Jaipur City Guide
Explore Jantar Mantar, one of the most enticing monument of Jaipur. Known as one of the famous observatory, Jantar Mantar is surely a place to visit.
About Jantar Mantar
It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1728. At first glance, Jantar Mantar appears to be a curious collection of sculptures but in fact each construction has a specific purpose such as measuring the positions of stars, altitudes and azimuths, and calculating eclipses. The most striking instrument is the sundial with its 27 metre high gnomon. The shadow this casts moves up to 4 metre an hour.
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.
Instruments at Jantar Mantar
The samrat yantra consists of a massive triangle with a curved structure on both sides. The jaiprakash yantra is a two hemispherical bowl structure representing the celestial spheres and the use of a vertical rod in the center, giving different positions of celestial bodies during the day and night. The ram yantra is in the form of a high cylinder. It is surrounded by circular walls and the shadow of the sun on the vertical and horizontal marble gradations via the cylinder, indicates the altitude and the azimuth or declination of celestial bodies. The composite instrument is heart shaped and includes a sundial and a massive hemisphere on the northern wall. Sawai Jai Singh’s attempt to introduce a renaissance in astronomy through Jantar Mantar never took off due to chaos in the country. The first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said that so accurate was his work that Jai Singh would have been remarkable anywhere. Thoroughly restored in 1901, the Jantar Mantar was declared a national monument in 1948.
Getting There
From the center of Jaipur, one can take Bus, Taxis or Auto-rickshaws to reach Jantar Mantar. The monument is situated next to the City Palace in old Jaipur or the Pink City. Moving to City palace or Jantar Mantar is very easy as one can get transport in all parts of city.
