Hand-Painted Makrana Marble Saraswati Seated on Her Swan, 18in

Saraswati as Hamsavahini

In this form Saraswati rides her hamsa, the swan that is said to separate milk from water, the way true knowledge separates what is real from what only looks it. She sits side-saddle on its back with one foot lowered toward the lotus base, the swan's neck curving forward beside her. Of her four arms, the front pair play a veena laid across her lap, the back right hand holds an akshamala and the back left hand holds a palm-leaf book: music, practice and learning in one figure. Her face is young and quiet, the eyes softly lowered, with a small tilak and a gentle smile.

The stone and the paint

The murti is carved in Makrana white marble from Nagaur district in Rajasthan, the stone of the Taj Mahal. Its fine, crystalline grain holds small detail cleanly, from the veena's frets and gourds to the layered feathers of the swan's wing. Over that white the painting stays restrained, because Saraswati is the goddess of white: her sari is left white and edged in gold, her crown, necklaces, armlets, bangles and anklets are picked out in gold, her hair is dark and her skin carries a soft warm tone. The swan stays white with an orange beak and a dark eye. The two-tier lotus base is left in polished natural stone, so the colour sits on the figure and the marble still shows below it.

Size and placement

At 18 inches the murti is large enough to be the main deity on a home mandir platform or a study-room shelf, and still small enough to lift and move for cleaning. The lotus base gives it a stable footprint and raises Saraswati above the surface she stands on, as a murti should be. Painted surfaces are best dusted with a soft dry brush rather than washed, and fresh flowers placed beside the base rather than on the paint.

For students, musicians and teachers

Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami, at Saraswati Puja in Bengal and the East, and on the last day of Navratri, when books and instruments are placed before her. This form, with the veena in her hands, suits a music room, a practice corner or a family where a child is starting school. It is also a considered gift for a guru or a music teacher: a figure of the goddess they serve, in a stone that will outlast the occasion.

Ordering

Share where the murti will sit and any change you want to the colours, such as a yellow sari for Vasant Panchami, and the workshop in Jaipur will confirm the details and a quote over WhatsApp before carving begins.