5 Stories About Saraswati Puja

India is a land of festivals. The people of India have the luxury to celebrate many festivals all through the year. Most of these festivals are celebrated around some Gods and Goddesses. One such festival is Saraswati Puja. The festival is centered around Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. It is also known by different names like Vasant Panchami, Basant Panchami etc. It is generally celebrated in the Hindu month Magha which generally falls in late January or February. This year the festival will be celebrated on 5th February 2022.

Generally, most Indian festivals have several tales and stories that are closely related to them. Saraswati Puja is no exception. You can find some tales related to Saraswati Puja here:

1.     Goddess of Knowledge - It is generally believed in Hindu mythology that Lord Brahma had created the universe but he couldn't organize the universe on his own. Thus he needed help to create the different components of our universe. He understood quite well that to create the components of the universe he would have to create an embodiment of knowledge, only then would he get the help that was necessary to make the constituents of the universe. This led to the birth of Goddess Saraswati.

After her birth, she helped Lord Brahma create the Sun, Moon and stars. Soon the oceans started to emerge and the seasons also started to change. All these happenings made Lord Brahma very happy and she named Goddess Saraswati Vagdevi ( Goddess of Learning ). Thus Lord Brahma became the Creator of the world and Goddess Saraswati became the Goddess of Knowledge.

2.     Goddess of Music - In another legend, it is believed that once when Lord Brahma was traveling on the earth he felt that everything was very silent there. This made a deep impact on his mind and he decided to find a solution for this. Soon he poured water on a piece of land and Goddess Saraswati emerged from there. Lord Brahma then named her Goddess Saraswati ( Goddess of Music ) and asked her to give voice to all organisms of the earth. It was then that Goddess Saraswati used her musical instrument to give voice to all organisms on the earth.

3.     Vasanth Panchami - It is popularly believed in Hindu mythology that Goddess Saraswati was born on the 5th day of the Magh month. This day also happens to be the advent of Spring. As Spring is called Vasanth and Panchami means 5th so the day is also called Vasanth Panchami. It is celebrated by different ways in different parts of our country. People generally wear yellow clothes on this day. As the day is considered to be the birthday of Goddess Saraswati so she is also worshipped in most educational institutions on this day.

4.     Aryans and Saraswati Puja - Another story also relates Saraswati Puja with the ancient civilization of the Aryans. It is popularly believed that the Aryans entered India through the Khyber Pass of the Hindu Kush range. Those were primitive times and hence most of the major civilizations that existed during those times were close to various water bodies like rivers or oceans. Thus the Aryans also set up their civilization on the banks of the River Saraswati. With time they started to worship the river as a Goddess of fertility and Knowledge. So the day was celebrated to mark the occasion.

5.      Kalidasa and Saraswati Puja - Indian mythology also connects the great poet Kalidasa with Saraswati Puja. It is popularly believed that once Kalidasa was married to a princess by trickery. However, he was soon rejected by the princess due to his foolishness. This greatly disappointed him and broke his heart. When Goddess Saraswati saw his inconsolable grief she emerged from the waters and asked Kalidasa to take a dip there. The dip in the holy waters transformed Kalidasa into a very knowledgeable individual and soon he started to write poetry. Thus Goddess Saraswati came to be known as the Goddess of Knowledge and Learning.