Saraswati is the goddess of learning, music and eloquence. She belongs to both the Hindu and the Buddhist traditions, and in the Kathmandu Valley she is honoured by both: on Shree Panchami, at the start of spring, students across Nepal visit her shrines, and children often begin learning to write on that day.
How she is shown
- In Buddhist thangkas (Tibetan Yangchenma): white, seated on a lotus, with two arms, playing a vina, the long-necked Indian lute.
- In the Hindu tradition: often with four arms, holding a vina, a book and a rosary, and accompanied by a white swan or goose, her mount.
- Silks and jewels like a goddess, with long hair falling over her shoulders.
What she stands for
The vina is the music of the teaching, the book is learning, and the white of her body is clarity of mind. Tibetan Buddhists pray to her for eloquence, poetry and skill in study, and Hindus as the patron of the arts and of knowledge.
In a painting
Look at the fine strings and carving of the vina, the fall of her hair, and the movement of her silk scarves. Saraswati is a thoughtful gift for a musician, a writer, a teacher or a student.
