She is dressed in white – the symbol of purity – and rides on a white swan – symbolizing Sattwa Guna or purity and discrimination. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on a string instrument called the veena. She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus – the symbol of true knowledge – in the second. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego. It is believed that goddess Saraswati endows human beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She is the mother of the Vedas, and chants to her, called the 'Saraswati Vandana' often begin and end Vedic lessons.
Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts, represents the free flow of wisdom and consciousness. Hindus worship her not for "academic knowledge", but for "divine knowledge" essential to achieve moksha. In Hinduism, Saraswati represents intelligence, consciousness, cosmic knowledge, creativity, education, enlightenment, music, the arts, eloquence and power. In the post-Vedic age, she began to lose her status as a river goddess and became increasingly associated with literature, arts, music, etc. In the Rigveda, Saraswati is a river as well as its personification as a goddess. She is depicted with a musical instrument in Japan, and is a deity of knowledge, music, and everything that flows. In Japan, she is known as Benzaiten (shown).
Saraswati goddess is found in temples of Southeast Asia, islands of Indonesia and Japan. She possesses four arms, and is usually shown wearing a spotless white sari and seated on a white lotus or riding a white swan. She is depicted as a beautiful woman to embody the concept of knowledge as supremely alluring. Saraswati is strongly associated with flowing water in her role as a goddess of knowledge. She is also addressed as Sharada (the one who loves the autumn season), Veena pustaka dharani (the one holding books and a Veena), Vaakdevi, Vagdevi, Vani (all meaning "speech"), Varadhanayagi (the one bestowing boons). In Tamil, she is also known as Kalaimagal (கலைமகள்), Kalaivaani (கலைவாணி), Vaani (வாணி), Bharathi. In Kannada, variants of her name include Sharade, Sharadamba, Vani, Veenapani in the famous Sringeri temple. In Konkani, she is referred to as Sharada, Veenapani, Pustaka dharini, Vidyadayini. In the Telugu language, Sarasvati is also known as Chaduvula Thalli (చదువుల తల్లి), Sharada (శారద). The Sanskrit name means "having many pools". The Sarasvati River is an important river goddess in the Rigveda.