinese as Simianshen , Simianfo  or Fantian , Tshangs pa  in Tibetan, Bonten  and Beomcheon in Korean. In Chinese Buddhism, he is regarded as one of the Twenty Devas  or the Twenty-Four Devas, a group of protective dharmapalas.Hindus in Indonesia still have a high regard for Brahma (Indonesian and Javanese: Batara Brahma or Sanghyang Brahma). In Prambanan there is a special temple made for Brahma, side by side with Vishnu, and in Bali there is Andakasa Temple dedicated to Brahma.

In the past, although not as popular as Vishnu and Shiva, the name Brahma appeared on several occasions. In the legend that developed in East Java about Ken Arok, for example, Brahma is believed to be the biological father of Ken Arok. It is said that Brahma was fascinated by the beauty of Ken Arok's mother, Ken Endok and made her a lover. From this relationship was born Ken Arok. The name Brahma is also used as the name of a mountain in the Tengger Mountains range, namely Mount Bromo. Mount Bromo is believed to be derived from the word Brahma and there was once a sect that believed that Brahmaloka – the universe where Brahma resided – was connected to Mount Bromo.

In the Javanese version of wayang (shadow puppet play), Brahma has a very different role from his initial role. When Hindu society began to disappear from Java and the era of Walisongo's wayang kulit began to emerge, Brahma's role as creator in the shadow puppet standard was given to a figure named Sang Hyang Wenang, while Brahma himself was renamed to Brama (fire) where he was a ruling god. Brama, the son of the figure of Bathara Guru (Shiva). The figure of Brahma in Javanese wayang is fused and mixed with the figure of Agni. Brahma is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the Vedas. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some Puranas, he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha.

Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century, he had lost his significance. He was also overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu, Shiva, and Mahadevi and demoted to the role of a secondary creator, who was created by the major deities.Brahma is commonly depicted as a red or golden-complexioned bearded man with four heads and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and are pointed to the four cardinal directions.He is seated on a lotus and his vahana (mount) is a hamsa (swan, goose or crane). According to the scriptures, Brahma created his children from his mind and thus, they are referred to as Manasaputra.

In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and has substantially less importance than the other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in the ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India, owing to the absence of any significant sect dedicated to his reverence.Few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan.Some Brahma temples are found outside India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, which in turn has found immense popularity within the Thai Buddhist community.

Origin and meaning: The origins of the term brahma are uncertain, partly because several related words are found in the Vedic literature, such as Brahman for the 'Ultimate Reality' and Brāhmaṇa for 'priest'. A distinction between the spiritual concept of brahman and the deity Brahmā is that the former is a genderless abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism,while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu tradition. The spiritual concept of brahman is quite old and some scholars suggest that the deity Brahma may have emerged as a personification and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle of brahman.The existence of a distinct deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic texts.

Grammatically, the nominal stem Brahma- has two distinct forms: the neuter noun bráhman, whose nominative singular form is brahma ; and the masculine noun brahman, whose nominative singular form is brahma . The former, the neuter form, has a generalized and abstract meaning while the latter, the masculine form, is used as the proper name of the deity Brahma.However, Brahman was sometimes used as a synonym for Brahma's name during the time the Mahabharata was written.

Literature and legends: One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed around the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed, also called the Kutsayana Hymn, and then expounded .In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn, the Upanishad asserts that one's Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living being. It equates the atman (Soul, Self) within to be Brahma and various alternate manifestations of Brahman, as follows, "Thou art Brahma, thou art Vishnu, thou art Rudra (Shiva), thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Indra, thou art All.

While the Maitri Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇa theory of Hinduism, the text does not depict him as one of the trifunctional elements of the Hindu Trimurti idea found in later Puranic literature.Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranas,During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during the 2nd to 6th century CE. Early texts like Brahmananda Purana describe that there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha, emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth, and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.

However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, their replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhists, Jains, and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to the Shiva Purana, where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest among them. While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through the sky. They decided to locate the source and extent of this column. Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and journeyed towards the netherworld and Brahma mounted a goose and travelled towards the heavens.

Vishnu accepted his defeat, declaring that he had been unable to locate the source. However, Brahma recruited the ketaki flower as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the source. Shiva emerged from the fire in his bodily form and cut off one of Brahma's heads for his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive worship. Pleased with Vishnu, Shiva offered him a high status and an active following dedicated to his worship.The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the universe) and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging (metaphysical) and other secondary that is always changing (empirical), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.

