Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

Last updated

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
Jantar Mantar at Jaipur.jpg
Location Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Coordinates 26°55′29″N75°49′28″E / 26.92472°N 75.82444°E / 26.92472; 75.82444
Area1.8652 ha (4.609 acres)
Built1728–1734;290 years ago (1734)
Governing body Government of Rajasthan
Official nameThe Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
CriteriaCultural: (iii), (iv)
Designated 2010 (34th session)
Reference no. 1338
Region Southern Asia
Jaipur City Map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Jantar Mantar in Jaipur
India Rajasthan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Rajasthan
India location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in India
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur India.jpg

The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur 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. [1] [2] It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [1] [3] It is near City Palace and Hawa Mahal. [4] The instruments allow the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. [1] The observatory is an example of the Ptolemaic positional astronomy which was shared by many civilizations. [1] [2]

Contents

The monument features instruments operating in each of the three main classical celestial coordinate systems: the horizon-zenith local system, the equatorial system, and the ecliptic system. [2] The Kanmala Yantraprakara is one that works in two systems and allows transformation of the coordinates directly from one system to the other. [5] It has the biggest sundial in the world.

The monument was damaged in the 19th century. Early restoration work was undertaken under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer for the Jaipur District. [6]

Name

The name jantar is derived from "yantra" a Sanskrit word, meaning "instrument, machine", and mantar from "mantrana" also a Sanskrit word meaning "consult, calculate"). [7] Therefore, Jantar Mantar literally means 'calculating instrument'. [3]

Purpose

Jai Singh noticed that the Zij, which was used for determining the position of celestial objects, did not match the positions calculated on the table. He constructed five new observatories in different cities in order to create a more accurate Zij. The astronomical tables Jai Singh created, known as the Zij-i Muhammad Shahi, were continuously used in India for a century. (However, the table had little significance outside of India.) Also, it was used to measure time. [8]

History

Exactly when Raja Jai Singh began construction in Jaipur is unknown, but several instruments had been built by 1728, and the construction of the instruments in Jaipur continued until 1738. During 1735, when construction was at its peak, at least 23 astronomers were employed 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. The observatory lost support under Isvari Singh (r.1743-1750) because of a succession war between him and his brother. However, Mado Singh (r. 1750–1768), Isvari Singh's successor, supported the observatory, although it did not see the same level of activity as under Jai Singh. Although some restorations were made to the Jantar Mantar under Pratap Singh (r.1778-1803), activity at the observatory died down again. During this time, a temple was constructed and Pratap Singh turned the site of the observatory into a gun factory. [9]

Bhairav Temple - located within the Jantar Mantar Complex Bhairav Temple Jantar Mantar Jaipur.jpg
Bhairav Temple - located within the Jantar Mantar Complex

Ram Singh (r. 1835–1880) completed restoring the Jantar Mantar in 1876, and even made some of the instruments more durable by inserting lead into the instruments' lines and using stone to restore some of the plaster instruments. However, the observatory soon became neglected again, and was not restored until 1901 under Madho Singh II (r. 1880–1922) [8]

Description

Jantar Mantar deploys all three ancient coordinate systems of the five celestial coordinate systems known. In the image above, the red (ecliptic) and blue (equatorial) coordinate systems are two of the three classical systems that feature in the monument's instruments. Ecliptic equator galactic anim.gif
Jantar Mantar deploys all three ancient coordinate systems of the five celestial coordinate systems known. In the image above, the red (ecliptic) and blue (equatorial) coordinate systems are two of the three classical systems that feature in the monument's instruments.
Kapali Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur Kapali Yantra.jpg
Kapali Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
Laghu samrat yantra Laghu samrat yantra.JPG
Laghu samrat yantra

The observatory consists of nineteen instruments for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking location of major stars as the Earth orbits around the Sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. The instruments are (alphabetical): [2]

