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This open air
observatory is located
outside the gateway of
the City Palace Complex
and is popularly known
as Jantar Mantar, (where
Jantra means instrument
or device and Mantra
stands for magic
formula). It was built
by the astronomer king
Sawai Jai Singh II in
1728. Astronomy was a
life-time obsession for
the Maharaja, in the era
when only few princes
had the luxury of
adequate instruments for
knowing time. Sawai Jai
Singh, the last
classical astronomer of
India, was ably
supported and guided by
Pandit Jagannat Samrat,
whose immense knowledge
and master by over
various languages like
Sanksrit, Arabic and
Persian enabled Jai
Singh to interpret
various books,
manuscripts and
information related to
astronomy and astrology
from places, as far as
Europe, Portugal, Greece
and Britain.
Astrological tables were
prepared with the help
of Pandit Keval Ramji. |
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Jantar Mantar is one of
the five open-air
astronomical
observatories built by
Jai Singh in the
country. The first being
at Delhi in 1724,
followed by
observatories at Jaipur
(1728); Ujjain (1734);
Varanasi (1737) and
Mathura (1738). The
observatory at Jaipur is
the largest and most
important of the five
and is best preserved
after the restoration
work in 1901. The
original brass
instruments were
replaced by masonry
instruments used for
measuring local time,
the the altitudes of
stars and
constellations, the
sun's declination,
meridian, altitude and
determining eclipses are
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Laghu Samrat Yantra or
the Small Sun :-
Dial meant to show the
solar time. |
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| Samrat Yantra or
the Big Sun Dial :-
The triangular structure
is the larger of the
Laghu Samrat Yantra. |
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| Dhruv Yantra or
the Pol Star Instrument
: - It is used at night
to ascertain the
position of the Pole
Star and 12 zodiac
signs, which are very
helpful for various
astrological
calculations. |
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Raj Yantra or King of
Instruments :- It is
an astrolabe, which is
used once a year for
calculating the Hindu
calendar, where all the
details are based on
Jaipur Standrad. The
instrument has a big
metallic disc of over 2
meter diameter, hanging
over a wooden beam.
There is a hole at the
centre of the disc,
which shows the position
of the Pole Star. |
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Krantivritta Yantra or
the Ecliptic Instrument
: - The small instrument
made of circular stone
with an iron gnomon at
its centre, is used for
measuring longitude and
latitude of the
celestial bodies. It can
be used during the day
as well as at night. |
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| Dish Yantra
:- It points towards the
northern direction. |
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| Unnatansha Yantra
:- It is used for
finding the altitudes of
the stars and planets. |
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| Narivalaya Yantra
:- The sun dials of the
instrument are divided
into two parts, one
representing the
northern while the other
represents the southern
hemisphere. |
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| Dakshinovritti
Bhitti Yantra :- It
comprises of a vertical
wall, which is aligned
along the local N-S
meridian and is used for
interpreting the
position and movement of
the celestial bodies
passing over the
meridian. |
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| Resivalaya Yantra
or the Zodiac instrument
:- It operates on the
same principle as the
Samrat Yantra but
comprises of twelve
sun-dials. Representing
the twelve zodiac sings. |
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| Jaiprakash Yantra
:- It is used for
observing the position
of the sun, ascendants
and other heavenly
bodies and acts as a
double check on all the
other instruments of the
observatory. It has been
divided into two
identical parts which
work every hour
alternately. |
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| Chakra Yantra or
the Circle Instruments
:- This measures the
angle of the celestial
bodes from the equator. |
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| Kapali Yantra
:- It is divided into
two hemispherical parts
known as Kapali. The
western Kapali as a
prototype of the Jai
Prakash instrument and
represents the plane of
the horizon. The eastern
Kapali was used for
solving astronomical
problems graphically. |
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| Ram Yantra :-
It is made of circular
walls and the floor
graduated observing
altitue and azimuth (arc
of the celestial great
circle from zenith to
horizon) of the heavenly
bodies. At the centre is
a pillar, the shadow of
which, indicates the
local day time. The
floor is also divided
into sectors as in Jai
Prakash Yantra. |
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| Digansha Yantra
:- It is yet another
instrument which helps
in calculating the
azimuth of any heavenly
body. |
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