How is the environment described? Any symbolic meanings in the setting (explain with an example)?

Siddhartha takes place in India somewhere around 625 BC. Ancient India was full of groves, villages, small towns and lush forests. Everything about the setting is symbolic. There is the pleasure garden where Siddhartha and Kamala get busy with each other! There are rivers which symbolize the constant change in the universe and towns that symbolize the endless shackles of desire.