Jantar-Mantar, Jaipur
The name Jantar is derived from the Sanskrit word "yantra", meaning "instrument, machine", and the word mantar is derived from "mantrana", a Sanskrit word meaning "consultation, calculation"). Therefore, Jantar Mantar literally means 'calculating instrument'.
Jantar Mantar is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The monument was completed in 1734. It houses the world's largest stone sundial and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located near the City Palace and the Hawa Mahal. These instruments allow observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. This observatory is an example of Ptolemaic positional astronomy, which was shared by many civilizations.
The monument has instruments working in each of the three main classical astronomical coordinate systems: the horizon-head local system, the equatorial system, and the ecliptic system. The Kanmala Yantraprakarana is an instrument that works in two systems and allows coordinates to be directly converted from one system to the other. It has the world's largest sundial.
The monument was damaged in the 19th century. The initial restoration work was carried out under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer, Jaipur district.
Objective
Jai Singh noticed that the Zij, used to determine the position of celestial bodies, did not match the position calculated in the table. He built five new observatories in different cities to create more accurate Zij. The astronomical tables constructed by Jai Singh, known as Zij-i-Muhammad Shahi, were continuously used in India for a century. (However, this table had little significance outside India.) In addition, it was also used to measure time.
History
It is unknown when Raja Jai Singh began construction work in Jaipur, but by 1728 several instruments had been built and the manufacture of instruments in Jaipur continued until 1738. During 1735, when construction was at its peak, at least 23 astronomers were working in Jaipur and due to the changing political climate, Jaipur replaced Delhi as Raja Jai ??Singh's main observatory and remained Jai Singh's central observatory until his death in 1743. Under Ishwari Singh (reigned 1743-1750) the observatory lost support due to the war of succession between him and his brother. However, Ishwari Singh's successor Madho Singh (reigned 1750-1768) supported the observatory, although it did not see the same level of activity as under Jai Singh. During this time, a temple was built and Pratap Singh converted the site of the observatory into a gun factory.
Bhairava Temple - Located within the Jantar Mantar complex
Ram Singh (reigned 1835-1880) completed the renovation of Jantar Mantar in 1876, and made some of the instruments more durable by adding lead to the cords and restoring some of the plaster instruments with stone. However, the observatory soon fell into neglect again, and was not renovated until the reign of Madho Singh II (reigned 1880-1922) in 1901.
Description
The observatory has nineteen instruments for measuring time, predicting eclipses, finding the positions of major stars with respect to the Earth's orbit around the Sun, detecting the declinations of planets, and determining celestial altitudes and related ephemeris. These instruments (in alphabetical order) are as follows:
Chakra Yantra (four semicircular arcs on which a gnomon casts a shadow, showing the declination of the sun at four specified times of the day. This data corresponds to noon time at four observatories around the world (Greenwich in the UK, Zurich in Switzerland, Notke in Japan and Sachsen in the Pacific [clarification needed]); this is equivalent to a wall of clocks recording local times in different parts of the world.)
Dakshin Bhitti Yantra (measures meridian, altitude and zenith distance of celestial bodies)
Dizamsha Yantra (a pillar placed in the middle of two concentric outer circles, used to measure the azimuth of the sun and calculate the predicted time of sunrise and sunset)
Disha Yantra (used to find direction)
Dhruv Darshak Patti (locating and observing the position of the Pole Star relative to other celestial bodies)
Jai Prakash Yantra (based on two semicircular bowls Sundials with marble slabs mounted on them showing inverted images of the sky and allowing the observer to move around inside the instrument; measure altitude, azimuth, hour angle and declination)
Kapali Yantra (measures coordinates of celestial bodies in azimuth and equatorial systems; any point in the sky can be converted visually from one coordinate system to another)
Kanali Yantra
Kranti Chakra Yantra (measures longitude and latitude of celestial bodies)
Laghu Samrat Yantra (small sundial on the monument, inclined at 27 degrees, for measuring time, although less accurately than the Brihat Samrat Yantra)
Mishra Yantra (measured as a composite instrument, it is a compilation of five different instruments)
Nadi Valya Yantra (two sundials on different faces of the instrument, both faces representing the north and south hemispheres; measuring time with an accuracy of less than a minute)
Palabh Yantra
Ram Yantra (measured the altitude and latitude of the sun) An upright building used to find the azimuth)
Rashi Valya Yantra (12 gnomon dials that measure the ecliptic coordinates of stars, planets and all the 12 constellation systems)
Shashtamsha Yantra (next to the Vrihat Samrat Yantra) This instrument has a 60 degree arc drawn in the meridian plane inside a dark chamber. At noon, the pinhole image of the Sun falls on a scale below from which the observer can measure the Sun's zenith distance, declination, and diameter.)
