This mantra addresses Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, learning, music and the arts, and is recited by students, teachers, writers and musicians seeking her favour. Its heart is the seed syllable Aim, which the Tantric tradition assigns to Sarasvati as the sound-form of wisdom and eloquence, framed by the sacred Om and the dative salutation "to Sarasvati, homage."
As the consort of Brahma and the patroness of all knowledge, Sarasvati is invoked at the start of studies and artistic undertakings, and her mantra is used in japa and at her worship, especially at the festival of Vasant Panchami and, in some regions, during the autumn Navaratri when books and instruments are placed before her. The mantra thus expresses the Hindu conviction that learning and art are themselves sacred pursuits, undertaken under the protection of a deity, and it remains among the most widely used of the goddess mantras.