Yaakundendu Tushara Hara

Description

Excerpt from the book ‘Prayer Guide’ by Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Ya sarasvati sa mam patu: One who is the Goddess of knowledge, Sarasvati, sa mam patu, may she protect me! She is further described:

Ya-one who is; kunda-indu-tushara-hara-dhavala: of fair complexion (dhavala) like the necklace (hara) which is as white as the jasmine (kunda), moon (indu), and snow (tusara); ya subhra-vastravrta: subhra-vastra means white garments. Subhra-vastrena-avrta, the one who wears garments that are white in colour; ya vina-vara-danda-manditakara: one whose hands adorn the divine vina; ya sveta-padmasana: one who is seated on the white lotus, sveta-padma; ya brahma-acyuta-sankara-prabhrtibhih devaih sada pujita: ya, tho one who is, sada pujita, always worshipped, brahma-acyuta-sarkara-prabhrtibhih, by Gods like Brahma, Acyuta (Visnu) and Sankara, all these devatas revel in the knowledge that she represents, and the lesser Gods, seek that knowledge.

Sa Bhagavati, that isvara-sakti as Goddess of knowledge; nisseshaa-jadyapaha: apaha is the one who destroys or removes. What does she remove? Jadya, ignorance, tamas, dullness. She is the one who removes the dullness in the buddhi which denies the clarity of knowledge. She removes all distorted perceptions with reference to the realities about oneself and about the world. Sesha means left over; nissesha means without anything being left over, that is, totally. She removes all doubts completely. That is why Lord Krsna says, “In this world, there is indeed no purifier equivalent to knowledge.”

Fire, water, and a variety of things purify, but there is nothing that can purify your heart except knowledge of the self that is already pure. This knowledge removes not only the present problems but also all the problems you had created before. It removes samsara. Within samsara all other things may purify, but this jñana of the self purifies you from samsara itself which is an impurity, mala. “…The fire of knowledge reduces all actions (results of actions) to ashes.” That is why Goddess of knowledge Sarasvati is described as being nissesha-jadyapaha. May the Goddess Sarasvati, the remover of the entire darkness of ignorance, who is described thus, protect me.