# सरस्वती (sarasvatī)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sarasvati

सरस्वती (sarasvatī) is a Sanskrit word meaning abounding in or connected with ponds, juicy, elegant, sentimental, finding pleasure or delight in, a male deity corresponding to Sarasvati. Its 56 recorded definitions are grouped into 11 contexts, among them Named Women, Female Beings, and Orders, Other Diverse Meanings, Adjectival Meanings (e.g., Juicy, Elegant).

- **SLP1:** `sarasvatI`  **IAST:** sarasvatī  **Devanagari:** सरस्वती
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/sarasvati/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Named Women, Female Beings, and Orders (12 definitions)
- an excellent woman  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > an excellent woman (= स्त्री - रत्न (strī-ratna) ), L. [ ID=237587 ]
- of a poetess  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a poetess, Cat. [ ID=237590 ]
- of various other women  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of various other women ( esp. of the wives of Dadhīca, Śaṃkarācārya, Maṇḍanamiśra &c.), ib. [ ID=237591 ]
- belonging to one of the ten mendicant orders traced back to Shankaracharya, whose members add the word Sarasvati to their names  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of one of the ten mendicant orders traced back to Śaṃkarācārya (whose members add the word सरस्वती (sarasvatī) to their names). [ ID=237592 ]
- An excellent woman.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 6 An excellent woman. [ ID=29830 ]
- the mother of Sarvabhauma  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (IV) — the mother of Sārvabhauma — Hari. Bhā. VIII. 13. 17. [ ID=15528 ]
- a wife of Purnamasa  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (V) — a wife of Pūrṇamāsa; sons, Viraja and Parvasa. Br. II. 11. 12; Vā. 28. 10. [ ID=15529 ]
- a wife of Dadhichi  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-555 ] Sarasvatī (VI) — a wife of Dadhīci. Br. III. 1. 94; Vā. 65. 91. [ ID=15530 ]
- a Laukikya Apsaras  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (VII) — a Laukikya Apsaras. Br. III. 7. 10. [ ID=15531 ]
- the mother of Danu and Diti by Aditya  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (IX) — the mother of Danu and Diti by Āditya. M. 171. 57. [ ID=15533 ]
- the wife of Havyavahana  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (XI) — the wife of Havyavāhana. Vā. 29. 14. [ ID=15535 ]
- the wife of Ranti  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (XIII) — the wife of Ranti. Vā. 99. 129. [ ID=15537 ]

### Other Diverse Meanings (8 definitions)
- the sea  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the sea, Śiś. [ ID=237553.35 ]
- a region abounding in pools and lakes  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1182,2] सरस् (saras) वती (sarasvatī) b f. (of सरस् (saras) वत् (sarasvat), q.v. under सरस् (saras) ) a region abounding in pools and lakes, Mahābhārata (Title) i, 7745 [ ID=237578 ]
- a two-year-old girl representing Durga at her festival  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a two-year-old girl representing Durgā at her festival, L. [ ID=237589 ]
- Name of Durga  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 7 N. of Durgā. [ ID=29830 ]
- the name of a female Buddhist divinity  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 8 N. of a female divinity peculiar to the Buddhists. [ ID=29830 ]
- a Varnishakti that worships Kamakshi  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (VIII) — a Varṇaśakti; worships Kāmākṣī. Br. IV. 39. 14; 44. 57 and 71. [ ID=15532 ]
- a mountain in the Himalayas  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (X) — a Mt. in the Himālayas. Vā. 23. 168. [ ID=15534 ]
- the name of a sacred bathing place  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (XII) — the name of a tīrtha. Vā. 77. 67. [ ID=15536 ]