The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Devi among the terms used for the primary creator,In contrast the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle .Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and among the most studied and described. Some texts suggest that Brahma was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and from Brahma's wrath, Shiva was born. In contrast, the Shiva-focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra, or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpa).

Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma, and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf. Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god. Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the saguna (representation with face and attributes) Brahma is Vishnu,Shiva,or Devi.

In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where the deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, A new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.Sculpture of Brahma flanked by Yama and Chitragupta, Tamil Nadu, 10th century

In the Bhagavata Purana, Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the "Ocean of Causes".Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe are born, inside a lotus rooted in the navel of Hari (deity Vishnu, whose praise is the primary focus in the Purana). The scriptures assert that Brahma is drowsy, errs and is temporarily incompetent as he puts together the universe.He then becomes aware of his confusion and drowsiness, meditates as an ascetic, then realizes Hari in his heart, sees the beginning and end of the universe, and then his creative powers are revived.

Brahma, states Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combines Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and a tempest of causal nexus.the Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma,[citation needed] wherein he creates for the sake of creation, imbuing everything with both the good and the evil, the material and the spiritual, a beginning and an end.The Puranas describe Brahma as the deity creating time.[citation needed] They correlate human time to Brahma's time, such as a mahākalpa being a large cosmic period, correlating to one day and one night in Brahma's existence.

The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana, for example, goddess Parvati is called the "mother of the universe", and she is credited with creating Brahma, gods, and the three worlds. She is the one, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas - into matter (Prakrti) to create the empirically observed world.The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas-quality god expands in the Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Saraswati has Sattva (quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, holistic, constructive, creative, positive, peaceful, virtuous), thus complementing Brahma's Rajas (quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, action qua action, individualizing, driven, dynamic).

Sangam literature: Sangam literature mentions several Hindu gods and Vedic practices around Ancient Tamilakam. Tamilians considered the Vedas as a book of Righteousness and is used to perform Yagams or Velvi.Several kings have performed Vedic Sacrifices and prayed various gods of Hinduism. Several sangam texts mentions Brahma as a four-faced god born from the Navel of Vishnu. He is considered to be the father of all living beings, Cholas also claim Brahma as their fore fathers and Vishnu as the father of the Universe. Silappathikaram also has several mentions of Brahma as the four-faced god.

Iconography: Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms.Each face of his points to a cardinal direction. His hands hold no weapons, rather symbols of knowledge and creation. In one hand he holds the sacred texts of Vedas, in second he holds mala symbolizing time, in third he holds a sruva or shruk — ladle types symbolizing means to feed sacrificial fire, and in fourth a kamandalu – utensil with water symbolizing the means where all creation emits from. His four mouths are credited with creating the four Vedas.He is often depicted with a white beard, implying his sage-like experience. He sits on lotus, dressed in white (or red, pink), with his vehicle (vahana) – hansa, a swan or goose – nearby.

Chapter 51 of Manasara-Silpasastra, an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making Murti and temples, states that a Brahma statue should be golden in color.The text recommends that the statue have four faces and four arms, have jata-mukuta-mandita (matted hair of an ascetic), and wear a diadem (crown).Two of his hands should be in refuge granting and gift giving mudra, while he should be shown with kundika (water pot), akshamala (rosary), and a small and a large sruk-sruva (laddles used in yajna ceremonies).The text details the different proportions of the murti, describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddess Saraswati. Brahma is associated largely with the Vedic culture of yajna and knowledge. In some Vedic yajna, Brahma is summoned in the ritual to reside and supervise the ritual in the form of Prajapati.Brahma's wife is the goddess Saraswati.She is considered to be "the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions".

Brahmani (Matrika):

Brahmani or Brahmi , is one of the seven Hindu mother goddesses known as Sapta Matrikas.She is a form of Saraswati and is considered as the Shakti of the creator god Brahma in Hinduism. She is an aspect of Adi Shakti, possessing the "Rajas Guna" and is therefore the source of Brahma's power.When Brahma was in meditation for the creation of the universe, his body was divided into two parts. They then formed the gods and goddesses, whereby one part was male and the other one female. Thus female parts became Gayatri, Sati Savitri, Saraswati, and others.

