In the Hindu Sanatan Dharma, among the 33 crore deities, there is one named Goddess Saraswati, who has been worshipped and revered as the deity of knowledge since ancient times. This Goddess of knowledge, science, and art, Mata Saraswati, whose mention first appeared in the Rigveda, has been revered not only in the celestial realm but also in all three worlds and fourteen realms. Goddess Saraswati incarnated to put an end to ignorance in the world and to bestow intelligence and discernment upon all gods, demons, and humans.
According to the Devi Bhagavat Purana, in Brahma's created universe, there was no essence or tone. To fulfill that lack, Goddess Saraswati was born through the power of Adi Shakti. It was because of her ability to fill the universe with essence (Saras) that Vishnu named her Goddess Saraswati and she was given a place in Brahmaloka along with Brahma. However, due to the pride associated with the distortion in the form of ego, Brahma's fifth head was born, which led to the theft of the Vedas from him. The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of creation, were stolen by the most ancient demon of creation, Hayagriva, who hid them in the ocean. Hayagriva, with a horse's head and a demon's body, was granted a boon that only a warrior who looked like him could kill him. However, due to the boon granted by Brahma, no other creature could be born like Hayagriva again, making his death impossible. When Brahma came into arrogance because of the birth of his fifth head, he neither informed Vishnu about the theft of the Vedas nor did he seek any help from him. However, since Goddess Saraswati had already read the Vedas upon her arrival in Brahmaloka, she went to Earth with Brahma's son and daughter-in-law, Goddess Shatarupa and Manu, to have them written again. But there, Goddess Saraswati realized that without Vishnu's command, the pen could not be wielded over the Vedas. Meanwhile, with the stolen Vedas, Asura Hayagriva planned to create a separate universe, for which he imprisoned all the sages of creation so that he could learn the knowledge and secrets of the Vedas from them. But when none of the sages helped Hayagriva, he began to torment all of them. Seeing his devotees in distress, Lord Vishnu went to fight Hayagriva. A battle between Hayagriva and Vishnu ensued for five thousand years, but it yielded no result. One day, when Vishnu was resting under a tree, exhausted, his arrow flew off in his sleep, cutting off his own head. After losing his head, Vishnu, feeling victorious, returned to his realm. However, here, Goddess Lakshmi, angered by her husband Vishnu's condition, blames Goddess Saraswati for it. According to Goddess Lakshmi, neither did Saraswati come to Brahmaloka, nor did she leave Brahma to wander, nor did she come and steal the Vedas. All the deities try to convince Goddess Lakshmi, but the accusation on Goddess Saraswati remains steadfast that everything happened because of her. Then, Brahma informs Goddess Saraswati that the secret of Vishnu's regaining his head and Hayagriva's death lies in one of the fourteen realms. To find her ultimate disciple, Goddess Saraswati will have to embark on a journey to those fourteen realms. The journey to find her ultimate disciple ends at Valmiki Muni in the earthly realm, according to the Puranas…
Author / Mythology Writer
Shrikant Vishwakarma
shrikantvishwakarmaa@gmail.com