Unnatansha Yantra (a metal ring divided into four segments by horizontal and vertical lines, with a hole in the middle; the position and orientation of the instrument allows the altitude of celestial objects to be measured)
Unnatansha Yantra
Vrihat Samrat Yantra (the world's largest sundial sundial, measuring time in 2-second intervals using the shadow cast by sunlight)
Yantra Raj Yantra (a 2.43-meter bronze astrolabe, one of the world's largest instruments, used only once a year, calculating the Hindu calendar)
Yantra Raj
The Vrihat Samrat Yantra, meaning "Great King of Instruments", is 88 feet (27 m) high, making it one of the world's largest sundials. It faces at an angle of 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. It is said to tell time with an accuracy of about two seconds in Jaipur's local time. Its shadow appears to move at a speed of 1 mm per second, or about a hand's breadth (6 cm) per minute. The Hindu chhatri (small dome) at the top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of the monsoon.
Jai Prakash Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
These instruments are mostly huge structures. It is said that the scale at which they are built increases their accuracy. However, the sun's penumbra can be as wide as 30 mm, making the Samrat Yantra sundial's 1 mm increments of no practical significance. Additionally, the masons who built these instruments had insufficient experience in building to this scale, and their alignment deteriorated as the foundations sank.
Materials of Construction
Made of local stone and marble, each instrument has an astronomical scale, usually inscribed on the inner layer of marble. Bronze tablets, brick and mortar were also used in the construction of the instruments in the monument, which covers about 18,700 square metres. It was in continuous use until about 1800, then fell into disuse and disrepair. Restored several times during British colonial rule, most notably in 1902, Jantar Mantar was declared a national monument in 1948. It was restored in 2006. The restoration process in the early 20th century replaced some of the original materials of construction with different materials.
Jantar Mantar is managed under the Archaeological Sites and Monuments Act of Rajasthan since 1961, and protected as a National Monument of Rajasthan since 1968.
Written
The Vedas mention astronomical terms, measurement of time and calendars, but do not mention any astronomical instruments. The earliest discussion of astronomical instruments, the gnomon and the clepsydra, is found in the Vedangas, ancient Sanskrit texts. The gnomon (called Shanku, ?a?ku) found in the Jantar Mantar monument is discussed in these first millennium BCE Vedangas and in many later texts such as the Katyayana Sulbasutras. Other discussions of astronomical instruments are found in Hindu texts such as the fourth century BCE Arthashastra, Buddhist texts such as the Sardulkarna-avad?na and Jain texts such as the Surya-prajñapti. The principles behind the instruments are found in the texts of Aryabhata of the fifth century CE, Brahmagupta and Varahamihira of the sixth century CE, Lalla of the ninth century, Shripati and Bhaskara of the eleventh century. Bhaskara's texts have chapters devoted to instruments and he calls them yantra-adhyayas.
The theory of Chakra-yantra, Yasti-yantra, Dhanur-yantra, Kapala-yantra, Nadivalaya-yantra, Kartari-yantra and others is found in ancient texts.
Astronomical uses
How Jaisingh's instruments were used for astronomical observations remains unclear. Although the instruments themselves were impressive, evidence of any dedicated observational program or team of trained astronomers is limited. This raises the question of whether the primary purpose of the observatory was purely scientific or whether it also had other symbolic or cultural functions.
The astronomical manual compiled under Jaisingh's patronage, the Zij Muhammad-Shahi, does not appear to rely heavily on data collected from his observatories. Instead, it mainly uses tables from sources such as the Zij-i-Ulug Beg and Philippe de la Hire's astronomical tables. The Zij Muhammad-Shahi essentially adapts these tables by incorporating adjustments for the precession of the equinoxes and the difference in longitude between Paris and Delhi.
Filming locations
It was used as a filming location for the 2006 film The Fall as a Maze.
Storm Thorgerson photographed the sundial for the cover of Shpongle's DVD, Live at the Roundhouse 2008.
It was photographed by Julio Cortázar in collaboration with Antonio Gálvez for the book Prosa del Observatorio (Editorial Lumen: Barcelona, ??1972).
Gallery
Map ( Click on the photo, the map will open )
