The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Sarmanochegas
of a purified mind), a vina (musical
instrument), and a rosary (associated
with religious rites, and particularly
with the repetition of the sacred
sounds known as mantras). Her animal
vehicle is the swan, whose white
color is a symbol of purity and whose
high flight is a symbol of transcendence.
Through Saraswati’s blessings
(ashirvad) human beings can transcend
their biological condition to
create works of art and culture.
Saraswati is usually believed to be
married, although different mythic
sources give her different husbands. In
some cases she is described as the wife of
the god Brahma, the creator; here their
joint activity encompasses the formation
of the material world and its transformation
through human cultural activity. In
other stories she is described as the wife
of the god Vishnu, and thus a co-wife of
Lakshmi. Here the realms of Lakshmi and
Saraswati can be seen as giving differing
messages about the “good things” in life—
while Lakshmi grants wealth and material
prosperity, Saraswati brings wisdom
and culture. A popular Indian saying
reports that Saraswati’s devotee (bhakta)
will never make money, while a follower
of Lakshmi (whose vehicle is the owl) will
be “blind” to spiritual wisdom. For more
information on Saraswati and all the goddesses
of Hinduism, see David R. Kinsley,
Hindu Goddesses, 1986.
Saraswati Dashanami
One of the ten divisions of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, renunciant
ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of
Shiva. The Dashanamis were supposedly
established by the ninth-century
philosopher Shankaracharya in an
effort to create a corps of learned men
who could help to revitalize Hindu life.
Each of the divisions is designated by a
different name—in this case, Saraswati
(the patron goddess of learning and culture).
Upon initiation, new members
are given this name as a surname to
their new ascetic names, thus allowing
for immediate group identification.
These ten “named” divisions of
Dashanami Sanyasis are divided into
four larger organizational groups. Each
group has its headquarters in one of the
four monastic centers (maths) supposedly
established by Shankaracharya, as
well as other particular religious associations.
The Saraswati Dashanamis
belong to the Bhuriwara group, which is
affiliated with the Shringeri math in the
southern Indian town of Shringeri. The
Saraswati division is elite in that it is one
of the few that will initiate only brahmins
(the other such divisions are
Ashrama, Tirtha, and part of the
Bharati order).
Saraswati River
One of the seven sacred rivers of India,
along with the Ganges, Yamuna,
Godavari, Narmada, Indus, and
Cauvery. The Saraswati is particularly
interesting because no one is sure exactly
where this river is located. A river by this
name is mentioned in the hymns of the
Vedas, the earliest and most authoritative
Hindu religious texts, and thus the
Saraswati River would seem to have
been in the northeastern part of India,
in which these hymns are set. In modern
times a Saraswati River flows through
the northern Indian state of Haryana
and dries up in the desert of the state of
Rajasthan. Archaeologists have found
extensive settlements from the Indus
Valley civilization on its banks, indicating
that in earlier times the river was an
active tributary of the Indus. Popular
belief holds that the Saraswati continues
to flow underground, and joins the
Ganges and Yamuna Rivers at their confluence
in Allahabad. This reputed confluence
of three sacred rivers is the
source for one of the site’s names,
Triveni (“triple stream”).
Sarmanochegas
According to the Greek writer Strabo, the
name of an ascetic who was part of a
delegation sent to Athens by a king of
the Pandya dynasty, met by Augustus in
603