Beyond the imagination: Goddess Saraswati in different avatar and different abode

NewsBharati    22-Jan-2018
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Mumbai, January 22: Spirituality or devotion is something which is based on one’s faith but religion is something which has connected each other in some ways. Same is the situation with the countries, they are only bordered with boundaries but the values, traditions are spread like air. Hindu deities are always imagined wearing dhoti, gold ornaments and if it is female goddess then a Saree, long hairs, full gold ornaments, but there are some nations who worship the same goddess but in a different form.

 

The following pictures will show you the glimpse of Goddess Saraswati which is worshiped in many parts of the world but according to their local traditions.

Saraswati is the Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, Art, and education. On the auspicious day of Vasant Panchami or Vasant Panchami, people do the prayers and worship her for knowledge seeking, but this is not only bound till India, she is referred to the goddess of knowledge in Japan too.

 

Benzaiten is a Japanese Buddhist goddess, who originated from the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her. She is also mentioned in the Lotus Sutra and often depicted holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute, just as Saraswati holds a veena. Benzaiten is a syncretic entity with both a Buddhist and a Shinto side.

Saraswati statue in Saudi Arabia is also nothing new. Scholars like Stephen Knap have already published the pictures in their blogs. The pre-Islamic Arabia has many statues. One of them is riding a swan. So anyone will identify the goddess as Saraswati.

Not only in Japan but she is worshipped in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Tibet in different forms but the quality remains the same.