Saraswati
http://www.templenet.com/beliefs/saraswati.htmAbodes of Shakti >> Saraswati
Navaratri
Saraswati is regarded as the Goddess of knowledge and the arts. Saraswati represents consciousness and wisdom. Saraswati is also regarded as Vaagdevi, the goddess of sound and speech. Saraswati is revered as the dispeller of chaos and confusion.
Saraswati is depicted as clothed in white, seated on a white lotus playing the instrument veena. The four vedas are considered to be her offsprings. Her mount, the swanis said to personify pure knowledge. Any institution of learning is regarded as Saraswati's temple. Musical instruments are also regarded as symbols of Saraswati. Saraswati is said to be the bestower of knowledge that dispels ignorance and unhappiness.
Saraswati is worshipped as the consort of Bhrahma the creator. Legend has it that Bhrahma the creator acquired the power to think and create only through the power of Saraswati and that it was Saraswati that enabled Bhrahma to listen to the naadabhrahmam the primordial sound which is revered as the source of all creation.
Saraswati is also referred to as Sharda the fountainhead of knowledge who leeds seekers from darkness to light and from ignorance to spiritual upliftment.
The now extinct river Saraswati, once an integral part of Vedic culture is associated with Saraswati the Goddess of knowledge. Legend has it that when Shiva opened his third eye, the flame that emanated threatened to destroy everything in it's path. Only Saraswati the source of wisdom was unperturbed by the potence of the flame, owing to her firm understanding that the flame would only destroy what was impure. She then took the form of a river, carried the flame deep into the sea and transformed it into a fire breathing mare and declared that the creature of destruction would stay underground as long as wisdom was sought after and that it would surface if this search was totally abandoned.
Shrines dedicated to Saraswati are commonly seen in many Saivite temples all over south India, located to the right of Parvati's shrine. There is a lone temple dedicated to Saraswati near Thanjavur in Tamilnadu. There are shrines to Bhrahma and Saraswati at Uttamar Koyil near Tiruchirappalli in Tamilnadu.
