A beautiful woman, having four hands, standing on a big lotus, and is accompanied by a swan and a peacock are a little bit appearances of Saraswati. Who is she? Balinese sometimes call her The Goddess of Knowledge and she is given homage every 210 days by special ceremony and various offerings. She is the eternal consort of Brahma (the creator)

The Goddes Saraswati has four hands. Each hand holds respectively Genitri, Keropak, Wina, and Lotus. Genitri is something like rosary beads. This is a symbol of neverending knowledge. Knowledge will never be destroyed all around the age, knowledge is everlasting. That is why it is symbolized by Genitri; when we count it we will never find the end of it. It is similar with knowledge that has no end.

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Today, Saturday, 10/10/2007, Balinese celebrates the Saraswati holyday, a sacred day for knowledge. Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge, symbolized by a beautiful woman with four hands, riding on a white swan, she symbolize that knowledge is like a beautiful woman, chase by everyone for the rest of his life. Her four hands hold, respectively, a palm leaf manuscript, a lontar, a Balinese traditional manuscript which is the source of science or knowledge; a genitri, a chain consist with 108 pieces, symbolizing that knowledge has no ending there will always be a knowledge, knowledge is never run out; and a guitar or wina, a musical instrument, it symbolizes that science is as beauty as the sound of wina and a lotus is a symbol of holiness. The swans symbolize prudence, with knowledge human can distinguish between good and evil.

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The goddess Saraswati is one of the most revered and popular goddess in Bali. Her statue can be found in every junior and senior high school all over Bali, her gigantic statue can be found in every university in Bali.

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