Devi Saraswati in India and forign country

 Among the gods and goddesses of the Vedic era, this goddess can be worshiped easily almost everywhere.There is no need to follow any special rules.So this goddess is worshiped in every house of Bengal at this time of year.

This goddess is "Shwetavarna", veena in left hand, vehicle swan seated on white lotus flower seat and Barabhaya mudra in right hand. Goddess Saraswati worshiped in Bengal has two hands, but her number of hands is four in the whole of North and South Bengal.  Generally we know the swan as the vehicle of Saraswati, but ram, peacock and lion are also worshiped as vehicles.  Mesha Bahna statue is seen in Bangiya Sahitya Parishad.  In South India, the worship of Mayura Vahana idols is more prevalent.

At the end of the dry winter, the fifth day of Shukla Paksha of the month of Magh comes to Bengal. In the bright winter Sun, Bengalis worship the goddess Bagdevi.  This day is considered as Vasant Panchami all over India.

📌There are six special Saraswati temples located in different parts of India:-

1. Saraswati Temple at Pushkar in Rajasthan:-

 

    

The world's only  Brahma temple is  located here. So  there are also temples of  Devi Saraswati as Brahma's consort.

2.Maha Saraswati Temple at Kuthanur, Tamilnadu:- 

A magnificent temple built in the Dravidian style in South India, where the goddess is represented in black, white robes and quadrupeds.

3.Sarada Devi Temple at Maihar,Madhya Pradesh :-

This temple is located at Maihar in Chitrakoot in Satana district of Madhya Pradesh.  Another name of this goddess is Maihar Devi.  1063 steps to the top of the hill can be seen only then.  There are ropeway services for elderly visitors. Puja is regularly performed here on Vasant Panchami.  Pudding is served as prasad.

4.Gnana Saraswati Temple in Basar, Andhra Pradesh:-

According to Purana, 5000 years ago two sages named Vedavyas and Vishwamitra lived on the banks of Godavari.  They used to meditate on the banks of Godavari.  Later, King Vijayaludu built a temple for them to live in. Later, along with the worship of Goddess Saraswati, children were also given  hand-drawn to start their education.

5.Sringeri Sarodamma Temple in Karnataka:-

 

The 14th century temple is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River at Chikmagalur in the South Indian state of Karnataka.  The idol in this temple is made of sandalwood and the idol is adorned with precious stones and gold ornaments.

 6.Panachikkadu Temple in Kottayam, Kerala:-

According to local residents;  In this temple in Kerala lives an invisible demon.  The temple is open for visitors throughout the year.  But the real celebration is celebrated on Navratri day.

 📌Different forms of Devi Saraswati  in ​​different countries:-

1. Mayanmmar:-Goddess Saraswati is known here as the goddess of knowledge and learning but is known here as "Thurathadi".  However, according to Mahayana Buddhism, this goddess preserves the old female scriptures.  Devi is the presiding deity of the Chaturveda and Puranas.  The source of sound and sound is from him.

2.Thailand:-Here the complexion of the goddess has a green tint.  Goddess Saraswati is also worshiped here as the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. However, instead of a swan, the goddess is seated on a peacock.

3.Combodia:- Statues of gods and goddesses modeled after some Hindu gods can be seen in the Angkor Wat temple.  Hindu and Buddhist kings have ruled here for a long time.  As a result, it is known from the statues of the 10th and 11th centuries that Brahma and Saraswati were worshiped here in the 17th century.  Khemar poets in this region sang the praises of Goddess Saraswati.  Devi is considered married here.  It is said that Prajapati Brahma is the husband of this goddess. Here the goddess is also called Bageshwari and Bharati. The name is particularly mentioned in Khemar literature from the reign of King Yashovarman.

4.America:- The tallest statue of Saraswati, the goddess of learning, is located in Washington, DC, USA. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, gave this gift to America in 2013 as a "symbol of harmony".But there are three children at the feet of this Saraswati. The three children are looking at a book. It is known that the first three children were placed by former US President Barack Obama.The idol is placed on a blooming lotus. The goddess is standing on a swan.This statue is a symbol of Indonesian art.The entire body of the goddess is decorated with gold ornaments. The height of this Saraswati idol is 16 feet. Many people flock every day to see such an attractive statue. The place is not far from the White House. This Saraswati statue is located on   Massachusetts Avenue, just a few blocks from the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC. 

5.Indonesia:- Hindus living on the island of Bali worship Goddess Saraswati. A special day in Indonesia is named after Saraswati Tagore.  This day is called "Day of Saraswati".  On this day, people in Indonesia worship "Punthi-Patra" with flowers, fruits, dhoop and dhoona.

6.Tibet:-  In Tibet or Tibet this goddess is called Yang Chen or Goddess of Music.  Tibetan tantrics, along with Buddhism, identify the goddess here as one of the 21 stars or consort of the goddess Manjushri.

● One more information is available on this topic.  Vedic and mythological gods and goddesses were overshadowed by Mahayana Buddhism, such as our peaceful Saraswati who became the Vajra goddess in Tibet, because she had the death-thunderbolt in her hand.

7. Japan – While Saraswati in other states of India is quadrilateral, Japan's Goddess of Awakening Benjaiten is bipartite. Similar to Bengal, Japan has two-sided Saraswati Puja.  He has no vehicle in most of the Vigrahas.  However, dragons or snakes are also seen with him in some idols.  Mother Saraswati killed Britrasura, who had three arms.  Another name of Vritrasura was “Ahi” or snake.

Maybe that's why in Japan there are statues of snakes and dragons along with the goddess Benzaiten.  For over a thousand years, Japan has worshiped the goddess Benjaiten, chanting pure Sanskrit mantras.  Even,Homa-Yajna is not done in this puja. In Japanese, home is called havan or goma.  A traditional Japanese musical instrument called Biwa can be seen in the hands of Goddess Benzaiten.Devi Saraswati is the goddess of learning and wisdom in India. But in Japan she is the goddess of water, time, sound, speech, eloquence, beauty, music and wisdom.  However, today the Japanese worship Goddess Saraswati as the protector of the people and the state.

● The goddess is worshiped at temples on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay, Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, and Itsukushima Island in the Seto Inland Sea.  In Inokashira Park in western Tokyo, Tokyo's oldest and most famous Saraswati Temple is located.  1047 AD Buddhist monk Kookei also wrote a history of the temples of Goddess Saraswati.  In many places in Japan, water bodies are called Bengaiten.  There is a temple in the middle or on the edge of the water body without any idols. There is a deity of Devi Saraswati in the water. 

Surprisingly, India also has a famous river called Saraswati.  And, the swan, the vehicle of the goddess, the lotus cannot be imagined without water.

📌The question may arise in the mind, how did Devi Saraswati reach Japan?  How did Hindu religion and culture spread in Japan?

From the second to the fifteenth century AD, the Hindu kings of the Champa country had vast influence over the vast expanses of the Pacific and Indian oceans.  The Champa kingdom covered much of what is now central and southern Vietnam.  Hinduism reached Japan through this Champa kingdom.  Probably many centuries before Buddhism reached Japan. Devi Saraswati or Benjaiten worshiped began between the sixth and eighth centuries AD.

The diversity of Saraswati-Vandana around the world is truly astonishing.  Understandably, the strength of Brahminism is its uniformity.  No, but the way she handled the tension of so many different opinions and beliefs, that is the real strength of Goddess Saraswati.

⏺️Colllected by S.Mukhopadhyay

⏺️Information debt and gratitude acknowledged by-  Suktara Magazine