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Figure of Hinduism
Saraswati — learning and music.
Goddess of knowledge, speech, and the arts — white-clad, holding the veena; invoked by students before every examination.
DomainKnowledge, speech, and music
RelationsConsort of Brahma
Depicted asWhite-clad with the veena, a swan beside her
StandingInvoked by students and musicians; her puja opens the school year in Bengal
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
Saraswati is the goddess of learning, speech, and music, and is depicted with a vina rather than any emblem of power or wealth — the one member of the great triad of goddesses associated with something that cannot be hoarded. Students place their books and instruments before her image and pointedly do not study on her festival day. She began as a river in the Rigveda and became the patron of everything that flows: speech, melody, and knowledge.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
Taking refuge.
Buddhism · rite
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T
The yakshis.
Jainism
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T
The Shechinah — the presence that went into exile.
Judaism
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The image is permitted — and the church fought a civil war to decide it.
Christianity · core tenet
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K
Khadija — who believed first.
Islam
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Remember the Name.
Sikhism · core tenet
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