This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(May 2018) |
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi | |
---|---|
Misra Yantra | |
Type | Observatory |
Location | New Delhi, India |
Nearest city | New Delhi |
Coordinates | 28°37′38″N77°12′59″E / 28.6271°N 77.2164°E |
Height | 723 feet (220 m) |
Founder | Maharaja Jai Singh II |
Built | 1724 |
Website | Official website |
Jantar Mantar is located in the modern city of New Delhi. "Jantar Mantar" means "instruments for measuring the harmony of the heavens". [1] It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. The site is one of five built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1723 onwards, revising the calendar and astronomical tables. Jai Singh, born in 1688 into a royal Rajput family that ruled the regional kingdom, was born into an era of education that maintained a keen interest in astronomy. There is a plaque fixed on one of the structures in the Jantar Mantar observatory in New Delhi that was placed there in 1910 mistakenly dating the construction of the complex to the year 1710. Later research, though, suggests 1724 as the actual year of construction. Its height is 723 feet (220 m).
The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astronomy.
Completed in 1724, the Delhi Jantar Mantar had decayed considerably by 1857 uprising. The Ram Yantra, the Samrat Yantra, the Jai Prakash Yantra and the Misra Yantra are the distinct instruments of Jantar Mantar. The most famous of these structures, the Jaipur, had also deteriorated by the end of the nineteenth century until in 1901 when Maharaja Ram Singh set out to restore the instrument. [2]
Jantar Mantar is located in New Delhi and built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in the year 1724. The maharaja built five observatories during his rule in the 18th century. Among these five, the one in Delhi was the first to be built. The other four observatories are located in Ujjain, Mathura, Varanasi, and Jaipur.
The objective behind the construction of these observatories was to assemble astronomical data and to accurately predict the movement of the planets, moon, sun, etc. in the solar system. It was a one of a kind in its time when it was built. By the year 1867, when India was under the British Raj, the observatory had undergone considerable decay. [3]
The 4 distinct instruments within the observatory of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi: the Samrat Yantra, the Jayaprakash, Rama Yantra and the Misra Yantra.
Between 1727 and 1734 Jai Singh II built five similar observatories in west-central India, all known by the name Jantar Mantar. They are located at
While the purpose of the Jantar Mantar was astronomy and astrology (Jyotish), they are also a major tourist attraction and a significant monument of the history of astronomy.
The year 1727 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Paṇḍita Jagannātha Samrāṭ (1652–1744) was an Indian astronomer and mathematician who served in the court of Jai Singh II of Amber, and was also his guru.
Sawai Jai Singh II, was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after the untimely death of his father, Mirza Raja Bishan Singh, on 31 December 1699.
The Hawa Mahal is a palace in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Built from red and pink sandstone, it is on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women's chambers.
The Kachhwaha, or Kushwaha is a Rajput clan found primarily in India.
The Jantar Mantar is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The monument was completed in 1734. It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is near City Palace and Hawa Mahal. The instruments allow the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. The observatory is an example of the Ptolemaic positional astronomy which was shared by many civilizations.
Indian astronomy refers to astronomy practiced in the Indian subcontinent. It has a long history stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valley civilisation or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a discipline of Vedanga, or one of the "auxiliary disciplines" associated with the study of the Vedas dating 1500 BCE or older. The oldest known text is the Vedanga Jyotisha, dated to 1400–1200 BCE.
Hanuman Temple is an ancient Hindu temple in Connaught Place, New Delhi, India, and is claimed to be one of the five temples from the days of the Mahabharata in Delhi. The other four temples are the Kalkaji, a Kali temple in South Delhi containing Swayambu rock Idol, the Yogmaya Temple near Qutub Minar, the Bhairav temple near the Purana Qila and the Nili Chatri Mahadev at Nigambodh Ghat outside the walls of Old Delhi.
Ujjain is an ancient city of central India, in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River.
A Jantar Mantar is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye. There were five Jantar Mantars in India. All were built at the command of the Rajah Jai Singh II, who had a keen interest in mathematics, architecture and astronomy. The largest example is the equinoctial sundial belonging to Jaipur's assembly of instruments, consisting of a gigantic triangular gnomon with the hypotenuse parallel to the Earth's axis. On either side of the gnomon is a quadrant of a circle, parallel to the plane of the equator. The instrument can be used with an accuracy of about 20 seconds by a skilled observer to determine the time of day, and the declination of the Sun and the other heavenly bodies. It is the world's largest stone sundial, and is known as the Samrat Yantra. The Jaipur Jantar Mantar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nahargarh Fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Along with Amer Fort and Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh once formed a strong defence ring for the city. The fort was originally named Sudershangarh, but it became known as Nahargarh, which means 'abode of tigers'. The popular belief is that Nahar here stands for Nahar Singh Bhomia, whose spirit haunted the place and obstructed construction of the fort. Nahar's spirit was pacified by building a temple in his memory within the fort, which thus became known by his name.
The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput clan. It was established by Dulha Rai, possibly the last ruler of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty of Gwalior who migrated to Dausa and started his kingdom there with the support of Chahamanas of Shakambhari in the 12th century. Mostly through 12th to 15th century, the kingdom faced stagnation, sources were scarce. Under its ruler, Raja Chandrasen of Amber became a Sisodia vassal and fought in the Battle of Khanwa under Raja Prithviraj Kachhwaha.
The Maragheh observatory, also spelled Maragha, Maragah, Marageh, and Maraga, was an astronomical observatory established in the mid 13th century under the patronage of the Ilkhanid Hulagu and the directorship of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, a Persian scientist and astronomer. The observatory is located on the west side of Maragheh, which is situated in today's East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. It was considered one of the most advanced scientific institutions in Eurasia because it was a center for many groundbreaking calculations in mathematics and astronomy. It housed a large collection of astronomical instruments and books and it served as an educational institution. It was also used as a model for the later Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, the Taqi al-Din observatory in Constantinople, and Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur.
India uses only one time zone across the whole nation and all its territories, called Indian Standard Time (IST), which equates to UTC+05:30, i.e. five and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). India does not currently observe daylight saving time.
Gyarah Sidi are the remains of the astronomical observatory of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The ruins are situated at a stone's throw from Babur’s Mehtab Bagh, in a field on the banks of the Yamuna river in Agra.
Mishra Yantra is an instrument in Jantar Mantar constructed between 1724 and 1730. A total of five Jantar mantars were constructed across North India in Jaipur, Delhi, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura. They are one of the four astronomical instruments of the Jantar Mantar observatory located in New Delhi, India. Each instrument at Jantar Mantar are architecturally constructed based on mathematical observations, and help calculate celestial objects and time. The Mishra Yantra , is a compilation of five different instruments).
Jantar Mantar is an observatory built in Varanasi in the year 1737 by Maharaja Jai Singh II of kingdom of Amber. The observatory is one of the five built by Maharaja Jai Singh II.
Jantar Mantar is an Indian equinoctial sundial, consisting a gigantic triangular gnomon with the hypotenuse parallel to the Earth's axis.
Jantar Mantar or Vedh Shala is located in the holy city of New Ujjain. It is an observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1725 which consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. The observatory is one of the five observatories built by Maharaja Jai Singh II when he was governor of Ujjain.
Nandivada Rathnasree or N. Rathnasree was an Indian astrophysicist, science communicator, and science historian, who was the director of India's Nehru Planetarium for over twenty years. She was responsible for improvements to the planetarium, as well as for researching the use of historical architectural astronomical instruments in India. She is known for her work in science communication.