Om Jai Saraswati Mata

Refrain

ॐ जय सरस्वती माता, मैया जय सरस्वती माता। सदगुण वैभव शालिनी, त्रिभुवन विख्याता॥ oṃ jaya sarasvatī mātā, maiyā jaya sarasvatī mātā sadaguṇa vaibhava śālinī, tribhuvana vikhyātā Om, victory to you, mother Saraswati; victory, mother, to you, mother Saraswati. Adorned with the splendour of true qualities, renowned through the three worlds.

Verse 1 — the image

चंद्रवदनि पद्मासिनि, द्युति मंगलकारी। सोहे शुभ हंस सवारी, अतुल तेजधारी॥ candravadani padmāsini, dyuti maṅgalakārī sohe śubha haṁsa savārī, atula tejadhārī Moon-faced, lotus-seated, your radiance bringing auspiciousness. The blessed swan you ride becomes you; bearer of measureless brilliance.

Verse 2 — what is in her hands

बाएं कर में वीणा, दाएं कर माला। शीश मुकुट मणि सोहे, गल मोतियन माला॥ bāeṁ kara meṁ vīṇā, dāeṁ kara mālā śīśa mukuṭa maṇi sohe, gala motiyana mālā In the left hand a veena, in the right a rosary. A jewelled crown becomes your head, and a string of pearls your throat.

Verse 3 — the difficult verse

देवि शरण जो आए, उनका उद्धार किया। पैठी मंथरा दासी, रावण संहार किया॥ devi śaraṇa jo āe, unakā uddhāra kiyā paiṭhī mantharā dāsī, rāvaṇa saṁhāra kiyā Goddess, those who came to your shelter you delivered. You entered the servant Manthara, and the destruction of Ravana was accomplished. (Manthara's words to Kaikeyi send Rama into exile, which makes the war and Ravana's death possible. In the Ayodhya Kand of the Ramcharitmanas the gods send Saraswati to turn Manthara's mind — so the aarti is compressing Tulsidas, not misremembering him.)

Verse 4 — the request

विद्या ज्ञान प्रदायिनि, ज्ञान प्रकाश भरो। मोह अज्ञान और तिमिर का, जग से नाश करो॥ vidyā jñāna pradāyini, jñāna prakāśa bharo moha ajñāna aura timira kā, jaga se nāśa karo Giver of learning and of knowledge, fill us with the light of knowing. Destroy delusion, ignorance and darkness from the world.

Verse 5 — the offering, and the eye

धूप दीप फल मेवा, मां स्वीकार करो। ज्ञानचक्षु दे माता, जग निस्तार करो॥ dhūpa dīpa phala mevā, mā̃ svīkāra karo jñānacakṣu de mātā, jaga nistāra karo Incense, lamp, fruit and dried fruit — accept them, mother. Give the eye of knowledge, mother, and carry the world across.

Closing couplet

मां सरस्वती जी की आरती, जो कोई नर गावे। हितकारी सुखकारी, ज्ञान भक्ति पावे॥ mā̃ sarasvatī jī kī āratī, jo koī nara gāve hitakārī sukhakārī, jñāna bhakti pāve Whoever sings this aarti of mother Saraswati — beneficial and happiness-giving — obtains knowledge and devotion. (No poet's name; the couplet closes without a signature, unlike two of the other aartis on this tune.)

What does Om Jai Saraswati Mata mean?

Om, victory to you, mother Saraswati. The refrain continues that she is adorned with the splendour of true qualities and renowned through the three worlds. It is the aarti sung at Vasant Panchami and at Saraswati puja, to the melody of Om Jai Jagdish Hare.

What does the verse about Manthara mean?

You entered the servant Manthara, and the destruction of Ravana was accomplished. Manthara's words to Kaikeyi send Rama into exile, and the exile makes the war and Ravana's death possible. The aarti is crediting the goddess of knowledge with taking possession of her tongue.

Is the Manthara line a mistake in the aarti?

No. In the Ayodhya Kand of the Ramcharitmanas the gods, needing Rama in the forest, send Saraswati to turn Manthara's mind. The aarti is compressing a scene from the most widely recited Ramayana in North India. That the line has a respectable source makes the theological question sharper rather than resolving it.

Why does the goddess of knowledge act through deception?

The tradition's own answer is that the outcome required it, and it does not present the act as praiseworthy in itself. What the verse implies is that knowledge in this tradition is not the same thing as candour, and that divine action is not the same thing as visible benevolence. It is a genuinely difficult line, and pages that skip past it are avoiding the most interesting thing in the text.

Why does Saraswati ride a swan?

The hamsa is traditionally said to be able to drink milk from a mixture of milk and water, leaving the water behind. It is an image of viveka, discrimination — the capacity to tell one thing from another. That is what the tradition takes knowledge to consist of, so it is the appropriate vehicle for its deity.

What does she hold in her hands?

A veena in the left hand and a rosary of beads in the right, with a jewelled crown and a string of pearls in the aarti's second verse. Instrument and mala together put performance and repetition, expression and discipline, in one figure, and the iconography declines to separate them.

What does 'gyan chakshu de mata' mean?

Give the eye of knowledge, mother. The request is for an organ of perception rather than for information, memory or success — for the ability to see rather than to be told. It is a more precise request than the one usually made of this goddess, and it sits immediately after the offering of incense, lamp and fruit.

Is this aarti sung to help with exams?

It is very widely sung by students, particularly at Vasant Panchami and at school and college Saraswati pujas, and the text says that whoever sings it obtains knowledge and devotion. That is the song's own claim, in the standard convention of the genre. We report what the text says and make no claim about examinations or results.

When is Om Jai Saraswati Mata sung?

At Vasant Panchami above all, and at Saraswati puja in schools, colleges and institutions, which is a major observance in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam. Also at vidyarambham, the rite marking a child's first letters, and by musicians and dancers before performance.

Is Om Jai Saraswati Mata on the Om Jai Jagdish Hare tune?

Yes. Same melody, same metre, same Om Jai opening and the same repeated second line. It is the fourth of the four texts that make the template argument demonstrable, with Om Jai Shiv Omkara, Jai Lakshmi Mata and Om Jai Gange Mata.

Who wrote Om Jai Saraswati Mata?

It is anonymous and its closing couplet names no poet. Of the four aartis sung to this tune, only Om Jai Shiv Omkara carries Shivanand Swami's signature; this one, Jai Lakshmi Mata and Om Jai Gange Mata carry none. The other two texts bearing that signature — Om Jai Jagdish Hare and Jai Ambe Gauri — are the template's source and an aarti not on the tune, so the signature and the melody are independent of each other.

Was Saraswati originally a river?

Yes. She is a river goddess in the Rigveda, and the river of that name is lost. Her transformation into the presiding deity of speech, learning, music and study took place over a very long period, and almost nothing of the river survives in this aarti — which describes a seated figure with an instrument, a rosary and a swan.

What is placed before the image at Saraswati puja?

Books, pens and musical instruments, laid at her feet and left unused for the duration of the puja. It is a gesture of handing over the tools of learning rather than a request about results, and for many students it is the most memorable part of the observance.