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Jantar Mantar
The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur which is the biggest stone observatory in the world stands as an answer to all those who doubted India's competence in the field of Science and Astronomy. We all wonder when we look at the infinite stretch of the sky but Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II was one such individual who was very keen on unearthing the mysteries of the Universe. He was the founder figure of five observatories in India but none of the others could match this in fame.
There is a very interesting story related to the Jantar Mantar. Emperor Mohammad Shah entrusted Sawai Jai Singh with the responsibility of verifying all the data available and making corrections in the astronomical tables if need be. Sawai Jai Singh then sent his messengers all across the world to collect information on the latest astronomical advancements. They returned with La Hire's “Tables” and the construction of the Jantar Mantar was started based on this manual. It came as a pleasant surprise to everyone when it was found that the observatory had achieved an even higher level of perfection than the manual.
Even though the Jantar Mantar has devices which are common to several Islamic observatories specially the one built by Ulugh Begh in Samarqand, the two hemispheres of the Jai Prakash Yantra are considered as Jai Singh's original. They help us to know the exact position of the sun.
The Jantar Mantar consists of 17 instruments. Some of them are listed below-
Kranti Yantra
Diganta Yantra
Small Ram Yantra
Large Ram Yantra
Chakra Yantra
Rashivalayas Yantra
Dakshina Yantra
Disha Yantra
Unnathamsa Yantra
Raj Yantra
Narivalya Yantra
Dhruva Yantra
Small Samrat Yantra
Amazingly several of these instruments are still in working condition and we cannot but offer our kudos to this Rajput king for his remarkable achievement. There is no question of missing out on this Colossal Observatory.
Tourism of India offers detailed information about the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur and provides on-line booking for a package tour of the city of Jaipur where Jantar Mantar is included.
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