Bibhutibhushan’s Concept of Nature in ‘Aranyak'

Abstract

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Aranyak’ is an outstanding creation in Bengali literature. The word ‘Aranyak’ means forestry where all the animals that grow and live in the forest. The oldest scriptures of India are the Vedas; the concluding part of each Veda is known as the Brahman. Again, the conclusion part of each Brahman is called Aranyak; The last part of the Aranyak is the Upanishad. The Aranyak records the teachings and teachings received from the Guru while living in the Aranya Ashram to receive celibacy. It is named Aranyak because of its origin in the forest ashram. In ancient India, along with the advanced human society, a culture was developed in the shadow of the forest, which is called Aranyak culture. As the successor of this Aranyak culture, Bibhutibhushan painted the picture of the calm nature of South Bengal in his novel ‘Pather Panchali’ and in ‘Aparajita’, he revealed the arrogant solemn beauty of the forest hills and painted a more detailed picture of the terrible solemn beauty of the horizon-wide nature on the other side of the Kushi river in the novel ‘Aranyak’. In the novel ‘Aranyak’, we are to find out how Bibhutibhushan’s love of nature, simple honesty has been expressed in the words of Satyacharan, a fascinated passive viewer of the forest-wilderness of Ajamabad, Narha-Boihar and Lobtulia range, in the background of the hills of Mohanpura Reserve Forest.