Hinduism: All about Saraswati Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lakshmi and Parvati

Saraswati and her fellow goddesses, Lakshmi and Parvati, are part of the Para Brahman, that is, the supreme trinity. They exist outside of time, beyond everything comprehensible to humans and anything else, beyond description and without maya (magic or illusion).

Answer: One who leads to essence of self knowledge

Saraswati (also sometimes spelled " Sarasvati") is a merger of the Sanskrit word "sara" which means essence, and "sva" which means oneself. The combination translates to "one who leads to essence of self knowledge." The word is also a derivative of "surasa-vati" which means "one with plenty of water" an apt description of Saraswati, a goddess of water who also turned herself into a river.

Answer: Rigveda

The Rigveda was written between 1700-1000 BC. It is an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns and is part of the four sacred Hindu texts called the Vedas, proving that Saraswati has long been an important part of the Hindu faith.

In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, it is asserted that Saraswati herself was behind the creation of the Rigveda, as well as its three counterparts: the Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. This is an understandable assertion, as Saraswati is a goddess of knowledge and her input in such creations would be invaluable.

Answer: Musical instrument

Like other Hindu deities, Saraswati has more than two arms. Her four arms hold items that represent the four components of learning and knowledge in humans: the mind, intellect, alertness, and ego. Her four arms also honour the four Vedas. The book in one of her hands represents prose, the mala (Hindu prayer beads) represents poetry, the pot represents sacred water, which will purify the other aspects of her hands into human cognitive thought.

The instrument in Saraswati's hands is called the veena. The veena is an ancient stringed instrument which has the aesthetic and sound of a lute or harp. The term "veena" is used often in ancient Sanskrit literature to describe a plucked string instrument, and Saraswati, to this day, has her own type of veena and playing style of the instrument compared to other veenas available.

Answer: Brahma

Brahma is the creator of the universe in Hinduism. Some traditions state that Saraswati was first married to Vishnu, but as he was too busy having three wives he gave Saraswati to Brahma. Brahma was so enamoured with Saraswati's beauty that he gave himself four heads (and later added another) to appreciate her from every angle. Although many traditions hold that it was Shiva who cursed Brahma to never be worshipped on Earth, a significant amount of Hindus assert that it was Saraswati who did this:

According to the Padma Purana, Brahma was partaking in a religious ceremony, a ritual in which could not be completed without the presence and assistance of his wife. Saraswati was late to the ceremony. When Brahma consulted the other gods as to what he should do, they suggested he marry Gayatri to complete the ceremony. When Saraswati finally arrived she was furious to see Brahma had married another woman, and cursed him to never be worshipped on Earth, and even the temples that still stood for him would only be used to worship him once a year.

Answer: Shiva

Brahma was infatuated with his creation, Saraswati. His obsession grew larger and larger, always staring at Saraswati with his many heads. To avoid his gaze, Saraswati turned herself into a cow. This did not deter Brahma, who turned himself into a bull and followed her again. Frustrated, Saraswati turned herself into a mare. Brahma responded by turning himself into a stallion and pursued her further. No matter how many animals Saraswati turned herself into, Brahma would respond by morphing into the male equivalent. The ever changing goddess became known as an avatar of Saraswati: Shatarupa. She symbolises material life, enamouring but fleeting.

Brahma's unwanted persistence with Saraswati is also held in many traditions of Hinduism to be why he is no longer worshipped (or hardly worshipped). Saraswati cursed Brahma for not taking her many hints, saying he would never be worshipped on Earth. This did not bother Brahma, who was too drunk on his infatuation. He decided to give himself a fifth head to enable him to intrude on Saraswati more. This disturbed the cosmos with the mixture of desire and ego, and Shiva was awakened by this.

Shiva sensed Saraswati's distress at the hands of Brahma and his advances, and turned into Bhairava, Lord of Terror. He flew at Brahma in a rage and cut off his fifth head. The decapitation certainly quelled Brahma's out of control passion. Brahma's severed head burned into the flesh of Bhairava, Lord of Terror, draining his strength and sending him mad. Saraswati was grateful for the help and nursed him back to health.

Answer: Swan

Saraswati's swan is named Hamsa. The swan has a sensitive beak which has the ability to separate and distinguish milk from water. Hamsa and his beak symbolise the ability to separate good and evil, the worthy and the useless and right from wrong. Hamsa is also able to swim in any water without being affected by the currents or the waves. This choice of vehicle symbolises Saraswati's wisdom in not being influenced by the waves or illusions (maya) or the world, and without them she can focus on the path to divine spirituality.

Although Saraswati is most often depicted with a swan, she is also sometimes depicted with a peacock. Although this is not her main choice of animal, it has been painted gazing up at her. The peacock symbolises the love of dance, colourful expression and it can eat snakes. It also represents pride and arrogance. Saraswati choosing Hamsa as her main vehicle cements her choice as the goddess of wisdom, unperturbed by the waves of life and ego, and focusing on what is important.

