The seller of this bronze described it as ” Aranyani—She represents the spirit of the forest. She is a Goddess of the forest and the wild animals that dwell within them. She holds a basket of flowers.”

Bitten by the romanticism of the idea, I ended up buying it. A quick research showed that this name and its association have Vedic origins, and she is mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Below is a translation/interpretation of what is mentioned in Rig Veda.

“She is an elusive figure who vanishes from sight and avoids connection with villagers. She is more often heard than seen. She speaks through the sounds of the forest; one may even hear her tinkling bells. She seems to make her presence known especially in the evening, and those who spend the night in the forest sometimes think they hear her scream.”

Given that nature worship is fundamental to Hinduism, a Goddess for the forest and its animals is hardly surprising. For some reason, Aranyani worship did not come into the mainstream. This tribal bronze shows such worship continues.

This Vigraha is from Central India, probably from the area around Nasik. It is about 7 cm in height and may be dated to the nineteenth century.

Interestingly the only other bronze with similar iconography that I have seen is Saivite Panchayatna with me. See the Goddess figure in that group.