Thursday 14 July 2011

Devi Maa Saraswati

Devi Maa Saraswati

by Mantra & shlokas on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 3:53pm


Aum Hamsa Hamsaaya Vidhmahe
Parama Hamsaya Dheemahi
Tannoh Hamsa Prachodayaat
I pay obeisance to the ultimate divinity, the great Goddess who rides the swan. I contemplate on the goddess who is the embodiment of SUPREME DISCRIMINATION. I pray with all my faculties (mind, body, soul) - to the goddess Saraswati to awaken my intellect and grant liberation.


The Glory of Devi Saraswati
Goddess Saraswati is also known as Vaag Devi (Sound/ Speech) and Sharada. Ther First Chapter of the Ninth Skandh of the Devi Bhagawattam, Bhagwan Narayan explains to Narad Muni:
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... She is all the learning of this endless Universe and She resides as medhâ (intelligence) in the hearts of all the human beings; She is the power in composing poetry; She is the memory and She is the great wit, light, splendour and inventive genius. She gives the power to understand the real meaning of the various difficult Siddhânta works; She explains and makes us understand the difficult passages and She is the remover of all doubts and difficulties.

She acts when we write books, when we argue and judge, when we sing songs of music; She is the time or measure in music; She holds balance and union in vocal and instrumental music. She is the Goddess of speech;

She is the Presiding Deity in the knowledge of various subjects; in argumentations and disputations. In fact all the beings earn their livelihood by taking recourse to Her. She is peaceful and holds in Her hands Vînâ (lute) and books. Her nature is purely Sâttvic (S’uddha Sattva), modest and very loving to S’rî Hari. Her colour is white like ice-clad mountains, like that of the white sandal, like that of the Kunda flower, like that of the Moon, or white lotus. She always repeats

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the name of Paramâtmâ S’rî Krisna while She turns Her bead composed of jewels. Her nature is ascetic; She is the bestower of the fruits of the ascetism of the ascetics; She is the Siddhi and Vidyâ of all; She grants always success to all. Were She not here, the whole host of Brâhmins would always remain speechless like the dead cluster of persons. What is recited in the Vedas as the Third Devî is the Holy Word, The Third S’akti, Saraswati. Thus I have described Her.
"End of Scriptural quote"

The Manefestation of Saraswati
Devi Bhagwattam explains: During the manfestation of the Bramhan into Purush (male) and Prakriti (female) entities, the Purush having been described as Lord Shri Krishna, spoke to Prakriti (in this case Radha) and in so doing Devi Goddess SARASWATI emanated out of the lips of Radha as her speech.

At the same time Devi Lakshmi emanted from the Prakriti and Lord Narayan from Purush (Shri Krishna). Devi Saraswati and Devi Lakshmi were both merged with Lord Narayana. So this is how it is said that Saraswati is the consort of Lord Narayan.

So how did Goddess Saraswati become affiliated with Bramha Deva? Well, Devi Bhagwattam in the Ninth Skandh, Chapter VI AND VII explains, however only the narration of Chapter six is provided hereof :

(Please note all of creation is governed by the Three Gunas (Satto, Rajo and Tamo) and these are intimately woven into the fabric of all of creation. At any given instance either of the Gunas can reveal there influence on creation and so direct us in like behaviours)

(The narration which follows is of high philosophic value and ought not to be taken as a simplification of mere human behaviour, lest fault may be found in the faultless. The Lord acts in strange ways for the benefit of human kind and so must create the scenarios which ultimately result in our benefit).

Shrimad Devi Bhagwattam explains:
Chapter VI
16-21. Nârâyana said :-- Hear, O Nârada! I will now describe that incident, the hearing of which removes all the sins. Lakshmi, Saraswati and Gangâ, the three wives of Hari and all equally loved, remain always close to Hari. One day Gangâ cast side-long glances frequently towards Nârâyana and was eagerly looking at Him, with smile on Her lips. Seeing this, the Lord Nârâyana, startled and looked at Gangâ and smiled also. Lakshmi saw that, but she did not take any offence. But Saraswati became very angry.


Padmâ (Lakshmi) who was of Sattva Guna, began to console in various ways the wrathful Saraswati; but she could not be appeased by any means. Rather Her face became red out of anger; she began to tremble out of her feelings (passion); Her lips quivered; and She began to speak to Her husband.
22-38. The husband that is good, religious, and well qualified looks on his all the wives equally; but it is just the opposite with him who is a cheat. O Gadâdhara! You are partial to Gangâ; and so is the case with Lakshmi. I am the only one that is deprived of your love.

