Sarasvati, the Goddess of Vidya (knowledge)
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Pronunciation | Vid-yah |
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Gender | Unisex |
Word/name | India |
Meaning | clarity, true knowledge |
Region of origin | India |
Vidyā or Vidhya means "correct knowledge" or "clarity" in several South Asian languages such as Sanskrit, Pali & Sinhala. Vidyā is also a popular Indian unisex given name. The Indonesian transliteration of the name is Widya.
In Hinduism, it is frequently used as an honorific implying the Puranic conception of knowledge and learning. The opposite of vidyā is avidyā (ignorance or misinformation). Vidya is an epithet of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, consort of Brahma (according to Hindu beliefs). She has superior spiritual feminine energy—the Param Prakriti—which purifies, empowers, and uplifts the individual. Hence, she is called the Goddess of Knowledge.