Part 2 - Gramyadevata

Our ancient Vedic period does not produce a system of worship in the temple. Although in some places the wooden structures are in the pre-Buddhist era. There are results which show that the native population (ancient tribe) placed their gods and goddesses without much formality, since they were not accustomed to the worship of divinity in the isolated atmosphere of the temples. They liked to be placed in the open air freely and even today, the gods and goddesses of the villages are not isolated. There are no temples as such for them and maybe they are in the shade of a big tree. Sometimes these deities mark the limit of the city to say goodbye or welcome.^[1]

In general, every village or rural commune of the time had its own "Gramya Devata" or village protective deity. These demi-gods or heavenly demi-gods, known as the protective deity, are invited to obtain material benefits, agricultural blessings, or the protection of their families.^[2] There are annual ceremonies of the rural population in general for these reasons of dependence on survival. Gramya Devata could have been a sacred tree revered as an incarnation of a deity. Della Valle, a traveler from Italy who visited India in 1623-25, said that "the goddess Parvathi was worshiped in the form of a tree with vegetable offerings." The deities of the village of then and even now are like a small sanctuary, a particular stone or a symbol like Trident. It was part of the cult of nature.^[3]