From Sarasvat¢i to Benzaiten

Abstract

Sarasvati¢ is known in India as the beautiful ' vi¢n&dotbelow;a¢' (zither)-playing goddess of knowledge. In China little remains of her presence. In Japan, on the other hand, she, under the name of Benzaiten XXX, enjoys widespread popularity as a goddess associated primarily with wealth, and depicted either as playing the ' biwa' (lute) or carrying weapons. This study traces the path from Sarasvati¢ to Benzaiten, using the Indian background to elucidate what is found in China and Japan, and resorting to information gathered from China and Japan to detect changes on the Indian front. The conceptual development of Sarasvati¢ from India to Japan is examined here through textual sources, artistic representations, inscriptions, and historical records of India, China, and Japan. The time period covered in India spans from ca. 1500 B.C.E. to ca. 700 C.E.; in China, primarily from the fifth to eighth century; and in Japan, from the seventh to the ninth century. This study is divided into five parts. The first part on the Vedic Sarasvati¢ examines the depiction of the goddess in the 'R&dotbelow;g, Atharva ', and 'Yajur Veda Sam&dotbelow;hita¢s', as well as in the Bra¢hman&dotbelow;as. It revolves around the gradual transformation of the river goddess into the goddess of knowledge. The second part on the Epic and Puranic Sarasvati¢ covers the 'Maha¢bha¢rata ' and the early Pura¢n&dotbelow;as. In the discussion of the ' Maha¢bha¢rata', the resurgence of the importance of the river, alongside the goddess of knowledge, and the proliferation of its ' ti¢rtha'-related myths are taken up. In the Pura¢n&dotbelow;as, the fully developed Brahma¢-Sarasvati¢ myth, the names, worship, and iconography of the goddess are discussed. The iconography of the goddess then leads into the third part on the early Indian images of Sarasvati¢ where Hindu, Jain, and possibly Buddhist images are introduced. The Buddhist Sarasvati¢ is then discussed in the fourth part, which extends from India to China to Japan through the 'Sutra of Golden Light' and its repentance ritual. In the fifth part on the Chinese and Japanese images of Sarasvati¢, the two principal forms of the goddess are discussed and further Japanese developments are summarized.