### Adjectival Meanings (e.g., Juicy, Elegant) (6 definitions)
- abounding in or connected with ponds  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 1182,2] सरस् (saras) — वत् (—vat) ( सरस् (saras)- (saras-) ), mfn. abounding in or connected with ponds &c., BhP. [ ID=237553 ]
- juicy  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > juicy, sapid, L. [ ID=237553.05 ]
- elegant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > elegant, ib. [ ID=237553.10 ]
- sentimental  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > sentimental, ib. [ ID=237553.15 ]
- finding pleasure or delight in  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > finding pleasure or delight in ( loc. ), Cat. [ ID=237553.20 ]
- 1. Watery or juicy. 2. Elegant. 3. Sentimental.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (tī) (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 766-03 ] सरस्वत् (sarasvat) (I) a. (f. ती (tī) ) 1. Having water, watery, juicy; 2. elegant; 3. sentimental. [ ID=40085.1 ]

### River (General or Other) (6 definitions)
- a river  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a river, L. [ ID=237553.40 ]
- Name of various rivers  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of various rivers ( esp. of rivers which in sacredness are equal to S° and which are three accord. to Atharva-veda (Title) vi, 101, and seven accord. to Mahābhārata (Title) ix, 2188 ) [ ID=237581 ]
- any river  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > any river, Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska (subtitle) i, 13 [ ID=237582 ]
- A river in general.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 4 A river in general. [ ID=29830 ]
- rivers named Sarasvati  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > [Printed book page 623-1 ] Sarasvatī, pl. (rivers named S.).—§ 615 i (Saptasārasvata): IX, 38, 2188 ( sapta ), 2216 (do.).—§ 680 b (Tulādhāra- Jājalisaṃv.): XII, 264, 9439 ( sarvā nadyaḥ S°yaḥ ).— § 746 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 76, †3676 ( nadyaḥ iva, Nīl.). [ ID=9541 ]
- a river in Shalmalidvipa  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 3-554 ] Sarasvatī (III) — a R. in Śālmalidvīpa. Bhā. V. 20. 10. [ ID=15527 ]

### The Sacred River Sarasvatī (6 definitions)
- A river  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a river (= सरसती (sarasatī) ), BhP. [ ID=237553.45 ]
- 1. A sacred river. 2. A river-goddess. 3. The goddess of eloquence and speech.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a river (celebrated in RV. and held to be a goddess whose identity is much disputed; most authorities hold that the name S° is identical with the Avestan Haraquaiti river in Afghanistan, but that it usually means the Indus in the RV., and only occasionally the small sacred rivers in Madhya-deśa [see below]; the river-goddess has seven sisters and is herself sevenfold, she is called the mother of streams, the best of mothers, of rivers, and of goddesses; the Ṛṣis always recognize the connection of the goddess with the river, and invoke her to descend from the sky, to bestow vitality, renown, and riches; elsewhere she is described as moving along a golden path and as destroying Vṛtra &c. as a goddess she is often connected with other deities, e.g. with Pūṣan, Indra, the Maruts and the Aśvins; in the Āprī hymns she forms a triad with the sacrificial goddesses Iḍā and Bhāratī; accord. to a myth told in the Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (Title) xix, 12, S° through speech [ वाचा (vācā) ] communicated vigour to Indra; in the Brāhmaṇas she is identified with वाच् (vāc), ‘Speech’, and in later times becomes goddess of eloquence See below), RV. &c. &c. [ ID=237579 ]
- a sacred river in India  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 1182,3] N. of a well-known small river (held very sacred by the Hindūs; identified with the modern Sursooty, and formerly marking with the Dṛṣadvatī one of the boundaries of the region Ārya-deśa and of the sacred district called Brahmāvarta [see, Manu-smṛti (Title) ii, 17 ] in Ṛg-veda (Title) vii, 95, 2, this river is represented as flowing into the sea, although later legends make it disappear underground and join the Ganges and Jumnā at Allahābād; see त्रि - वेणी (tri-veṇī), प्रयाग (prayāga) ), ib. [ ID=237580 ]
