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".

Sarasvati River

The Sarasvati River (Sanskrit: सरस्वती नदी sárasvatī nadī) is one of the main Rigvedic rivers mentioned in the Rig Veda and later Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It plays an important role in Hinduism, since Vedic Sanskrit and the first part of the Rig Veda are regarded to have originated when the Vedic people lived on its banks, 2nd millennium BCE . The goddess Sarasvati was originally a personification of this river, but later developed an independent identity.

The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda (10.75) mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert.

The work on delineation of entire course of Sarasvati River in North West India was carried out using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data along with digital elevation model. The palaeochannels are validated using historical maps, archaeological sites, hydro-geological and drilling data. It was observed that major Indus Valley Civilization sites of Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) lie along the River Sarasvati.

Sarasvati (musician)

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Sarasvatī is a pseudonym for a solo act from Risa Saraswati, an aspiring singer/song writer who pursue a solo career using her Sanskrit name, Sarasvatī (सरस्वती). She resides in Indonesia, where the cutting-edge scene is currently evolving to become a new powerhouse in South East Asia. "Ethereal and dreamy soundscapes", her music is noted by one of Indonesian leading newspaper, The Jakarta Post, in which hailed Sarasvatī as a new potential talent within the cutting edge scene. Previously known as the lead singer of an Indonesian Electronic pop-Band, Homogenic, Sarasvatī released her debut EP in July 2010, titled "Story of Peter".

Music career

In 2003, with two fellow band-mate, Risa Saraswati established Homogenic, an electronic Pop group that took the name of one of Björk's album in 1997. The band joined FFWD records, a well-established non-mainstream label in Indonesia, which released artists such as The S.I.G.I.T., Mocca (band), and Hollywood Nobody. In 2009, for an undisclosed reason, Risa decided to leave the band and pursue a solo career using "Sarasvatī" (सरस्वती) as a moniker, a Sanskrit name that represents one of the deity in Hinduism. In 2010, Sarasvatī released a debut EP, "Story of Peter".