Emperor Sawai Jai Singh II, the builder of the city has to
his credit five observatories in different parts of the country.
The one he raised at Jaipur is the largest and the best preserved.
Huge instruments in intricate masonry offer an accurate measurement
of time, the declination of the sun, the altitude and the
azimuth, the position of constellations in the sky for the
day, the eclipses and the allied astronomical phenomena.
Jantar Mantar was conceptualised with the primary aim of unraveling
the mystery of outer space. In the days of yore, Jantar Mantar
served the purpose of carrying out astronomical observations
and also inspired and motivated many to become interested
in the science of astronomy, at a time when the society at
large had become entangled in silly superstition and religious
bigotry.
Some of the astronomical apparatuses on display at Jantar
Mantar are the Samrat Yantra, Ram Yantra, Jaiprakash Yantra
along with a gigantic hemisphere on the northern parapet.
Under the instigation of Emperor Muhammed Shah, Sawai Jai
Singh II was given the extra ordinary task of correcting the
anomalies of the astronomical chart. Not only did he accomplish
the task successfully but his brilliant astronomical mind
provided him with his place in the sun alongside some of the
world's greatest observatory designers like Ulug Beg and John
Flamsteed.
If historical records are any indicators, it is believed that
Sawai Jai Singh had sent his emissaries all across the world
in his bid to accumulate as much state-of-the-art information
pertaining to astronomy as he possibly could, prior to the
construction of Jantar Mantar. From a labyrinth of guides
and booklets on astronomy, Sawai Jai Singh choose to build
his observatory in accordance to the renowned La Hire's Table.
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