Shri Saraswati Vandana

This Saraswati Vandana is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning, speech, music and the arts. Its author is not known to us. Unlike hymns that describe the whole form, every verse here praises the two feet (padayugam), and every verse ends with "Tava naumi Sarasvati padayugam," "I bow to your two feet, Saraswati." Bowing to the feet is the Indian sign of humility, which is the right attitude for a student. Some compound words in the text are hard, and readers differ on exact sense, so the gist is given. Saraswati is the consort of Brahma in the Puranas, and is worshipped on Vasant Panchami.

Verse 1: praised by the gods. "Ravirudra-pitamaha-vishnunutam": your feet are praised by the Sun (Ravi), Rudra (Shiva), Brahma (Pitamaha) and Vishnu, smeared with sandal and kumkum, and served by flocks of sages. The learning goddess is served by the highest gods.

Verse 2: moon and jewels. Your feet are bright like the pure moon (shashi), with a soft glow like the autumn sky, and full of many lovely jewels. Brightness is the sign of clear knowledge.

Verse 3: golden lotus. Adorned with golden lotuses, the giver of prosperity, holding the minds of good people. The lotus is Saraswati''s seat and her sign of purity that rises from mud.

Verse 4: the ocean of worldly life. They break the ocean of worldly life and are praised by steady minds, and are very clean and pure. Learning is here a boat across fear.

Verse 5: refuge for the unlearned. A refuge for people who lack understanding (matihina), described in all the scriptures, by which the world with its many states is shaped. The verse is a comfort to anyone who feels slow at learning.

Verse 6: discernment. A treasure house of fullness, giving the method of discernment (viveka) about the highest good (paramartha), and served by gods. Viveka, the power to tell the lasting from the passing, is the real fruit of learning.

Verse 7: fear and sin. The jewels of the gods'' crowns light up your feet, which remove the great fear that comes with sense-objects and take away sin, with the coolness of moonlight.

Verse 8: soft and true. Your feet are soft as the inside of a lotus, full of the honour of virtues, and rooted in truth.

The message. Learning begins with humility, and its fruit is discernment and truth. Benefits mentioned in tradition, such as wisdom and skill in the arts, are matters of faith and a devotional focus. Prayer can calm the mind but does not replace study. See the Saraswati Chalisa and Vande Mataram, which names her in a later stanza.