Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devi Temple (Telugu: శ్రీ జ్ఞాన సరస్వతి దేవి దేవస్థానము) is a temple of Hindu Goddess Saraswati located on the banks of Godavari River at Basara, Andhra Pradesh, India. Situated in dry and barren patches of North Telangana region, Basar Saraswathi Devi Temple is one of the six famous Saraswati temples in India, the others being:
- Sarada Temple in Kashmir (Prouda Saraswathi)
- Maha Saraswathi devi Temple in Kaleswaranam,
- Vidya Saraswathi in Warangal,
- Sringeri Sarada Devi, Karnataka,
- Saraswathi devi Temple in Kuthanur, Tamil Nadu.
Legends:
In a quest for peaceful abode after Kurukshetra war, Maharishi Veda Vyasa (author of Mahabharata) along with few disciples and his son Śuka came to the forests of Dandakaryana. Pleased by serenity and significance of the place, he began meditating on the banks of the River Godavari. Having felt blessed and his ablutions in Godavari, Maharishi Vyasa decided to construct Shakti trio: Goddess Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Kali. The sage Veda Vyasa did so by bringing three handfuls of sand and with his mystic powers sculpts out idols whose faced smeared with turmeric.
Since Maharishi Vyasa spent considerable time in prayers, this place was initially named after Maharishi Veda Vyasa and was called “Vyasapuri” or “Vasara”. Subsequently, due to influence of Marathi language , Vasara is now called Basara.
Eight Pushkarnis:
From a close proximity of the main Saraswathi Devi temple, there are eight ‘Pushkarnis’ spread across Basara as follows:
- Indra Teeratham
- Surya Teeratham
- Vyasa Teeratham
- Valmiki Teeratham
- Vishnu Teeratham
- Ganesha Teeratham
- Puthra Teeratham and
- Shiva Teeratham
There is a four-sided monolith rock called “Vedavathi”, which produces different sounds on each side when struck. It is said to contain jewels of Sita Devi.
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