- a river lost in the sands of the great desert  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 3 N. of a river (which is lost in the sands of the great desert). [ ID=29830 ]
- A holy river in Bharatavarsa flowing from the Himalayas through Kurukshetra, sacred to the ancestors and associated with numerous sages, hermitages, and divine events.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Sarasvatī (II) — (Mahānadī) R. in Bhāratavarṣa of Brahmāvarta, in Kurukṣetra. Here Ūrvaśī enjoyed water sports with her companions when Purūravas found her a second time. 1 The Brahmanadī; on its banks Vyāsa composed the Bhārata, and his hermitage was on the western bank. Here he heard the Bhāgavata from Nārada. 2 Here Paraśurāma had his avabhṛta bath. 3 On its banks was the Ambikāvana. 4 Here sages practised tapas. At its source Pṛthu performed a hundred aśvamedhas. 5 Lies on the way from Dvārakā to Hāstinapura. Flows west at Prabhāsa; was made to flow back towards a desert where Ambarīṣa performed sacrifices. 6 When the sages per- Page3-554+ 40 formed yajña on its bank, a question arose as to who was the superior god in the world. Bhṛgu, the son of Brahmā was deputed to find this out. 7 Here are eleven places sacred to Trīta, Uśanas, Manu and others. Vidura had his ablu- tions in all of them. 8 Kṛṣṇa sat under an aśvatta tree on its banks preparing to leave off mortal coil and asked Uddhava to go to Badarī. 9 On its banks Kardama performed austeri- ties for 10,000 years. Its banks filled with hermitages, one was Kardama's. In it Devahūtī bathed. 10 Visited by Bala- rāma. 11 Parīkṣit came to hear Dharma at the place where the R. flows East, complaining to Earth on the advent of Kali. 12 Defined. 13 From the Himālayas; fit for śrāddha offerings; 14 a holy river; 15 sacred to pitṛs; flows from the slopes of the Hemakūṭa hill; 16 flows through Kurukṣetra; 17 scene of talk between Garga and Atri. 18 sacred to Devamāta; 19 in the chariot of Tripurāri. 20 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. I. 4. 15; IV. 19. 1; V. 19. 18; IX. 14. 33. II. 9. 44; Br. II. 12. 16; Vā. 45. 95; 55. 43; 108. 59, 78; 109. 21;] [ Footnote: 2) Bhā. I. 4. 27; 7. 2.] [ Footnote: 3) Ib. IX. 16. 23.] [ Footnote: 4) Ib. X. 34. 2 and 4.] [ Footnote: 5) Ib. IV. 14. 36; 16. 24.] [ Footnote: 6) Ib. X. 71. 22; IX. 30. 6; IX. 4. 22.] [ Footnote: 7) Ib. X. 89. 1-2.] [ Footnote: 8) Bhā. III: 1. 21-22.] [ Footnote: 9) Ib. III. 4. 3-8.] [ Footnote: 10) Ib. III. 21. 6; 22. 27. 23. 25. 24: 9:] [ Footnote: 11) Ib. X. 78. 18-19.] [ Footnote: 12) Ib. I. 16. 37.] [ Footnote: 13) VIII. 4. 23-4.] [ Footnote: 14) Br. II. 16: 24: 27; III. 13. 69; 14. 83; Vi. III. 14. 18.] [ Footnote: 15) M. 7. 3.] [ Footnote: 16) Ib. 22. 23.] [ Footnote: 17) Ib. 121: 64-5; 186. 10; 229. 3.] [ Footnote: 18) Ib. 239. 18.] [ Footnote: 19) Ib. 13. 44;] [ Footnote: 20) Ib. 114. 20; 133. 24.] [ ID=15526 ]
- A holy river frequently mentioned in the Rigveda and later texts.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 2-434 ] Sarasvatī 1 is the name of a river frequently mentioned in the Rigveda and later. In many passages 2 of the later texts it is certain the river meant is the modern Sarasvatī, which loses Page2-435+ 70 itself in the sands of Patiala (see Vinaśana ). Even Roth 3 admits that this river is intended in some passages of the Rigveda. With the Dṛṣadvatī 4 it formed the western boundary of Brahmāvarta (see Madhyadeśa ). It is the holy stream of early Vedic India. The Sūtras 5 mention sacrifices held on its banks as of great importance and sanctity. In many other passages of the Rigveda, 6 and even later, 7 Roth held that another river, the Sindhu (Indus), was really meant: only thus could it be explained why the Sarasvatī is called the ‘foremost of rivers’ ( nadītamā ), 8 is said to go to the ocean, 9 and is referred to as a large river, on the banks of which many kings, 10 and, indeed, the five tribes, were located. 