Acharya Karan V – The primitive man’s first abode was forests. In the lap of the nature, the primitive human went about doing all the activities until he started living in caves. Early humans shared a deep relation with the forests as forests provided them with food to eat, shadow from scorching heat of the sun, woods to make fire and weapons. The major evolution from ape to the first resourceful human took place in the jungles. A major part of early human evolution history was spent in the forests.

In Indian context, forests loomed large as a part of Mother Nature. They were treated with lot of veneration and nurtured with lot of care and sanctity. Sadhus and Sanyasi considered to be sacred people in society lived in hermits in the forests. The system of Vanprastha introduced a peaceful escape from the materialistic world in the lap of the nature in the forests. The significance attached to forests in India is very much evident from the fact that the Goddess Aranyani – believed to be the caretaker and nurturer of the forests and all the being living in it – is worshipped with lot of devotion.

Hymn 146 of Book 10 of the famous Indian scripture Rig Veda talks about Goddess Aranyani in a very exclusive way as follows:

“araṇyānyaraṇyānyasau yā preva naśyasi |
kathāghrāmaṃ na pṛchasi na tvā bhīriva vindatī.a.a.an ||
vṛṣāravāya vadate yadupāvati ciccikaḥ |
āghāṭibhirivadhāvayannaraṇyānirmahīyate ||
uta ghāva ivādantyuta veśmeva dṛśyate |
uto araṇyāniḥsāyaṃ śakaṭīriva ………….”

In the above excerpts from Rig Veda, Devi Aranyani is praised as being quiet-living and elusive. She is venerated as one wanderer of pastures and bold enough to wander to the remotest of the places alone in the jungle, wearing anklets like a young damsel, roaming around in the far corners of the unexplored forest lands. In the hymn, the devotee further marvels at her ability to be a feeder for both man and animals alike.

Also known as VanDevi, Devi Aranyani doesn’t have any temple dedicated to her but certain remote sections of civilization in India still offer prayers in her honour, treating forests as the true nourishing and life-giving forces of the nature.