L'hymne à Aranyani du Rig Veda (Hymne 146, Livre X)

Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], at sacred-texts.com

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HYMN CXLVI

Aranyani

1. GODDESS of wild and forest who seemest to vanish from the sight.
How is it that thou seekest not the village? Art thou not afraid?
 

2 What time the grasshopper replies and swells the shrill cicala's voice,
Seeming to sound with tinkling bells, the Lady of the Wood exults.
 

3 And, yonder, cattle seem to graze, what seems a dwelling-place appears:
Or else at eve the Lady of the Forest seems to free the wains.
 

4 Here one is calling to his cow, another there hath felled a tree:
At eve the dweller in the wood fancies that somebody hath screamed.
 

5 The Goddess never slays, unless some murderous enemy approach.
Man eats of savoury fruit and then takes, even as he wills, his rest.
 

6 Now have I praised the Forest Queen, sweet-scented, redolent of balm,
The Mother of all sylvan things, who tills not but hath stores of food.

1. Déesse de la forêt et de la nature sauvage, qui semble disparaître de la vue. Comment se fait-il que tu ne cherches pas le village ? N'as-tu pas peur ?

2 A l'heure où la sauterelle répond et enfle la voix stridente de la cicala, Semblant sonner avec des cloches tintinnabulantes, la Dame des Bois exulte.

3 Et, là-bas, le bétail semble paître, Et ce qui semble être une demeure apparaît : Ou bien, le soir, la Dame de la Forêt semble libérer les vaches.

4 Ici, l'un appelle sa vache, Là, un autre a abattu un arbre : Le soir, l'habitant de la forêt croit que quelqu'un a crié.

5 La déesse ne tue jamais, à moins qu'un ennemi meurtrier ne s'approche. L'homme se nourrit de fruits savoureux, puis il se repose à sa guise.

6 J'ai loué la Reine de la Forêt, au parfum suave, à l'odeur de baume, La Mère de toutes les choses sylvestres, Qui ne cultive pas, mais qui a des réserves de nourriture.

AraNyaanii (or Aranyani) represents the earliest known reference to a forest goddess in the Indian context, and perhaps even in the world at large. The hymn to AraNyaanii in the Rig Veda is indeed an extremely rare one, and the only one of its kind. The hymn visualizes, describes and praises a feminine deity of the forest or a forest nymph. It is a short hymn of just six verses, and presents a simple narrative, drawing upon happenings in the forest and the da

The word AraNyam (neuter gender) means forest; and AraNyaanii is a feminine noun, which is used to mean goddess of the forest, or just a large forest itself.

In this hymn, AraNyaanii is described as an elusive spirit of the deep forest, who is invisible, but can be heard in the form of various sounds of the forest, by the jingling of her anklets and by her loud cry. She is the mother of all animals in the forest. She is also the benevolent provider of varieties of foods (from the forest vegetation), without having to till the land.

The hymn (suktam) to the deity (devatha) AraNyaanii is the 146th hymn in the tenth chapter (mandala) of the Rig Veda. The hymn is also repeated in the Taittiriya Brahmana of the Krishna Yajurveda. The sage (rishi) or seer (bard) of this hymn is Devamuni, and the verses (mantras) are in the poetic meter (chandas) called Anushtup.

Though we have temples dedicated to forest goddesses going by names such as Vana Durga, Banashankari, etc., in different parts of India to this day, these deities are seen as forms of Parvati or Durga, and are not the same as AraNyaanii of the Rig Veda.

A transliteration and simplified translation of the six verses of the hymn to AraNyaanii are given below.

1
araNyaanyaraNyaanyasou yaa preva nashyasi
kathaa graamam na prichchasi na tvaa bhiiriva vindathii
AraNyaani, O AraNyaani (goddess of the forest), the elusive one who wanders away
Why do you not seek the village (i.e., the civilized inhabited spaces)? Are you not afraid (of the thick forest)?

