Question: While preaching/discussing with a devotee, the following question came up. Does Lord Ganesha belong to the category Jiva Tattva? Also does Goddess Saraswati belong to the category of Shakti tattva? Are they eternal? One consequent question is – we know Lord Brahma belongs to the category of Jiva Tattva and if Goddess Saraswati is eternal, how is it that she will serve a different person as husband for every creation? Understanding this will help in preaching to Indians, so I am asking this. Please forgive me if I could not address these exalted personalities properly.
Answer by Romapada Swami: Demigods like Ganesha and Brahma belong to the category of jiva-tattva. Their positions are posts, not eternal identities, just like other jivas (living entities).
Please also bear in mind that Brahma is both a guna-avatara and a saktyavesa-avatara. In the case of King Prthu who was also jiva-tattva while simultaneously a saktyavesa-avatara of the Lord, King Prthu’s wife was a saktyavesa-avatara of the goddess of fortune.
[“King Prthu was such a saktyavesa-avatara of the Lord. Similarly, Arci, King Prthu’s wife, was a saktyavesa-avatara of the goddess of fortune.”] (SB 4.15.6 purport)
Nothing is really mentioned by our acaryas about Saraswati’s position. On the basis of the statement above regarding King Prthu, we can consider Saraswati to be an empowered jiva (just like Brahma).
It is also possible that some manifestation of Saraswati exists who is as a dull reflection of a higher spiritual form, just as Maya devi is an abasha of Rama devi, the consort of Maha Vishnu. Sakti tattva is part cit sakti, while Saraswati is in the material world.
Remember: In Brahma Samhita verse 24, Lord Brahma receives gayatri from the spiritual Sarasvati, who is the “divine consort of the Supreme Lord”. This “prototype Saraswati” is an expansion of the Supreme Goddess of Fortune, ultimately Radharani.
