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Fast facts about Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
When it was built: 1728
By whom it was built: Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II
Nature of the building: Observatory
History of Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the Rajput ruler of Amber, who
founded Jaipur, had built the observatory known as Jantar Mantar.
The name 'Jantar Mantar' was derived from the Sanskrit words-
'Yantra Mantra' meaning instruments and formulae. Emperor Muhammad
Shah had asked Sawai Jai Singh II to make corrections in the
astronomical tables. The task took seven years and Jantar Mantar
in Jaipur was created.
Legend says that the emissaries, who were sent by Jai Singh
to various corners of the world, brought manuals and astronomical
tables including La Hire's "Tables", on the basis
of which the observatory in Jaipur was constructed.
Features of Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
- It was built to measure the local time, the sun's
declination, altitude, declination of stars, planets and eclipses.
Each instrument of this observatory performs a particular function
- The Dhruva Yantra locates the position of 12 Zodiac
signs and also that of the Pole Star at night.
- The Narivalya Yantra is a distinctive sundial with
two dials - the first dial facing the south, calculates time
when the sun is in the southern hemisphere and the other one
facing the north, interpret time for the rest of the year when
the sun is in the northern hemisphere.
- Jai Singh's seat or Kranti Yantra serves to directly
measure the longitude and latitude of the extraterrestrial bodies
- Raj Yantra or the King of Instruments is used annually
to calculate the Hindu calendar
- Unnsyhsmsa yantra finds the altitudes of the heavenly
bodies
- Chakra yantra provides the angle of an object from
the equator
- Dakshina yantra, determines the position and movement
of heavenly bodies when passing over the meridian
- Large Samrat Yantra, ten times larger than the Samrat
Yanta, predicts the length and heaviness of the monsoon for
the local area.
- There is Rashivalayas Yantra with 12 sundials for the
signs of the zodiac and Jai Prakash Yantra to keep a check on
other instruments.
Don't Miss in Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
You must see the sun dial of Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. Samrat
Yantra is a sundial marked with hours and minutes. You can calculate
the time by observing the positions the shadow of the curved
structure on both sides of the triangular structure.
Trivia in Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
Brass instruments could not be used in this observatory, so
the style adopted by the renowned Arab astronomer, Prince Ulugh
Beg, who had built the famous observatory at Samarkand in Uzbekistan
in 15th century, was adopted
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