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

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, 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 ...

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

, the capital of the Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Jharkhand. A

Nakshatra Nakshatra () is the term for Lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Buddhist astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective s ...

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 a long history in the 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 develope ...

and Hindu astrology. 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 and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

. 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, 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 Nakshatra {{jharkhand-geo-stub