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Saraswati Temples
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His articles are, popular in “The Young World section” of THE HINDU
His e-books and articles on Hindu deities, Festivals, Nature, and different cultures of
people around the world are educative and of special interest to the young.
The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The four hands
represent the four elements of the inner personality, of mind, the intellect,
the conditioned consciousness, and the ego.
A book in Her hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love
and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind. The rosary signifies
concentration, meditation, and contemplation, and the true knowledge
acquired with love and devotion melts the ego resulting in liberation
(moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.
The depiction of the Goddess playing veena conveys that the seeker must
tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world.
Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge
for the welfare of all mankind.
There are not many temples exclusively for Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati
temples dot the whole stretch of India and also in places like Tibet, Java,
Japan and China. She is worshipped not only by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists
but also by people all over the world. The most ancient temple of Saraswati
is in Kashmir.
Mahaakavi Kaalidasa composed Syaamala Dandakam in praise of
Syaamalaamba.
This temple is associated with Ottakoothar, the Tamil poet. It is believed that
the poet Ottakoothar erected the shrine very early in the 2nd Millennium
On full moon nights, children are brought here in droves and the word "Om"
is written on their tongues, with a stick dipped in honey. It is believed that
such children blossom into fine orators, poets and musicians.
• Basar Saraswati Temple in Adilabad District of Andhrapradesh
Situated on the banks of Godavari River this temple is dedicated to Goddess
Saraswati, called Gnana Saraswati. It is believed that Maharshi Valmiki
installed the image of Saraswati here; another legend says that Veda Vyasa
did penance on the banks of Godavari and used to bring fistful of sand daily
after bath to make the idol of Goddess Saraswati and installed the idol of the
deity.