2
vruShaaravaaya vadate yadupaavati chichchikah
AaghaaTibhiriva dhaavayannaraNyaanirmahiiyate
W- hen the chirping chichchika bird responds to the roar of the vrishaarava (evidently, a forest animal)
The forest nymph runs about with sound like the clanging of cymbals (or the jingling of anklets with bells)

3
uta gaava ivaadantyuta veshmeva drushyate
uto araNyaanih saayam shakatiiriva sarjati
Also some animals like cattle seem to graze, and there (a group of trees) looks like a shelter
And in the evening the forest rattles like a cart (suggests various sounds of the forest)

4
gaamangaiSha aa hvayati daarvangaiSho apaavadhiit
vasannarNyaanyaam saayamakrukshaditi manyate
Here one is calling his cow, another has cut timber
In the evening the forest dweller thinks that he heard a cry (of AraNyaanii)
(Once darkness sets in, forest dwellers or those living on the fringes of the forest, who graze cows and cut timber during the day, leave for their abodes)

5
na vaa araNyaanirhantyanyashchennaabh- igachchhati
svaadoh phalasya jagdhvaaya yathaakaamam ni padyate
AraNyaani does not harm, unless another (hostile enemy) approaches her
(Hence), eating tasty fruit, he (the forest dweller) settles down at will

6
aanjanagandhim surabhim bahvannaamakruShiivalaam
praaha- m mrugaaNaam maataramaraNyaanimashamsiSham
I- praise AraNyaanii, the mother of beasts
who is perfumed and fragrant; and who offers varieties of food, though she does not till (the land)

Source: https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/hymn-to-a-forest-nymph-in-the-rig-veda

Source: https://archive.org/details/rigvedacomplete

Kalpataru, the divine tree of life being guarded by mythical creatures Kinnara and Kinnari, flying Apsara (a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology) and Devata - 8th-century Pawon temple, Java, Indonesia. Credit: Gunawan Kartapranata - CC BY-SA 3.0

Kalpavriksha, l'Arbre de vie. Marbre sculpté. Asie.

Kalpavriksha, the tree of life, also meaning "World Tree" finds mention in the Vedic scriptures.

In the earliest account of the Samudra manthan or "churning of the ocean of milk" Kalpavriksha emerged from the primal waters during the ocean churning process along with Kamadhenu, the divine cow that bestows all needs.

The tree is also said to be the Milky way or the birthplace of the stars Sirius.

The king of the gods, Indra returned with this Kalpavriksha to his abode, the paradise and planted it their. Tree also finds mention in the Sanskrit text Mānāsara.

In Indra's "Devaloka" it is said that there are five Kalpavrikshas, which are called Mandana, Parijata, Santana, Kalpavriksha and Harichandana, all of which fulfill various wishes. Kalpavriksha, in particular, is said to be planted at Mt. Meru peak in the middle of Indra's five paradise gardens.
It is on account of these wish-granting trees that the asuras waged a perpetual war with the devas as the heavenly gods who exclusively benefited freely from the "divine flowers and fruits" from the Kalpavriksha, whereas the demigods lived comparatively in penury at the lower part of its "trunk and roots".

The Parijata is often identified with its terrestrial counterpart, the Indian coral tree (Eyrthrina indica), but is most often depicted like a magnolia or frangipani (Sanskrit: champaka) tree.

It is described as having roots made of gold, a silver midriff, lapis lazuli boughs, coral leaves, pearl flower, gemstone buds, and diamond fruit. It is also said that Shiva created his daughter Ashok Sundari from a Kalpavriksha tree to provide relief to Parvati from her loneliness.

In Hindu mythology Shiva and Parvati after much painful discussions while parting with their daughter Aranyani gave her away to the divine Kalpavriksha for safe keeping.

Parvati requested Kalpavriksha to bring up her daughter with "safety, wisdom, health and happiness," and to make her Vana Devi, the protector of forests.

https://tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php/Kalpavriksha

Pilier sculpté à l'entrée d'une maison moderne, dans le haut de la rue Borgnis-Desbordes à Versailles (Quartier Saint-Louis), près de la demeure natale de Pierre-Olivier Combelles. Photo: Pierre-Olivier Combelles.