Jaipur : Jantar Mantar is a historical monument located in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It is an astronomical observatory built between 1724 and 1734, which has also been included in the UNESCO ‘World Heritage List’. It has 14 main tools which helps in time measurement, eclipse prediction, movement and position of stars, planets of solar system etc. Among them is the world’s largest stone sundial or sun clock, named the Vriddha Samrat Yantra.
The structure of this astronomical instrument is about 27 meters high.
Know the history of this historical monument –
Located near the City Palace, Jantar Mantar was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur and an astronomer, with the aim of obtaining accurate information about space and time. Before its establishment, Sawai Jai Singh collected and studied the manuscripts of major and important texts on astronomy from different countries of the world. After which, with the help of famous and renowned astronomers of that time, the Maharaja built 5 observatories based on Hindu astronomy in Delhi, Banaras, Ujjain and Mathura apart from Jaipur.
This building is a wonderful collection of astronomical instruments, which are still used for calculations and teaching. Apart from this, this astronomical observatory is also used to observe and study the orbits of planets around the Sun. The observatory is spread over an area of approximately 18,700 square metres. Very good quality marble stones have been used in its construction. It is also famous for its magnificent design. The Ram Yantra placed here is the main instrument for measuring celestial altitude, while the Samrat Yantra can measure the local time with an accuracy of 2 seconds.
The names of total 14 instruments in Jantar Mantar are as follows –
ram machine
Unnatamsh instrument
direction device
cardiopulmonary device
Samrat Yantra
Jai Prakash Yantra (a)
Laghusamrat Yantra
stone machine
shashi ring instrument
wheel machine
azimuth instrument
polaroscope plate
pulse thruster
Jaiprakash Yantra