It is, therefore, that Gangâ and Padmâ are in love with each other; for you love Padmâ. So why shall not Padmâ bear this contrary thing! I am only unfortunate. What use is there in holding my life? Her life is useless, who is deprived of her husband's love....

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...What pride do you feel for your husband? Do you like to show that your husband loves you much? I will destroy your pride today. I will see today, it will be seen by others also, what your Hari can do for you?” Saying thus Saraswati rose up to catch hold of Gangâ by Her hairs violently.

Padmâ intervened to stop this. Saraswati became very violent and cursed Lakshmi :-- “No doubt you will be turned into a tree and into a river. In as much as seeing this undue behaviour of Gangâ, you do not step forward to speak anything in this assembly, as if you are a tree or a river.” Padmâ did not become at all angry, even when she heard of the above curse. She became sorry and, holding the hands of Saraswati, remained silent. Then Gangâ became very angry;

Her lips began to quiver frequently. Seeing the mad fiery nature of the red-eyed Saraswati, she told Lakshmi :-- “O Padme! Leave that wicked foul-mouthed woman. What will she do to me? She presides over speech and therefore likes always to remain with quarrels. Let Her shew Her force how far can she quarrel with me. She wants to test the strength of us. So leave Her. Let all know today our strength and prowess.”

39-44. Thus saying, Gangâ became ready to curse Saraswati and addressing Lakshmi, said :-- “O Dear Padme! As that woman has cursed you to become a river, so I too curse her, that she, too, be turned into a river and she would go to the abode of men, the sinners, to the world and take their heaps of sins.”

Hearing this curse of Gangâ, Saraswati gave her curse, “You, too, will have to descend into the Bhurloka (the world) as a river, taking all the sins of the sinners.” O Nârada! While there was going on this quarrel, the four-armed omniscient Bhagavân Hari came up there accompanied by four attendants of His, all four-armed, and took Saraswati in His breast and began to speak all the previous mysteries. Then they came to know the cause of their quarrels and why they cursed one another and all became very sorry.

At that time Bhagavân Hari told them one by one :--

45-67. O Lakshmi! Let you be born in parts, without being born in any womb, in the world as the daughter in the house of the King Dharma-dhvaja. You will have to take the form of a tree there, out of this evil turn of fate. There S'ankhachûda, the Indra of the Asuras, born of my parts will marry you. After that you will come back here and be my wife as now. There is no doubt in this. You will be named Tulasî, the purifier of the three worlds, in Bhârata. O Beautiful One! Now go there quickly and be a river in your parts under the name Padmâvatî. O Gange! You will also have to take incarnation in Bhârata as a river, purifying all the worlds, to destroy the sins of

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the inhabitants of Bhârata. Bhagiratha will take you there after much entreating and worshipping you; and you will be famous by the name Bhagirathî, the most sanctifying river in the world. There, the Ocean born of my parts, and the King S'ântanu also born of my parts will be your husbands. O Bharatî! Let you go also and incarnate in part in Bhârata under the curse of Gangâ. O Good-natured One! Now go in full Amsas to Brahmâ and become His consort.

Let Gangâ go also in Her fullness to S'iva. Let Padmâ remain with Me. Padmâ is of a peaceful nature, void of anger, devoted to Me and of a Sâttvika nature. Chaste, good-natured, fortunate, and religious woman like Padmâ are very rare. Those women that are born of the parts of Padmâ are all very religious and devoted to their husbands. They are peaceful and good-natured and worshipped in every universe. It is forbidden, nay, opposed to the Vedas, to keep three wives, three servants, three friends of different natures, at one place. They never conduce to any welfare. They are the fruitful sources of all jealousies and quarrels.

.... O Gange! Go to S'iva. O Saraswati! Go to Brahmâ. Let the good-natured Kamalâ, residing on the lotus remain with Me. He gets in this world happiness and Dharma and in the next Mukti whose wife is chaste and obedient. In fact he is Mukta, pure and happy whose wife is chaste; and he whose wife is foul-natured, is rendered impure unhappy and dead whilst he is living.

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Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the coming in this world of Lakshmi, Gangâ and Saraswati in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

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