Aranyani is a rarely seen deity who is acknowledged in the movement of the trees, especially at dusk.
The forests have always been vital to Indian civilization, and represented the feminine principle in prakriti. They are the main source of life and fertility. As a community they have been respected as an ideal for evolution in India, on both a societal and civilizational level.
Aranya means forest. In Hinduism, Aranyani is the goddess of the forests and the animals that live there.
Goddess Aranyani has been worshipped in India for centuries as a depiction of the chief expression of life and fertility. She governs the forests and is the protectress and the guardian of animals. She is believed to be the mother of them all. Aranyani has been defined as elusive and fond of quiet glades in the jungle. She is fearless of remote places.
The Aranyakas make up the third part of the ancient yogic scriptures known as the (10,000-year-old) Vedas. They were established by the hermits living in the forests. They reveal a clear evolution in the philosophy of the life of man. The culture of the forest known as ‘Aranya Samskriti’ was not a circumstance of primitiveness, but one of conscious choice. Indian culture values the forest as the highest form of cultural evolution. Esteemed as a source of life, nature was honoured as sacred, and human evolution was determined in terms of man’s ability to unify with her rhythms and patterns intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Therefore the forest cultivated an ecological civilization in the utmost sense of harmony with nature.
Peruse some of our lovely tree-inspired pieces here:
Tree of Wisdom Mala
Tree of Life Mala
Rejuvenation Mala
Guidance Mala
Innocence Mala
Shakti Mala
Tree of Life Bracelet
Spring Bracelet
Vrksa Bracelet
Goddess Bracelet
Connection Bracelet