Seeking information about "Sarasvati vandana"

[Narayan S. Raja]

I have been trying to find the exact words of
the well-known "Sarasvati vandana" which begins:

  yA kundEndu tushAra hAra dhavaLA
  yA shubhra vastrA vrtA


I searched the web and Usenet and found two
different versions, neither of them convincingly
authoritative.

If anyone here knows the exact words, could they
please post it?  A translation would also be
greatly appreciated.

Also, what is the origin of the "Sarasvati vandana",
i.e., who composed it or which text does it come from?

Thanks in advance,


Raja.