These various meters of the Vedas are called the chhands. The Sanskrit shlokas unfold the sound energies as we view outwards from the Earth and talk to each other. This view is termed bhugolik or earth-centric and our speech is called vaak. If we look from the heavens downwards, filtering the cacophony, we hear the natural sounds or what is called dhvani or music. And this view is termed Khagolik. Thus vaani is the ‘words that are sung’ and it is both vaak and dhvani put together. It is the Divine song.

● Speech and music again come together as Goddess Saraswati. She is the consort of Lord Brahma and the word Saraswati is the combination of sara , which means ‘essence’ and swa, which means self. She, therefore, is the path to pure self-knowledge which in terms of Vedic tradition is also the knowledge of the Universe. Clad in white, she sits on an eightfold, white lotus symbolizing the realm of the Unknown. In her foremost two hands, she holds the veena, a musical instrument of dhvani for the accompaniment of the vaani . In one of the rear hands, she holds the Vedas signifying the spoken word or vaak. In her fourth hand, she holds a rosary indicating the returning inner path of meditation and the white swans or hamsa, by her side give us the mantra for this inward involution.