11 This view is accepted by Zimmer 12 and others. 13 On the other hand, Lassen 14 and Max Müller 15 maintain the identity of the Vedic Sarasvatī with the later Sarasvatī. 16 The latter is of opinion that in Vedic times the Sarasvatī was as large a stream as the Sutlej, and that it actually reached the Page2-436+ 51 sea either after union with the Indus or not, being the ‘iron citadel,’ as the last boundary on the west, a frontier of the Panjab against the rest of India. There is no conclusive evidence of there having been any great change in the size or course of the Sarasvatī, though it would be impossible to deny that the river may easily have diminished in size. But there are strong reasons to accept the identification of the later and the earlier Sarasvatī throughout. The insistence on the divine character of the river is been in the very hymn 17 which refers to it as the support of the five tribes, and corresponds well with its later sacredness. Moreover, that hymn alludes to the Pārāvatas, a people shown by the later evidence of the Pañca- viṃśa Brāhmaṇa 18 to have been in the east, a very long way from their original home, if Sarasvatī means the Indus. Again, the Pūrus, who were settled on the Sarasvatī, 19 could with great difficulty be located in the far west. Moreover, the five tribes might easily be held to be on the Sarasvatī, when they were, as they seem to have been, the western neighbours of the Bharatas in Kurukṣetra, and the Sarasvatī could easily be regarded as the boundary of the Panjab in that sense. Again, the ‘seven rivers’ in one passage 20 clearly designate a district: it is most probable that they are not the five rivers with the Indus and the Kubhā (Cabul river), but the five rivers, the Indus and the Sarasvatī. Nor is it difficult to see why the river is said to flow to the sea: either the Vedic poet had never followed the course of the river to its end, or the river did actually penetrate the desert either completely or for a long distance, and only in the Brāhmaṇa period was its disappear- Page2-437+ 50 ance in the desert found out. It is said, indeed, in the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā 21 that the five rivers go to the Sarasvatī, but this passage is not only late (as the use of the word Deśa shows), but it does not say that the five rivers meant are those of the Panjab. Moreover, the passage has neither a parallel in the other Saṃhitās, nor can it possibly be regarded as an early production; if it is late it must refer to the later Sarasvatī. Hillebrandt, 22 on the whole, adopts this view of the Saras- vatī, 23 but he also sees in it, besides the designation of a mythical stream, the later Vaitaraṇī, 24 as well as the name of the Arghandab in Arachosia. 25 This opinion depends essentially on his theory that the sixth Maṇḍala of the Rigveda places the scene of its action in Iranian lands, as opposed to the seventh Maṇḍala: it is as untenable as that theory itself. 26 Brunn- hofer 27 at one time accepted the Iranian identification, but later 28 decided for the Oxus, which is quite out of the question. See also Plakṣa Prāsravaṇa. [ Footnote: 1) Literally, ‘abounding in pools,’ perhaps with reference to its condition when the water was low. The name corresponds phonetically to the Iranian Haraqaiti (the modern Helmand).] [ Footnote: 2) Taittirīya Saṃhitā, vii. 2, 1, 4; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, xxv. 10, 1; Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa, xii. 2, 3; Śata- patha Brāhmaṇa, i. 4, 1, 14; Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, ii. 19, 1. 