SarasvatiAmbika Mata temple, Jagat Brahma's wife here carries a water-pot (lower left hand), a vina (upper left hand), and a fragmentary attribute, possibly another vina (upper right hand). Although the water-pot is an attribute of Brahma, it is also an independent attribute of Sarasvati in her older aspect as a river goddess. (Brahma's book is also an independent attribute of Sarasvati, in her role as goddess of learning.) Because Sarasvati and Brahma share several attributes in common, it is not always easy to distinguish Sarasvati from Brahmani, the female form of Brahma. |