Jatayu Earth Center, also known as Jatayu Nature Park or Jatayu Rock, is a park and tourism centre at

Chadayamangalam Chadayamangalam is a village located in Kollam district of Kerala state, India. It is located along the Ithikkara river and the MC road that passes across the major urban locations of Kerala. It acts as centre for Chadayamangalam block panch ...

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Lac ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It stands at an altitude of 350m (1200ft) above the mean sea level. Jatayu Nature Park holds the distinction of having the world’s largest bird sculpture, which is of

Jatayu Jatayu ( sa, जटायुः, IAST: ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', who has the form of either an eagle or a vulture. He is the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni, the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garud ...

. The sculpture measures ( long, wide, in height and occupies of floor area). It was sculpted by

Rajiv Anchal Rajiv Anchal (born 20 December 1956) is a film director, screenwriter, and sculptor who works in Malayalam language cinema. In 1997, he made ''Guru'', India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His fir ...

. This rock-theme nature park was the first

Public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...

tourism initiative in the state of

under the BOT model. The park is about away from the city of Kollam and away from the state capital,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. After completion, it opened to visitors on 17 August 2018.

Origins

The park located near the town of

(Jatayumangalam), which was named for

. Jatayu was a demi-god in

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

(a Hindu epic) who had the form of a vulture. According to the epic,

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

was attempting to abduct

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

to Lanka when Jatayu tried to rescue her. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as Jatayu was very old Ravana soon defeated him, clipping his wings, and Jatayu fell onto the rocks in Chadayamangalam.

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

while on the search for Sita, chanced upon the stricken and dying Jatayu, who informed them of the battle with Ravana and told them that Ravana had headed South.

The park

The Statue

The statue is a representation of a legend, and symbolizes the protection of women, and their honour and safety. It was designed and sculpted by

Dimensions

Jatayu Museum

The statue houses the construction of the Jatayu museum.

Adventure Park

The Park, on Adventure rock hill, opened on 5 December 2017.

Cave Resort

Jatayu is said to have taken refuge in a cave after his battle with Ravana. An Ayurvedic and Siddha cave resort is under construction and will offer ayurvedic healing paired with tales of Jatayu.

Dedication

The park opened to visitors on 4 July 2018 and was soft-inaugurated by

Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian Communist politician who is the current Chief Minister of Kerala, serving since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he is the longest-serving sec ...

Chief Minister of Kerala The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Fol ...

. The park's first phase was worth and included the adventure zone having radius. On 29 November 2015, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce's Director of stakeholder relations, Majid Al Marri visited the under construction Jatayu Nature Park along with the then

, Mr.

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislati ...

Access and attributes

Location and access

The park is located on a hill-top in

. No special transportation is required to get into the park, however visitors are required to use a cable car to reach the top of the park. Visitors intending to enter the park must obtain a paid ticket. Tourists may only bring cameras, and no bags are allowed. Lockers are provided for other items and there will be a security screening process before entering the top.

Inscriptions and plaques

A plaque outside the museum pays tribute to the fallen Jatayu, in a poem translated by

K. Jayakumar K. Jayakumar (born 6 October 1952) is an Indian civil servant, poet, and author. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Kerala who retired as the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala. He has also worked as lyricist, ...

, was dedicated by

, the Chief minister of Kerala. Jatayu-Earth-Center-Plaque

"Stand atop this hill for a while in contemplation Here is where Jatayu fell Trying to block with his talons and beak The alien gnome who seized in deceit The priceless pearl of a daughter..."

Gallery

File:Jatayu Para, Kerala, Dec 2013.jpg, Jatayu Nature Park under construction at

File:Jatayu statue.jpg File:Jatayu (1) 05.jpg File:Jatayu Earth’s Center from distance 02.jpg, view from distance

References

External Links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jatayu Earth's Center Tourist attractions in Kollam district Adventure parks Jatayu Buildings and structures in Kollam 2018 sculptures 2018 establishments in Kerala Buildings and structures completed in 2018 Architecture in India Museums in Kerala Outdoor sculptures in India Places in the Ramayana