2; probably Av. vi. 30, 1. This list is according to Roth's view, St. Petersburg Dictionary, s.v. 3 c. ] [ Footnote: 3) Rv. iii. 23, 4 (where the Dṛṣadvatī appears); x. 64, 9: 75, 5 (where the Śindhu also is mentioned).] [ Footnote: 4) Probably the modern Chautang, which flows to the east of Thanesar. Cf. Oldham, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 25, 58; Imperial Gasetteer of India, 26, Plate 32.] [ Footnote: 5) Kātyāyana Śrauta Sūtra, xii. 3, 20; xxiv. 6, 22; Lāṭyāyana Śrauta Sūtra, x. 15, 1; 18, 13; 19, 4; Āśvalāyana Śrauta Sūtra, xii. 6, 2. 3; Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra, xiii. 29.] [ Footnote: 6) i. 89, 3; 164, 19; ii. 41, 16 et seq.; 30, 8; 32, 8; iii. 54, 13; v. 42, 12; 43, 11; 46, 2; vi. 49, 7; 50, 12; 52, 6; vii. 9, 5; 36, 6; 39, 5; 40, 3; viii. 21, 17; 54, 4; x. 17, 7; 30, 12; 131, 5; 184, 2.] [ Footnote: 7) Av. iv. 4. 6; v. 23, 1; vi. 3, 2; 89, 3; vii. 68, 1; xiv. 2, 15. 20; xvi. 4, 4; xix. 32, 9; Taittirīya Saṃhitā, 1, 8, 13, 3; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xix. 93; xxxiv. 11; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, i. 6, 2, 4; xi. 4, 3, 3; xii. 7, 1, 12; 2, 5; Bṛnadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, vi. 3, 8. These passages should all be classed in n. 2.] [ Footnote: 8) Rv. ii. 41, 16.] [ Footnote: 9) Rv. vi. 61, 2. 8; vii. 96, 2.] [ Footnote: 10) Rv. viii. 21, 18.] [ Footnote: 11) Rv. vi. 61, 12.] [ Footnote: 12) Altindisches Leben, 5-10.] [ Footnote: 13) E.g., Griffith, Hymns of the Rigveda, 1, 60; 2, 90, etc.; Ludwig, Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 201, 202.] [ Footnote: 14) Indische Alterthumshunde, 1^2, 118.] [ Footnote: 15) Sacred Books of the East, 32, 60.] [ Footnote: 16) In the enumeration of rivers (evi- dently from east to west) in Rv. x. 75, 5, Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Śutudrī, the Sarasvatī comes between the Jumna and the Sutlej, the position of the modern Sarsūti (Saraswatī), which, flowing to the west of Thanesar, is joined in Patiala territory by a more westerly stream, the Ghaggar, and, passing Sirsa, is lost in the desert at Bhatnair; but a dry river bed (Hakra or Ghaggar) can be traced from that point to the Indus. See Imperial Gasetteer of India, 26, Plate 32. Cf. also Oldham, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 25, 49-76.] [ Footnote: 17) Rv. ii. 41, 16 ( devitame ).] [ Footnote: 18) See Pārāvata, and cf. Bṛsaya. ] [ Footnote: 19) Rv. vii. 95, 96. Ludwig, op. cit., 3, 175, admits that the Indus cannot be meant here. See Hillebrandt. Vedische Mythologie, 1, 115.] [ Footnote: 20) Rv. viii. 24, 27. The connexion of Sarasvatī and the seven rivers is rather vague. In Rv. viii. 54, 4, Saras- vatī and the seven rivers are separately invoked, and in vi. 61, 10, 12, she is referred to as ‘seven-sistered’ ( sapta- svasā ). In vii. 36, 6, she is called the ‘seventh,’ which makes the Sarasvatī one of the rivers. If the former passages are to be treated as precise, then sapta- svasā may be considered to show that the Sarasvatī was outside the river system (which would then be Indus, Kubhā, and the five rivers of the Panjab; see Sapta Sindhavaḥ ); but the expression may be loosely meant for one of seven sisters.] [ Footnote: 21) xxxiv. 11.] [ Footnote: 22) Vedische Mythologie, 1, 99 et seq.; 3, 372-378.] [ Footnote: 23) He sees this sense in the Rigveda everywhere, except in the passages indicated in notes 24 and 25.] [ Footnote: 24) vii. 95, 6; x. 17, 7; Av. vii. 68, 2; xiv. 2, 20; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, xxxv. 10, 11.] [ Footnote: 25) Rv. vi. 49, 7; 61; possibly Vāja- saneyi Saṃhitā, xxxiv. 11.] [ Footnote: 26) See Divodāsa. ] [ Footnote: 27) Bezzenberger's Beiträge, 10, 261, n. 2.] [ Footnote: 28) Iran und Turan, 127. Cf. Muir, Sanskrit Texts, 5, 337 et seq., Macdonell, Sanskrit Literature, 141, 142; Vedic Mythology, pp. 86-88; von Schroeder, Indiens Literatur und Cultur, 84, 164.] [ ID=3502 ]