Answer: Soma plant

The Gandharvas are demigods that are born from the fragrance of flowers. The male Gandharvas are typically described as musicians and singers, whereas the female Gandharvas are usually dancers. The Gandharvas had stolen the soma plant from the gods, a plant which was both invigorating and intoxicating.

The gods were furious at the theft of the soma plant, but Saraswati reassured them that she had a plan to get it back. Saraswati travelled to the gardens of the Gandharvas with her veena, and began to play the ragas and the raginis: enchanting songs that immediately got the attention of the Gandharvas.

The Gandharvas begged Saraswati to teach them the music, as she had known they would. Saraswati agreed to on one condition: that the Gandharvas return to the soma plant to the gods. The Gandharvas agreed and the plant was returned. They used the music learned from Saraswati to become celestial musicians.

Answer: Vadavagni

In Hinduism, Vadavagni is a type of Agni (fire) that will eventually escape from beneath the ocean and destroy this world in order for the next world to be created. Vadavagni has the face of a horse and mists and clouds on the sea are asserted to come from this fire under the ocean. It also is said to prevent the sea swallowing the land.

The Bhargavas are a Brahmin dynasty who were founded by Bhrigu, one of the seven great sages of Hinduism, and the Hehayas are an ancient grouping of five clans of the Yadava people, which all had ancestry from the Yadu. The battles between these groups were so bloody that the Vadavagni sprang from the carnage. This fire had the potential to destroy the entire world.

The devas were greatly concerned and sought the council of Shiva, who told them that it would be best to speak to Saraswati. The devas asked Saraswati if she would be willing to turn herself into a river and consume the Vadavagni down into the ocean. She agreed and went to sage Uttanka's ashram, meeting Shiva there who had Vadavagni in a pot. He explained that it was born from the Plaksha tree, a tree which Saraswati merged with to transform into a river. The river that Saraswati turned into absorbed the Vadavagni and kept it at bay from destroying the world.

Answer: Lotus

Saraswati is often depicted in Hindu art as sitting upon a large lotus flower. Saraswati is not the only Hindu deity associated with lotus flowers, with Vishnu and Lakshmi being commonly depicted with them also. The lotus is a symbol of purity and spiritual enlightenment whilst being surrounded by filth (the murky swamps in which the lotus blooms, without being affected by its surroundings).

The lotus is regularly written of in ancient Sanskrit Hindu scriptures, such as the kamala (red lotus), pundarika (white lotus), padma (pink lotus) and utpala (blue lotus), with Saraswati typically being depicted with the white lotus. The earliest mention of the lotus in Hindu scriptures is in the Rigvega, and the lotus stands as the national flower for India to this day.

Answer: Telangana

The Gnana Saraswati Temple is situated by the Godavari River at Basar, Telangana, India. Children are taken to this temple as part of a learning and academic ceremony named the "akshara abyasam." This is usually undertaken by students who are about to begin school, where they practice writing and then give pens, pencils and books to Saraswati as a devotion.

The nearest city to the temple is the capital of Telangana, Hyderabad.

Answer: White

Saraswati is mainly depicted in a white sari, which represents the purity of knowledge. She does not don bright colours and seldom wears jewellery, because Sarawati is more concerned with intellectual, spiritual and artistic pursuits and shuns vanity.

Answer: Honey

Saraswati is often given honey as an offering by those who worship her. Honey in Hinduism represents knowledge in the purist form, an apt offering for the goddess of knowledge. Saraswati is also offered poha, or flattened rice,as well as curds and khichdi (the latter of which is often offered to other goddesses of Hinduism).

Answer: Jainism

Saraswati is also hailed as the goddess of knowledge in Jainism as well as Hindusim. Saraswati was one of the first gods to be worshipped by the Jains, and was referred to as "Shrutadevata". Despite the similarity between the Hindu and Jain religion in regards to Saraswati, there are major differences in the religions despite other figures that appear in both religions. Krishna, for example, is considered a divine avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, but in Jainism he is considered a human being who did great things.

Answer: One hundred and eight names

Saraswati has gone by many names throughout history. In Bengal she has been called Saraswati, Sharada, Bani, Bagdevi and Veenapani. In Tamil Nadu she is often referred to as Kalaimagal. In the Telegu language she is called Chaduvula.

Outside of India, Saraswati is referred to as Vagisvari and Bharati in Cambodia, Biàncáitin in China, Benzaiten in Japan, Yang Chen Ma in Tibet and Thurathadi in Mayanmar. Saraswati is one of the most popular Hindu goddesses that are worshipped outside of India.