Originally posted by: Viswasruti
Suta , here is the interesting story of Saraswathi and Brahma!
Saraswati is omnipresent in so many countries apart from India. She is worshipped and venerated in countries like China, Japan, Burma, and Thailand. Followers of the Jain religion also worship Saraswati.
From the Vedas to the Epics to the Puranas, the character of Saraswati morphs significantly, but she consistently comes across as an independent goddess. Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge, is a unique character. The story of Brahma and Saraswati is really interesting.
Unlike the other goddesses eager for matrimony and motherhood, Saraswati is singularly aloof. Her white complexion and attire ΜΆ almost window-like one, indicate her asceticism, transcendence, and purity. There is, however, one oddity in her otherwise stated story β her purported relationship with Brahma!! That story is beyond moral perceptions and ethical standards!!
She was yet an abstraction, like most Vedic deities. A more solid personification of her character came about in the Mahabharata, where she was said to be Brahmaβs daughter. The Matsya Purana, for example, tells us how she became his wife. And this is where the story of our interest startsβ¦the story of Brahma and Saraswati, his obsession and her objection!!
Brahma the creator at one point, he split his body into two β one of which became the goddess Shatarupa, she of a hundred forms. She was verily named as Saraswati! As she, the most beautiful of all of Brahmaβs creations, circumambulated around her father, Brahma was smitten. Brahmaβs blatant infatuation was hard to miss and his mind-born sons objected to their fatherβs inappropriate gaze towards their βsisterβ! π
But there was no stopping Brahma and he exclaimed over and over again how beautiful she was. Brahma became completely infatuated with her unable to stop his eyes from following her, he sprouted four heads (and eyes) in four directions, and then a fifth on top, when Saraswati sprang upward to evade his attention. He also tried to show his lordship on her, while she tried to escape from his stares and gaze. At this point Rudra-Shiva the ascetic god was so disgusted by Brahmaβs behaviour, that he lopped off the laterβs fifth head. This served as a punishment to Brahma for showing attachment to his creation!! This is why we see Brahma with his four heads only.
In another version, Brahmaβs punishment came by way of him losing all his powers of tapas, due to his desire for his daughter. Now powerless to create, he had to appoint his sons to take forth the act of creation. Brahma was now free to βownβ Saraswati. He made love to her, and from their union, the progenitors of mankind were born. Brahma and Saraswati became the Cosmic Couple. They lived together for 100 years in a secluded cave and apparently Manu was their son.
In another version of the Brahma Saraswati story, however, we are told that Saraswati was not as complicit as Brahma had hoped. She ran from him and assumed the female forms of many creatures but Brahma was not to be spurned and followed her across the universe with the corresponding male forms of those creatures. They were eventually βmarriedβ and their union gave rise to all manner of species.
From a sociological perspective, the idea of incest is one of the most universal taboos, and yet it exists as a foundational myth in most cultures. It has to do with the problem of the first man and first woman in any creation story. Being born from the same source, the first couple is naturally also siblings and having no other choice, The Brahma and Saraswati relationship did not receive the sanctity that is expected of all divine relationships and Brahmaβs incestuous pursuit did not fetch him a good place in mythology.
Expecting a thought-provoking comment from Storm and Krishna now on this otherwise immoral Divine story. Here Saraswathi was a reluctant wife to her creator.
Honestly Didi,this creeped the hell out of me.Of all the incestuous stories,this is the most uncomfortable one. The main reason is Goddess Saraswati's inhibitions. One can clearly say that their relationship wasn't reciprocal, Saraswati was rather forced to succumb to her creator's not so holy desires. No wonder Brahma lost his due respect in religious beliefs and cultures. One good thing is Goddess Saraswati never lost her integrity and dignity in people's perceptions else it would have been so unfair. This whole saga then gives way to the question about our carnal persuasions,if the supremely sagacious Brahma couldn't escape from the shackles of lust,then how difficult it would be for us earthlings ! Also...the very famous or rather notorious Odia proverb "Naari mayare baya ( Falling prey to the enchantments of femininity.)." makes more sense now.π€ͺ
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Cricket