### Goddess of Wisdom and Speech (5 definitions)
- the goddess of eloquence and learning  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of the goddess of eloquence and learning ( cf. above; she is opposed to Śrī or Lakṣmī [ cf. Vikramorvaśī (Title) v, 24 ], and sometimes considered as the daughter and also wife of Brahmā, the proper wife of that god being rather Sāvitri or Gāyatrī; she is also identified with Durgā, or even with the wife of Viṣṇu and of Manu, and held to be the daughter of Dakṣa), Mn.; MBh. &c. [ ID=237583 ]
- The goddess of speech and learning, wife of Brahma.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 1 N. of the goddess of speech and learning, and represented as the wife of Brahman. [ ID=29830 ]
- 1. The goddess of speech and eloquence and wife of Brahma. 2. Speech, voice, or eloquence. 3. A cow. 4. An excellent woman. 5. An epithet of Durga. 6. A specific sacred river and a river in general. 7. The Soma plant. 8. A female Buddhist divinity. 9. The jyotishmati plant.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > [Printed book page 766-04 ] सरस्वती (sarasvatī) f. 1. The wife of Brahman (m.) represented as the goddess of speech and eloquence; 2. speech, voice, eloquence, literary composition, R. xv.46; 3. a cow; 4. an excellent woman; 5. an epithet of Durgā; 6. the name of a river; 7. a river in general; 8. the Soma plant; 9. a female divinity peculiar to the Buddhists; 10. the jyotishmatī plant. [ ID=40087 ]
- the goddess of Speech  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 622-2 ] Sarasvatī 2, the goddess of Speech. § 1 (Anukram.): I, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 11 (Parvasaṅgr.): I, 2, 467 ( saṃvādaḥ S°yās Tārkṣyarṣeḥ, i.e. Sarasvatī-Tārkṣya- saṃvāda).—§ 262 (Sabhākriyāp.): II, 1 (introductory śloka). —§ 266 (Śukrasabhāv.): II, 7, 300 (in the palace of Indra). Page623-a+ 63 —§ 308 (Āraṇyakap.): III, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 330 (Indradarśana): III, 37, 1488 (mentioned in a blessing on Arjuna).—§ 400 (Tīrthayātrāp.): III, 118, †10226 ( °yāḥ, sc. āyatanaṃ ).—§ 412 (Aṣṭāvakrīya): III, 132, 10598 (Śvetaketu saw S. in a human form).—§ 456 (Sarasvatī- Tārkṣyasaṃv.): III, 186, †12715 ( °yā gītaṃ ), †12718, (†12719), (†12732), (†12736), (†12738), (†12741) (discourse between S. and Tārkṣya).—§ 549 (Pāṇḍavapraveśap.): IV, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 554 (Sainyodyogap.): V, 1 (do.).—§ 565 (Gālavacarita): V, 117, 3973 ( reme… S°yāṃ yathā Manuḥ ).—§ 574 (Jambūkh.): VI, 1, 1 (intro- ductory śloka).—§ 576 (Bhagavadgītāp.): VI, 23, 804 (identified with Durgā).—§ 581 (Bhīṣmavadhap.): VI, 65 ξ, 2958 ( devī jihvā S°ī, sc. Kṛṣṇa's), 67, 3019.—§ 589 (Droṇābhiṣekap.): VII, 1, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 603 (Nārāyaṇāstramokṣap.): VII, 201, 9438 ( °yā vāsaṃ Vyāsaṃ ).—§ 604 (Karṇap.): VIII, 1 (introductory śloka).— § 606 (Tripurākhyāna): VIII, 34, 1487 (became the parirathyā of Śiva's chariot).—§ 609 (Śalyap.): IX, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 615 u (Skanda): IX, 45 γ, 2515.— § 616 (Sauptikap.): X, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 618 (Jalapradānikap.): XI, 1 (do.).—§ 621 (Rājadh.): XII, 1 (do.)—§ 641 (Rājadh.): XII, 120 ρ, †4397; 121 σ, 4432 (= Lakṣmī), 4493 (from Viṣṇu in the form of chastise- ment S. created the daṇḍanīti ).—§ 662 b (Jāpakop.): XII, 199, 7268; 200, 7340.—§ 667 (Mokṣadh.): XII, 240, 8741 ( jihvāyāṃ vāk S°ī ).—§ 707 (do.): XII, 319, 11729 ( vāg bhūtā ), 11730, 11736, 11737 ( devī ), 11738, 11745 ( devīṃ ), 11756 (do.).—§ 717 c (Uparicara): XII, 336, 12730 ( devī ).—§ 717 b (Nārāyaṇīya): XII, 340 θ, 12920 ( Vedānāṃ mātaraṃ…devīṃ ), 343 ϕ, 13234 ( Ṛtā Brahma- sutā devī ); 350, 13675 (from the speech ( S. ) of Nārāyaṇa arose Apāntaratamas).—§ 719 (Ānuśāsanik.): XIII, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 737 (do.): XIII, 31 α, 2014.— § 746 (do.): XIII, 69, 3433, 3434 ( Brāhmīṃ ).—§ 778 (Aśvamedhikap.): XIV, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 782 b (Brāhmaṇagītā): XIV, 21, 642 ( vāg ), 645, 652.—§ 787 (Āśramavāsap.): XV, 1 (introductory śloka).—§ 793 (Mausalap.): XVI, 1 (do.).—§ 794 (Mahāprasthānikap.): XVII, 1 (do.).—§ 795 (Svargārohanap.): XVIII, 1 (do.).— § 795 c (Mahābhārata): XVIII, 6 ο, 232 (= the introductory śloka of books I-XVIII), 299. Cf. Vāc, Vāṇī.—Do. 3 = Śiva (1000 names 1 ).—Do. 4, appellative (“speech, voice”): III, †10628; XII, 2197 ( navanītaṃ s°yāḥ ), 2764, 6811 ( vāṇī ), 6944 ( Brāhmī ), 12999; XIII, 4045 ( bahuvidhāṃ ), 5237. [ ID=9540 ]
