I think the fact that all gods or goddesses are not associated with all musical instruments, also plays a part here. Sarasvati is considered the goddess of knowledge and speech/sound. The veena is an instrument capable of producing dense sound vibrations (pardon my lack of music terminology, but is this called gAndhAram?) that are symbolic of the mental vibrations that arouse the inner consciousness towards an awakening. We can feel the similarity between a pluck of the veena string that produces a dense sound and a slow and steady concentrated 'Om' meditation. I think it is about the symbolism. I can understand how objects in mundane use can become glorified due to their depiction in art, especially when in association with gods or goddesses. But, some objects/instruments find mention in the purANas or stories as associated to these dieties to symbolize greater principles - some that are quite obvious, others maybe not.nick H wrote:The linking of musical instruments to ancient texts, or even to divinity, always seems rather tenuous to me.
My example is, we see a statue of Saraswati playing the veena, and we say, this is a holy instrument, it is just as Goddess Saraswati herself plays it.
But how else would the sculptor represent the veena, other than as the veenas that he saw played by humans?
I have seen vinAyaka with a cricket bat, even boxing gloves. There's no limit to imagination, of course.nick H wrote:According to the same logic, in centuries to come they will say that Vinayaka invented the umbrella --- or even the television remote control!
