In hinduism, Saraswathi is the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, science, harmony, eloquence, poetry, language and words, and arts. She is Brahma's wife.

She is seen as a beautiful and elegant presence, pure white in colour, clad in a white sari, seated on a white lotus, representing purity and brilliance

Saraswati holds a lotus in one hand and sacred scriptures in another. She plays veena with third and fourth hands. The four hands of the Goddess represent the four aspects of the inner personality of man, namely manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), ahankar (ego), and chitta (conditioned consciousness).

Saraswati literally means "one who gives the essence (sara) of our own Self (swa)."

Her vehicle is generally either a swan or a peacock. The swan symbolizes beauty, grace and wisdom, while the peacock symbolizes the same in addition to its ability to deal with desires and ignorance (snakes)

She is addressed with different names by her devotees. Sarada (giver of essence), Vagesvari (controller of speech), Bharathi, Kalavathi, Brahmi (consort of Brahma) and Veenadhari (holder of the Veena)    

        are some of her most popular names.