- 1. The goddess of learning. 2. A mother goddess.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 3-553 ] Sarasvatī (I) — (Vāk Devī); Viśvarūpā, a mind-born daughter of Brahmā who began to love her. Being criticised by his sons for it, he gave up his body in shame. Presented Pṛthu with a wreath, and was offered a wreath of pearls by Viśvakarman. Gave away a string of beads to the Lord. Gave Vīṇa to Kumāra; a Mother goddess. 2 The Goddess of Learning; 3 enshrined in the faces of Brahmā, 4 Gāyatrā 5 in the 23rd Kalpa; constitutes 32 akṣaras; is prakṛti and Gaulī, 6 source of all worlds; 7 of four feet. 8 Presented to Skanda a great vīra. 9 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. I. 24; III. 12, 28 and 33; IV. 15. 16. VIII. 8. 16; Br. II. 26. 45, M. 3. 32. 171. 33; 260. 44.] [ Footnote: 2) Br. III. 10. 47; 35. 44. IV. 7. 72; 19. 70, 73; 20. 101; 36. 19; 40. 8;] [ Footnote: 3) M. 1. 2;] [ Footnote: 4) Ib. 13. 52;] [ Footnote: 5) Ib. 246. 57;] [ Footnote: 6) Vā. 23. 38;] [ Footnote: 7) Ib. 23. 54-5;] [ Footnote: 8) Ib. 23. 88;] [ Footnote: 9) Ib. 72. 45.] [ ID=15525 ]

### Named Animals (3 definitions)
- a buffalo  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a buffalo, W. [ ID=237553.50 ]
- a cow  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a cow, Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā (Title) viii, 43 [ ID=237586 ]
- A cow  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 5 A cow. [ ID=29830 ]

### Named Plants (3 definitions)
- various plants  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of various plants ( Cardiospermum Halicacabum, Egle Marmelos, Ruta Graveolens &c.), L. [ ID=237588 ]
- The Soma plant  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 9 The Soma plant. [ ID=29830 ]
- The plant jyotishmati  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 10 The plant called ज्योतिष्मती (jyotiṣmatī). [ ID=29830 ]

### Speech, Voice, and Eloquence (3 definitions)
- speech, eloquence, or learning wisdom  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > speech or the power of speech, eloquence, learning wisdom, MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=237584 ]
- a celestial or oracular voice  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a celestial or oracular voice, Kālid.; Kathās.; Rājat. [ ID=237585 ]
- Speech, voice, words  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > सरस्वती (sarasvatī) [Printed book page 1108-a ] 2 Speech, voice, words; Kumārasambhava (Bombay) 4. 39, 43; Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 15. 46. [ ID=29830 ]

### Cross-references and Notes (2 definitions)
- see sarasvati  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3B) [Printed book page 1182,2] सरस् (saras) — वती (—vatī) a ( अती (atī) ), f., see s.v. [ ID=237553.55 ]
- See page 1182, column 2.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 1183,3] सरस्वती (sarasvatī) c &c. See p. 1182, col. 2. [ ID=237820 ]

### Sarasvat (Masculine Deity) (2 definitions)
- a divinity of the upper region, guardian of the waters, and bestower of fertility  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > सरस् (saras) — वत् (—vat) m. N. of a divinity belonging to the upper region (considered as offspring of the water and plants, as guardian of the waters and bestower of fertility), RV.; AV.; TS.; PañcavBr. [ ID=237553.25 ]
- a male deity corresponding to Sarasvati  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > of a male deity corresponding to Sarasvatī, TS.; ŚBr. [ ID=237553.30 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); The Purana Index; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546