The Shruti says that what is called the forest is the true fold for the deities, while the joy one feels in living in the midst of men is, as it were, the fetter for binding the dweller.
देवानामेष वै गोष्ठो यदरण्यमिति श्रुतिः। निबन्धनी रज्जुरेषा या ग्रामे वसतो रतिः॥