  1. Chakra Yantra (four semicircular arcs on which a gnomon casts a shadow, thereby giving the declination of the Sun at four specified times of the day. This data corresponds to noon at four observatories around the world (Greenwich in UK, Zurich in Switzerland, Notke in Japan and Saitchen[ clarification needed ] in the Pacific); this is equivalent of a wall of clocks registering local times in different parts of the world.) [10]
  2. Dakshin Bhitti Yantra (measures meridian, altitude and zenith distances of celestial bodies) [10]
  3. Digamsha Yantra (a pillar in the middle of two concentric outer circles, used to measure azimuth of the sun and to calculate the time of sunrise and sunset forecasts) [11]
  4. Disha Yantra (used to detect the direction)
  5. Dhruva Darshak Pattika (observe and find the location of pole star with respect to other celestial bodies) [11]
  6. Jai Prakash Yantra (two hemispherical bowl-based sundials with marked marble slabs that map inverted images of sky and allow the observer to move inside the instrument; measures altitudes, azimuths, hour angles, and declinations) [2] [10]
  7. Kapali Yantra (measures coordinates of celestial bodies in azimuth and equatorial systems; any point in sky can be visually transformed from one coordinate system to another) [5]
  8. Kanali Yantra
  9. Kranti Vritta Yantra (measures longitude and latitude of celestial bodies)
  10. Laghu Samrat Yantra (the smaller sundial at the monument, inclined at 27 degrees, to measure time, albeit less accurately than Vrihat Samrat Yantra) [11]
  11. Misra Yantra (meaning mixed instrument, it is a compilation of five different instruments)
  12. Nadi Valaya Yantra (two sundials on different faces of the instrument, the two faces representing north and south hemispheres; measuring the time to an accuracy of less than a minute) [11]
  13. Palbha Yantra
  14. Rama Yantra (an upright building used to find the altitude and the azimuth of the Sun)
  15. Rashi Valaya Yantra (12 gnomon dials that measure ecliptic coordinates of stars, planets and all 12 constellation systems)
  16. Shastansh Yantra (next to Vrihat Samrat Yantra) This instrument has a 60-degree arc built in the meridian plane within a dark chamber. At noon, the Sun's pinhole image falls on a scale below enabling the observer to measure the zenith distance, declination, and the diameter of the Sun.) [12]
  17. Unnatamsa 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 measurement of the altitude of celestial bodies) [11]
    Unnatamsa Yantra Unnatamsa Yantra.jpg
    Unnatamsa Yantra
  18. Vrihat Samrat Yantra (world's largest gnomon sundial, measures time in intervals of 2 seconds using shadow cast from the sunlight)
  19. Yantra Raj Yantra (a 2.43-metre bronze astrolabe, one of the largest in the world, used only once a year, calculates the Hindu calendar) [13]
    Yantra Raj Yantra Raj.jpg
    Yantra Raj

The Vrihat Samrat Yantra, which means the "great king of instruments", is 88 feet (27 m) high, making it one of the world's largest sundials. [14] Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. It is purported to tell the time to an accuracy of about two seconds in Jaipur local time. [15] Its shadow moves visibly at 1 mm per second, or roughly a hand's breadth (6 cm) every minute, The Hindu chhatri (small cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons.

Jai Prakash Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur JaiPrakashYantraJaipur20080213-3.jpg
Jai Prakash Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

The instruments are in most cases huge structures. The scale to which they have been built has been alleged to increase their accuracy. However, the penumbra of the sun can be as wide as 30 mm, making the 1mm increments of the Samrat Yantra sundial devoid of any practical significance. Additionally, the masons constructing the instruments had insufficient experience with construction of this scale, and subsidence of the foundations has subsequently misaligned them.[ citation needed ]

Materials of construction

Observation deck of the vrihat samrat yantra (the world's largest sundial) Jantar Mantar in Jaipur giant sundial.jpg
Observation deck of the vrihat samrat yantra (the world's largest sundial)

Built from local stone and marble, each instrument carries an astronomical scale, generally marked on the marble inner lining. Bronze tablets, bricks and mortar were also employed in building the instruments in the monument spread over about 18,700 square metres. [2] It was in continuous use until about 1800, then fell in disuse and disrepair. [2] Restored again several times during the British colonial rule, particularly in 1902, the Jantar Mantar was declared a national monument in 1948. It was restored in 2006. [2] The restoration process in early 20th century replaced some of the original materials of construction with different materials. [2]

Jantar Mantar is managed under the Archeological Sites and Monuments Act of Rajasthan since 1961, and protected as a National Monument of Rajasthan since 1968. [16]

