Sarasvatī Becomes a River
Nārada asked Nārāyaṇa how the sacred river Sarasvatī came to be. The Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa answers in Skanda 9. Sarasvatī, Gaṅgā and Lakshmī were the three consorts of Śrī Hari Vishṇu at Vaikuṇṭha. A quarrel broke out among them, and Gaṅgā pronounced a śāpa (a curse) on Sarasvatī: she must go down to earth as a river. Sarasvatī came to Bhāratavarsha and flows there as the most sacred of rivers.
Three consorts at Vaikuṇṭha
According to the Devī Bhāgavata, Śrī Hari Vishṇu lives at Vaikuṇṭha with three consorts: Gaṅgā, Lakshmī and Sarasvatī. All three are aspects of Mūla Prakṛti, the supreme Parāśakti, and they are equal in their divine rank. The three lived together in harmony, and Bhagavān Vishṇu honoured each of them with the same love.
The quarrel
One day Gaṅgā became more close and more exclusive toward Bhagavān Vishṇu. She stayed near him, exchanged glances with him and showed a special familiarity that Sarasvatī found improper. Sarasvatī was displeased and spoke to Gaṅgā about this behaviour. The talk grew into a heated quarrel.
In the argument Gaṅgā pronounced a śāpa on Sarasvatī: “Since you have dared to scold me before Bhagavān Vishṇu, you shall go down to the earth and flow as a river in Bhāratavarsha!”
Sarasvatī, in her anger, cursed Gaṅgā in the same way: she too would go down to the earth as a river.
Lakshmī was caught in the middle. She was so troubled by the quarrel between her co-wives that she could not bear to stay at Vaikuṇṭha amid such strife. She also received a curse and left. She went on to become the holy river Padmāvatī.
Sarasvatī’s form on earth
Sarasvatī came down to Bhāratavarsha and took the form of the sacred river that bears her name. She flows through the earth in a physical body, yet she keeps her divine nature fully. The Devī Bhāgavata describes her greatness in the highest terms:
- She is puṇya-svarūpiṇī, the very form of puṇya (merit).
- She is puṇya-dāyinī, the giver of puṇya to those who come to her.
- She is tapas-rūpiṇī for ascetics, the very form of tapas.
- As fire burns dry wood, she burns away the gathered pāpa (sin) of those who bathe in her.
The Devī Bhāgavata names special days for her pūjā: the full moon of Kārtika, the amāvāsya (new moon), the yoga called Vyatīpāta, and solar eclipses. On those days even one dip in her waters gives the same moksha as years of tapas.
A person who lives on her banks for one month and keeps repeating the Sarasvatī mantra will become a great kavi (poet), even if he was a great mūrkha (fool) before. One who has his head shaved once and bathes in the Sarasvatī every day will never again suffer the pain of the womb.
Sarasvatī and Gaṅgā
Sarasvatī is Vāgrūpiṇī, the form of speech and learning. Gaṅgā cursed her to go down to earth. Yet the Purāṇa says that bathing in the Sarasvatī is, in some cases, even more meritorious than bathing in the Gaṅgā.
Those who give up their lives at a Sarasvatī tīrtha live in the assembly of Vishṇu (Vishṇu-sabhā) for countless years.
The account ends with a vision of three rivers, Gaṅgā, Sarasvatī and Yamunā, as forms of the three consorts of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Each flows through Bhārata as a gift of Parāśakti to humankind.
Sources
- Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 9, Chapter 6
- Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 9, Chapter 7