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Re: Sarasvati Puja question

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Ram Gopalaswamy • Sun Aug 09 1998 - 11:36:51 PDT 


shrii kR^shhNaaya govindaaya namo namaH

Dear shrii. Mani and vaishhNava-s,

I was also under the impression that Goddess sarasvati was the consort of 
lord brahma-deva, until I just checked shriimad brahma-saMhitaa itself:

-Ram

[ I am quoting the following excerpt from a book by His Divine Grace
  Bhaktisiddhaanta Sarasvatii Gosvaami Thaakura, for the sake of
  MERE INFORMATION ONLY. ]



    shriimad brahma-saMhitaa - TEXT 24

    uvaaca puratas tasmai tasya divyaa sarasvatii |
    kaama-kR^shhNaaya govinda he gopii-jana ityapi |
    vallabhaaya priyaa vahner mantram te daasyati priyam ||

    uvaaca - said  ;  purataH - in front; tasmai - to him;
    tasya - of Him (the Supreme Lord)  ; divyaa - divine;
    sarasvatii - the goddess of learning ;
    kaama - the kaama-biija (kliiM);  kR^shhNaaya - to kR^shhNa ;
    govinda - govindaaya, to Govinda;  he - O;
    gopii-jana - of the gopii-s;   iti - thus;  api - also;
    vallabhaaya - to the dear one;  
    priyaa-vahneH - the wife of agni, svaahaa (the word svaahaa is uttered
                    while oferring oblations);
    mantram - mantra; te - to you; daasyati - will give;
    priyaM - the heart's desire.

    TRANSLATION

    "Then the goddess of learning Sarasvatii, the divine consort of the 
     Supreme Lord, said thus to Brahmaa who saw nothing but gloom in 
     all directions, "O Brahmaa, this mantra, viz., kliiM kR^shhNaaya
     govindaaya gopii-jana-vallabhaaya svaahaa, will assuredly fulfill your
     heart's desire. "

     PURPORT 
  
     "The mantra, consisting of the eighteen divine letters prefixed by
     the kaama-biija, is alone superexcellent. It has a twofold aspect.
     One aspect is that it tends to make the pure soul run after 
     all-attractive shrii KR^shhNa, the Lord of Gokula and 
     the divine milkmaids. This is the acme of the spiritual tendency 
     of jiiva-s.  When the devotee is free from all sorts of mundane desires
     and willing to serve the Lord he attains the fruition of his heart's
     desire, viz., the love of KR^shhNa.  But in the case of the devotee
     who is not of unmixed aptitude this superexcellent mantra fulfills his
     heart's desire also. The transcendental kaama-biija is inherent in the
     divine logos located in Goloka; and the kaama-biija prevertedly 
     reflected in the wordly affairs satisfies all sorts of desires of this
     mundane world."