Iconography: The goddess is depicted yellow in colour with four heads and four(or six) arms. Like Brahma, she holds a japamala, a kamandalu (water pot), a lotus stalk, bells, vedas and the trident while she is seated on a hamsa (identified with a swan or goose) as her vahana (mount or vehicle). Sometimes, she is shown seated on a lotus with a swan on her banner. She wears various ornaments and is distinguished by her basket-shaped crown called karaṇḍa mukuṭa.

    Kuldevi: She is the Kuldevi (clan goddess) of Vankar (Weaver),Golvadiyas(subcast of leuva Patels), Prajapati, nagar brahmins, darji samaj and other communities of Rajasthan and Kutch, including Dodiya Rajputs and the KGK Community.
Brahmani temples in India

    Brahmani Mataji Temple at Baran in Rajasthan.
    Brahmani Mataji Temple at Pallo near Hanumangarh, Rajasthan.
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Village Brahmani, Hanumanganj, near Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Bharmour near Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Dingucha near Kalol, Gujarat.
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Jamiyatpura, Gandhinagar
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Sorsan, Rajasthan
    Brahmani Mata Temple at Anjar.
    Brahmani Mata temple at Visnagar.
    In Narsoli village of Bhiloda district (Gujarat) there are also 1000 year old temples of Shri Brahmani Mata and Shri Eklingji Mahadev which were destroyed in the Mughal attack, their archeological remains are still present and Eklingji temple is being rebuilt at the same place.

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.

Gayatri

Gayatri  is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of Vedamata ('mother of the Vedas'). Gayatri is often associated with Savitr, a solar deity in the Vedas, and her consort in the Puranas is the creator god Brahma.Gayatri is also an epithet for the various goddesses and she is also identified as "Supreme pure consciousness".

Origin: Gayatri was the name initially applied to a metre of the Rig Veda consisting of 24 syllables.In particular, it refers to the Gayatri Mantra and the Goddess Gāyatrī as that mantra personified. The Gayatri mantra composed in this triplet form is the most famous. Most of the scholars identify Gayatri as the feminine form of Gayatra, another name of the Vedic Solar god which is also one of the synonyms of Savitri and Savitr. According to the Puranas, Gayatri was an Abhira girl who helped Brahma in a Yajna performed in Pushkara.

          Iconography: A modern depiction of goddess Gayatri, Early bronze images of Gayatri appear in the Himachal Pradesh, where she was revered as the consort of Sadasiva.Some of these forms are terrific in nature. One of the bronze images of Gayatri dated back to 10th century CE was obtained from Champa region and now preserved in Delhi museum. It appears with five faces and ten hands holding, sword, lotus, trident, disc, skull, Varada in left and goad, noose, a manuscript, the jar of ambrosia and Abhaya in right.She resides in the mount Nandi. Modern depictions illustrates swan as her mount. Old iconography of Shaivite Manonmani Gayatri was misunderstood as the same of Brahmanic Gayatri later and paintings of Gayatri appears from 18th century CE in which she is often portrayed with third eye, crescent moon and five heads with five different colors same like Sadasiva.

The well known form of Gayatri (Parvati) with the Saivite influence appears having five heads (Mukta, Vidruma, Hema, Neela, Dhavala) with the ten eyes looking in eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding various types of weapons attributed to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Another recent depiction is accompanied by a white swan holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of learning. She is also depicted four-armed, seated on a swan, holding weapons symbolising the Trimurti: The Vedas of Brahma, the discus of Vishnu, the trident of Shiva, and Varada mudra.

She also has an fearsome three-faced depiction; two faces look like that of goddess Kali and one calm one and holding weapons like the deity Mahakali. She is shown mounted on a lotus holding lotus, noose, trident, Scimitar and vard mudra in right whereas conch, discus, bow-arrow, goad and abhaya mudra in left.

Shaivism: According to Sivaite Siddhantic perspective, Gayatri is the consort of Sadasiva, the supreme being Parashivam.Shaivism sees Gayatri as the consort of eternal blissful absolute Parashiva who manifests in the form of Sadasiva.Sadashiva's consort Manonmani is none other than the mantra form of Gayatri, who possess the power of her husband Bharga, within her. The popular form of Gayatri with five heads and ten arms was initially found in Saivite iconographies of Manonmani in North India beginning from 10th century CE. The Saivite view on Gayatri seems a later development from the combination of vedic practice of Gayatri reverence and its Saivite inclusion as a manifestation of Shakti. This could be the root for the sublime aspect of Gayatri explained in the later puranas as the killer of demon Vetra identifying her with Adi Parashakti.

