Sarasvati

The Goddess of Wisdom and Music

Embroidery of Lord Krishna playing a flute, with a peacock on the right and a white swan on the left, surrounded by decorative flowers.

Collection: The Musician Goddesses Series


Technique: Embroidered on alpaca fabric using Chinese embroidery (silk shading), backstitch, stem stitch, French knot, beadwork, and chain stitch techniques, with extensive use of ribbon embroidery.


Inspiration: Inspired by Hindu mythology, the Samaveda scriptures, the vīnā instrument, and Sarasvatī iconography.

This embroidery focuses on Sarasvatī, one of the three major goddesses in Hinduism. As the goddess of wisdom, aesthetics, and music, Sarasvati is depicted with the sacred vina instrument. The peacock, one of the symbolic animals associated with her, is represented here as a living taus vīnā.

Decorative wooden stringed instrument resembling a lute or mandolin with intricate painted designs, resting on a white surface.
Decorative musical instrument resembling a peacock with feathers and intricate designs.

Vina (Vīnā)

Although the vīnā is commonly associated with the goddess Sarasvatī, it is believed that this sacred instrument was invented by the god Brahmā. In traditional types of vīnā, in addition to the main resonator, a second resonator is placed beneath the pegbox. There are various forms of the instrument, such as the Taus Vīnā, Alāpini Vīnā, Rudra Vīnā, and Kinnari Vīnā. While the instrument generally ranges in length from 1 to 1.5 meters, smaller-sized vīnās can also be made, as in the example from my collection. The small vīnā seen on the left was acquired in Mumbai in 2012. The Taus Vīnā on the right is a bowed instrument and is part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection.