Maa Aranyani is a goddess of the forests and the animals that dwell within them.
Maa Aranyani has the distinction of having one of the most descriptive hymns in the Rhg Ved dedicated to her. She is described as elusive, fond of quiet glades in the jungle, and fearless of remote places. Indeed the supplicant entreats her to explain, how she wanders, so far from the fringe of civilisation, without becoming afraid or lonely. She is adorned with anklets of bells and is seldom seen but more often heard as the tinkling of her anklets echos through the dark forest. She is also described as a dancer. Her worship has declined in modern day Hinduism, and it is rare to find a temple dedicated to Maa Aranyani.
Forests have always been central to Indian civilization. It represented the feminine principle in prakrti. In the Hindu pantheon, forests have been worshipped as Goddess Aranyani, the Goddess of the Forests and Animals that dwell within them. Forests are the primary source of life and fertility. The forest as a community has been viewed as a model for societal and civilizational evolution.
The Indian civilization was guided by the diversity, harmony and self-sustaining nature of the forest. Aranya means forest. The Aranyakas form the third part of the Vedas. They were developed by the hermits, living in the forests. They reflect an explicit transition in the philosophy of life of man. So ‘Aranya Samskriti’ the culture of the forest was not a condition of primitiveness but one of conscious choice. Indian culture considers the forest as the highest form of cultural evolution.
As a source of life nature was venerated as sacred and human evolution was measured in terms of man’s capacity to merge with her rhythms and patterns intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. The forest thus nurtured an ecological civilization in the most fundamental sense of harmony with nature. Such knowledge that came from participation in the life of the forest was the substance not just of Aranyakas or forest texts, but also the everyday beliefs of tribal and peasant society.
The forest as the highest expression of the earth’s fertility and productivity is symbolised in yet another form as the Earth Mother, as Vana Durga or Tree Godess. In Bengal she is associated with Avasthhaor or Banbibi, the lady of the forest. In Comilla, Bangla Desh, she is Bamani, in Assam she is Rupeswari. In folk and tribal cultures especially, trees and forests are also worshipped as Vana Devatas or forest deities. In the Southern Indian states, the concept of Vana Devatas means forest spirits.
ARANYANI: She is the Hindu goddess of the woods, forest and animals that dwell within them. Goddess Aranyani has been worshipped in India for centuries as a representation of the highest expression of life and fertility. She governs the forests and is the protectress and the guardian of animals. She is the mother of them all. Aranyani has been described as elusive and fond of quiet glades in the jungle. She is fearless of remote places. She is a rarely seen deity who is recognized in the sounds of the trees, particularly at dusk. The tinkling sounds of her anklets with bells can be heard while she is seldom seen. She seems to be dancing all the time as if she is tilling the lands while dancing. Rigvedic hymns describe how she wanders so far from the fringe of civilization. There seems to be no temple dedicated to her.
Maa Aranyani Devi
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