Vishvakarma

Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the word "Vishvakarma" was originally used as an epithet for any powerful deity. However, in many later traditions, Vishvakarma became the name of the craftsman god. Vishvakarma crafted all of the chariots of the devas and weapons including the Vajra of the god Indra.Vishvakarma was related to the sun god Surya through his daughter Samjna/Randal. According to the legend, when Samjna left her house due to Surya's energy, Vishvakarma reduced the energy and created various other weapons using it.

Vishvakarma also built various cities like Lanka,Dvaraka, and Indraprastha.According to the epic Ramayana, the vanara (forest-man or monkey) Nala was the son of Vishvakarma, created to aid the avatar Rama.The term Visvakarman was originally used as an epithet for any supreme god and as an attribute of Indra and the Sun. The name Visvakarman occurs five times in the tenth book of the Rigveda. The two hymns of the Rigveda identify Visvakarman as all-seeing, and having eyes, faces, arms and feet on every side and also has wings. Brahma, the god of creation, who is four-faced and four-armed resembles him in these aspects. He is represented as being the source of all prosperity, swift in his thoughts and titled a seer, priest, and lord of speech.

        According to some parts of the Rigveda, Vishvakarma was the personification of ultimate reality, the abstract creative power inherent in deities, living and non-living being in this universe. He is considered to be the fifth monotheistic God concept: He is both The Architect and The Divine Engineer of The Universe from before the advent of time.The later parts of the Rigveda reveal efforts to find a satisfactory answer to the mysteries regarding the origin of the Architect, the creation hymns present in these parts of the Rigveda mention individual creator gods as opposed to the collection of gods and their chiefs (Indra, Varuna, Agni, etc.) creating the architecture.In the historical Vedic religion, the role of Vishvakarma as the builder of gods is attributed to Tvastar.[11] Vedic Vishvakarman is identified with Prajapati rather than Tvastr. In later mythology, Vishvakarman is sometimes identified with Tvastr and is a craftsman deity.

Iconography: Two different depictions of Vishvakarma - Cambodia and Bengal, Vishvakarma's iconography varies drastically from one region to another, though all picture him with creation tools. In the most popular depiction, he is depicted as an aged and wise man, with four arms. He has white beard and is accompanied by his vahana, hamsa (goose or swan), which scholars believe that these suggest his association with the creator god Brahma. Usually, he is seated on a throne and his sons standing near him. This form of Vishvakarma is mainly found in the Western and North Western parts of India.Contradictory to the above account, the murtis of Vishvakarma in the eastern parts of India depict him as a young muscular man. He has black moustache and is not accompanied by his sons. An elephant is his vahana, suggesting his association with Indra or Brihaspati.

     Parentage of Vishvakarma differs in many other texts. In the Nirukta and Brahmanas he is stated to be the son of Bhuvana. In the Mahabharata and Harivamsha, he is the son of Vasu Prabhāsa and Yoga-siddhā. In the Puranas, he is the son of Vāstu or sometimes, Brahma. Vishvakarma is the father of three daughters named Barhishmati, Samjna and Chitrangada, as well as five sons.In Vamana Purana, Vishvakarma is presented as the husband of the celestial nymph Ghritachi. When identified with Tvastar, Vishvakarma is also described to be the father of a son named Vishvarupa.
Vishvakarma Puja
Vishvakarma Temple in Jinja, Uganda
Vishvakarma Temple at Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh

Among those who celebrate Vishwakarma's birthday, it is celebrated on two days under different names: Vishvakarma Puja: This occasion is observed by adherents on the 17/18 September of every year, Rishi Panchami: Those who celebrate this day believe that Vishvakarma did not have a birthday like the mortals but only a commemoration day in which his five children (supposedly five rishis) came together to declare their solidarity and pray to their illustrious father. This day follows the rules of the Hindu calendar and changes with every year. The five groups among the Vishvakarma community also celebrate this as an auspicious day in commemoration of their patron god at present.