Goddesses, Rishikas and Women

Aranyani: The Forest Goddess

"Girls, I hope you all aren't going to get scared at night. The forest will appear scary at night," Rohan said with a smug smirk on his lips as Aryan thumped his shoulder with an amused chuckle, saying, "Right, bro." Aryan turned towards Riya, who passed him a blank disappointed stare, causing him to raise his hands. "Chill maar yaar. It was only a joke."

Lakshya rolled his eyes at the two boys and remarked, "You all think that only girls would be scared of the forest at night, not knowing that the deity who rules the forest is a woman."

"Yeh aagaya pandit humara," Rohan said while jogging ahead on the damp forest path.

I stayed quiet the entire time, feeling the soft moist breeze of the forest. The air was laced with moisture, sweet-smelling jasmine, and a mysterious vibe of the dense green area. This forest was safe for camping, and we were heading towards a nature camp located in the heart of the forest. The nature camp had great reviews for their hospitality, food, and security, so we all decided to stay a night there amidst nature.

Rohan and Aryan jogged ahead to lead, while Lakshya walked with Riya and me. "Do you know, Lily, my sister has the best horror stories to narrate around a campfire. If only she weren't in her twelfth grade, I would have brought her with me, and we could listen to her spooky tales."

Riya smiled and looked at him. "Well, we can always listen to those audio horror stories, right? And what were you telling about the forest deity?"

My ears perked up at the mention of the deity. Had the other boys encouraged him to talk about the goddess, my heart wouldn't be itching so bad to know more about the deity.

I love listening to the tales of the divine, old bygone tales, and folk legends. My grandmother used to narrate a story to me every day in my childhood until one night she left home for the same gods. Thanks to her, I retained the curiosity and interest in knowing more about Indian stories and folk legends.

Lakshya's eyes gleamed. He patted my shoulder and said, "The boys are boring, but you, the daughter of nature, would definitely love this goddess."

Before you all create different scenarios about me being the daughter of nature, you need to know the backstory about it.

Is it some magical power or a natural coincidence every time? I do not know. I have always been able to predict the weather and have always been the first one to notice the weather change as soon as a different breeze blows by. Plants under my touch would heal soon and look fresh in a day's time. I would always find the freshest fruits and the most beautiful flowers from the garden as a child, which made my family and friends call me the 'chosen daughter of nature' as a joke.

I was happy with the title because it led me to daydream about being a forest princess of a kingdom from my fantasy books as a young teenager.

But I am no botany student because I can't remember those long scientific names and would prefer sleep to remembering plant morphology and physiology.

"Just tell the story, Lakshya," I said, stopping the small smile coming to my lips.

"So, we Indians have always worshipped nature since time immemorial. I am sure you all remember the sacred groves in India that we studied in class twelve biology. Now, these large forests were divided into three areas for different purposes. There was a tapovan for the sages, a mahavan for forest sanctuaries, and the sacred groves were called shrivan. Our gods too have different plants and flowers associated with them, so we are bound to have a deity to oversee the forest. Her name is Aranyani, the guardian deity of the forest."

"Wow, her name really befits a goddess," Riya commented. "Now I will feel perfectly safe in this forest because Aranyani mata will protect us."

I touched a small Tulsi leaf beside me when I heard a low hum in my right ear. Quickly whipping my head to the right, I met confused stares from Riya and Lakshya.