Sarasvati is a riverine goddess invoked in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the ancient sacred text of India. She maintains a prominent place in Hinduism as goddess of knowledge, music, and sound and is often portrayed as one of the three great (maha) female deities along with the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi, and the fierce protectress mother, Durga. She is a pan-Asian goddess represented in Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist temples, rituals, and narratives. There is some evidence that an Old Iranian river goddess, Haraxwaitl, may also refer to a similar female deity.
Historically, a river Sarasvati existed until its mysterious disappearance by 800 BCE, which is variously attributed to climate changes, geological shifts or possible earthquakes, and drought conditions. Speculations of locating the actual river continue to this day, pointing to the geographical areas along the west border areas of India between modern day Punjab and Pakistan.
The Sanskrit name suggests a flowing quality associated...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Airi, R. (1977). Concept of Saraswati in Vedic literature. New Delhi: Rohtak Co-operative Print and Pub Society.
Biernacki, L. (2007). Renowned goddess of desire: Women, sex and speech in tantra. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bose, M. (2011). Women in the Hindu tradition: Rules, roles, exceptions. New York: Routledge.
Goldman, S. J. S. (2000). Speaking gender: Vac and the Vedic construction of the feminine. In J. Leslie & M. McGee (Eds.), Invented identities: The interplay of gender, religion and politics in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Jantzen, G. M. (1999). Becoming divine: Towards a feminist philosophy of religion. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Ludvik, C. (2007). Sarasvati, riverine goddess of knowledge: From the manuscript-carrying vina-player to the weapon-wielding defender of the Dharma. Leiden: Brill.
Padoux, A. (1992). VAC: The concept of the word in selected Hindu Tantra. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications.
Patton, L. L. (2002). Jewels of authority: Women and textual tradition in Hindu India. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pintchman, T. (1994). The rise of the goddess in the Hindu tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Witzel, M. (2001). Autochthonous Aryans? The evidence from old Indian and Iranian texts. Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, 7(3), 1–115. Retrieved from http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com.
Zysk, K. (1985). Medicine in the Vedas: Religious healing in the Vedas. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kruszewska, M. (2014). Sarasvati. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9087
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9087
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6085-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6086-2
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science