Jantar Mantar
Introduction:The Jantar-Mantar (Sanskrit; translated as “Magical Device”) was built between 1728 and 1734 due to the drafts of Maharaja Jai Singh II (1693 -1743) in the centre of Jaipur, which itself was founded 1727 as new capital city of his principality. One of the major tourist attractions in the Pink city of Jaipur is the sun dial of Jantar Mantar. The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur was conceived as a quest for discovering the mysteries of the Cosmos.
The Jantar Mantar is a corruption of the Sanskrit word yantra mantra meaning instruments and formulae. It was built not only to verify astronomical observations made at Jaipur, but also to stimulate interest in astronomy, which had become enmeshed in theory, superstition and religious jargon. Raja Jai Singh had a deep interest in astronomy. He read all the known works on the subject at the time (c1800's). He also collected the most advanced instruments he could find. During his studies, he noted inaccuracies in existing astronomical tables and decided to produce his own astronomical instruments. Because he felt that the instruments' size limited their accuracy (they were too small), his solution was to build gigantic instruments from stone, masonry, and marble rather than the traditional brass. The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars in their orbits, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. Each is a fixed and 'focused' tool.
The Samrat Jantar, the largest instrument, is 90 feet high, its shadow carefully plotted to tell the time of day. Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Hindu chhatri (small domed cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons. You can visit this very Jantar Mantar (Observatory) in Jaipur, Rajasthan and see with your own eyes the wonderful masonry instruments. The observatory has the Jaiprakash Yantra, Samrat Yantra, Ram Yantra and the Composite instrument, which comprises of a sundial and a massive hemisphere.Jantar Mantar presents the observatories through a variety of media and information sources, making it possible to explore and learn about these historic sites through interactive panoramic "VR" photographs, time lapse sequences, and 3D models as well as articles, drawings, and historic texts. Jantar Mantar has a remarkable collection of architectural astronomical instruments. It portrays noteworthy attempt of the ancestors, who were interested in astronomy and knowledge of celestial bodies. Above all, this observatory still, provides accurate information, which can be compared with today's modern instruments undeniably. The compound instruments, whose settings and shapes are scientifically designed depicts the forte of Medieval Indian Astronomy.
