Saraswati

Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती, Sarasvatī) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning. She is a part of the trinity of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. All the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to create, maintain and regenerate-recycle the Universe respectively.

The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in Rigveda. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring) in her honour, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write alphabets on that day. The Goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects.

Saraswati who is revered as a goddess of knowledge, music and arts is also found outside Nepal and India, such as in Japan, Vietnam, Bali (Indonesia) and Myanmar.

Etymology

Saraswati, sometimes spelled Sarasvati, is a Sanskrit fusion word of Sara (सार) which means essence, and Sva (स्व) which means one self, the fused word meaning "essence of one self", and Saraswati meaning "one who leads to essence of self knowledge". It is also a Sanskrit composite word of surasa-vati (सुरस-वति) which means "one with plenty of water".

Saraswat Brahmin

The Saraswats are a sub-group of Hindu Brahmins who trace their ancestry to the banks of the erstwhile river Sarasvati.

In Kalhana's Rajatarangini (12th century CE), the Saraswats are mentioned as one of the five Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities residing to the north of the Vindhyas. They were spread over a wide area in northern part of the Indian subcontinent. One group lived in coastal Sindh; this group migrated to Bombay State after the partition of India in 1947. Another group was found in pre-partition Punjab; most of these migrated away from Pakistan after 1947. A third branch, known as Goud Saraswats, are now found along the southern coast.

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