Nakshatra Van is a park created by the Jharkhand Forest Department in front of the residence of the governor of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

in Ranchi, the capital of the Indian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Jharkhand. A Nakshatra or lunar mansion is one of the 27 or 28 divisions of the sky that the Moon passes through during its monthly cycle, as used in

Hindu astronomy Astronomy has long history in Indian subcontinent stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valley civilisation or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a dis ...

and

Hindu astrology Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is one ...

. Each Nakshatra is identified by its prominent star(s) and is associated with a

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

. Hindu astrologers believe that each constellation of the zodiac is associated with a tree. Those trees are of medicinal, social, aesthetic or economic value.

History

The foundation stone for the park was laid by Sri

L. K. Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a longtime memb ...

, Deputy Prime Minister of India in 2002. He planted a Vikankat on that day. The responsibility for planning and developing the park was given to Social Forestry Division. Department officials visited a Zodiac Park in Bangalore to study the concept. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astro-Physics were consulted in the planning process. It took around two years to complete the construction of the park. The park was opened after a colourful programme on the occasion of Van Mahotsav in 2004. The park was inaugurated by Governor M. Rama Jois and many other dignitaries. The administration and management of the park was transferred to Jharkhand State Forest Development Corporation in 2004.A green act of faith - Times Of India articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com › Collections › Trees A green act of faith. Payal Gwalani, TNN 4 September 2011, 01.06pm IST.

References

Parks in India Trees in mythology Urban public parks Ranchi Protected areas of Jharkhand 2004 establishments in Jharkhand Protected areas established in 2004 {{jharkhand-geo-stub