The Goddess of Knowledge

The appealing aspect of any polytheistic religion is that each of the different gods and goddesses in its pantheon is always allocated some specific tasks to perform or, maybe more accurately, a specific authority to deal with a particular issue. Monotheistic religions lack this multiplicity of divine attributes. 

Gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions evolve with time, taking on new roles and characteristics. An important deity may fade into obscurity over time, whereas a minor deity may gain popularity. However, a prominent deity may adopt a new identity and continue to be important while performing an entirely different task. 

At the philosophical level, Hinduism is unquestionably monotheistic in nature, yet at the grassroots level, it shows the traits of a polytheistic religion. In Hinduism, Devi Saraswati is one such deity who has evolved from a revered river goddess to the goddess of knowledge, speech, and art over time. 

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Devi Saraswati: The River Goddess

Devi Saraswati's name appears several times in the Rigveda, primarily as a river deity; nonetheless, there is mention of another goddess, Vak, who was the embodiment of speech and eventually merged with Saraswati. The early Vedic culture thrived in the region known as Brahmavarta, which was bounded by two sacred rivers: Saraswati in the north (running from north to south) and Drishadvati in the south (flowing from east to west). The Saraswati river eventually dried up, leaving only a few traces, yet its cultural and religious significance has survived thousands of years. 

One intriguing tale from the Purana (a collection of mythical stories) describes why the Saraswati River dried up

As a sacrifice, the great sage Dadhichi donated his bones to the gods, who used them to forge some divine weapons to fight the demons. Gabhastini, the great sage's wife, could not bear the grief of losing her beloved husband and the consecration of his remains, and she decided to immolate herself in the sacred fire. However, because she was pregnant at the time, she transferred her unborn child from her womb into a hollowed Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) and asked the tree to take care of her son. 

The sacred fig tree began to nurture the child as a mother, shielding it from the scorching sun, shivering wind, and heavy rain. The moon god Chandradeva provided the divine elixir soma to the peepal tree, who fed the boy on the divine elixir blended with the sap. 

Several years went by. Rishi Dadhichi's ashram (hermitage) fell into ruin. One day, great sage Narada was passing by the peepal tree, and he noticed the child. He was astounded to discover that the child could communicate with the tree, and the tree responded by moving its branches. He gradually understood that the little boy was Dadhichi's son, blessed with divine attributes. Narada approached the boy and was startled when he found that the child had already learnt how to speak from the peepal tree, despite having never met another human being before.

Since the boy was raised by the peepal tree, Narada gave him the name Pippalada. From Narada, the boy came to know about his parents and learnt how they lost their lives. The boy spent days thinking about his parents after Narada left, and he grew increasingly enraged as he started to hold the gods responsible for his misfortune. He finally made the decision to exact revenge on the gods and began a rigorous penance. Month after month and year after year went by. But his austerity continued. 

His penance eventually frightened the gods in heaven. The gods became alarmed because the boy was no ordinary child. He was Dadhichi's son, gifted with divine attributes, fed with divine elixir, and equipped with unwavering perseverance. His rage was so intense that it could burn the entire creation to ashes. The gods began to plead to Lord Shiva to intercede. Finally, Shiva appeared before Pippalada and commanded him to become pacified. Shiva knew that his fury stemmed from ignorance, and he explained everything to Pippalada. Pippalada understood his mistake, but he was unable to control his rage. 

So Shiva removed the wrath from his mind and threw it into the water of the river Saraswati, who carried it to the ocean, where it remained confined forever. Yet, the heat of the rage was so powerful that it nearly dried up the river and turned the whole region into a desert.

In another version of the story, Pippalada's rage manifested as a terrifying demon. As Pippalada asked him to devour all the gods, the demon chased Pippalada to devour him first because he possessed all of the heavenly characteristics and was fed on soma. Pippalada became terrified and took shelter within the peepal tree. But then Shiva appeared and saved him from the demon Vadavamukha.

Shiva confined the demon in a sphere and dropped it into the Saraswati River. Shiva instructed Devi Saraswati to carry the demon to the ocean floor, where he would be held. Saraswati performed the task, but during the process, she dried up. The demon is still entrapped underwater as a submarine apocalyptic fire known as Vadavagni and is responsible for formation of ocean mist.