Theory

The Vedas mention astronomical terms, measurement of time and calendar, but do not mention any astronomical instruments. [4] The earliest discussion of astronomical instruments, gnomon and clepsydra, is found in the Vedangas, ancient Sanskrit texts. [4] [17] The gnomon (called Śaṅku, शङ्कु) [18] found at Jantar Mantar monument is discussed in these first millennium BCE Vedangas and in many later texts such as the Katyayana Sulbasutras. [4] Other discussions of astronomical instruments are found in Hinduism texts such as the fourth century BCE [17] Arthashastra, Buddhist texts such as Sardulakarna-avadana, and Jainism texts such as Surya-prajnapti. The theories behind the instruments are found in texts by the fifth century CE Aryabhatta, sixth century CE Brahmagupta and Varahamihira, ninth century Lalla, eleventh century Sripati and Bhaskara. The texts of Bhaskara have dedicated chapters on instruments and he calls them Yantra-adhyaya. [4] [17]

The theory of chakra-yantra, yasti-yantra, dhanur-yantra, kapala-yantra, nadivalaya-yantra, kartari-yantra, and others are found in the ancient texts. [4]

Filming location

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. [19]

It was photographed by Julio Cortázar with the collaboration of Antonio Gálvez for the book Prosa del Observatorio (Editorial Lumen: Barcelona, 1972).

See also

General
Research stations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundial</span> Device that tells the time of day by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky

A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. As the Sun appears to move through the sky, the shadow aligns with different hour-lines, which are marked on the dial to indicate the time of day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, though a single point or nodus may be used. The gnomon casts a broad shadow; the shadow of the style shows the time. The gnomon may be a rod, wire, or elaborately decorated metal casting. The style must be parallel to the axis of the Earth's rotation for the sundial to be accurate throughout the year. The style's angle from horizontal is equal to the sundial's geographical latitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaipur</span> Capital of Rajasthan, India

Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan. As of 2011, the city has a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Located 268 km from the national capital New Delhi, Jaipur is also known as the Pink City due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings in old city.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawai Jai Singh</span> Maharaja of Amber (1688–1743)

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 death of his father, Mirza Raja Bishan Singh, on 31 December 1699.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawa Mahal</span> Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jantar Mantar, New Delhi</span> Historical place in New Delhi

Jantar Mantar is located in the modern city of New Delhi. "Jantar Mantar" means "instruments for measuring the harmony of the heavens". 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian astronomy</span> Astronomy on the Indian subcontinent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world</span> Period of discovery in the Middle Ages

Medieval Islamic astronomy comprises the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age, and mostly written in the Arabic language. These developments mostly took place in the Middle East, Central Asia, Al-Andalus, and North Africa, and later in the Far East and India. It closely parallels the genesis of other Islamic sciences in its assimilation of foreign material and the amalgamation of the disparate elements of that material to create a science with Islamic characteristics. These included Greek, Sassanid, and Indian works in particular, which were translated and built upon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jantar Mantar</span> Astronomical observatories

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaipur district</span> District of Rajasthan in India

Jaipur District is a district in the state of Rajasthan in Northern India. The city of Jaipur, which is Rajasthan's capital and the largest city, is the district headquarters. It is the tenth most populous district in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nahargarh Fort</span> Historic military fortress in Rajasthan, India

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.

<i>Zij</i> Medieval Islamic astronomical tables

A zij is an Islamic astronomical book that tabulates parameters used for astronomical calculations of the positions of the sun, moon, stars, and planets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gyarah Sidi</span>

Gyarah Sidi are the remains of the astrological 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of sundials</span>

A sundial is a device that indicates time by using a light spot or shadow cast by the position of the Sun on a reference scale. As the Earth turns on its polar axis, the sun appears to cross the sky from east to west, rising at sun-rise from beneath the horizon to a zenith at mid-day and falling again behind the horizon at sunset. Both the azimuth (direction) and the altitude (height) can be used to create time measuring devices. Sundials have been invented independently in every major culture and became more accurate and sophisticated as the culture developed.

<i>Mishra Yantra</i> Large 18-century astronomical instruments in India

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Xavier's College Jaipur</span>

St. Xavier’s College Jaipur, is a Jesuit college in the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. It was established in 2010, and is a co-educational, self-financed Catholic minority institution, affiliated to the University of Rajasthan. It offers undergraduate courses in arts, science, management, computers and commerce. The college also offers Master of Arts in English and Economics and Master of Commerce in EAFM and HRM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jantar Mantar, Varanasi</span> Observatory in Varnasi, India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jantar Mantar, Ujjain</span> Observatory in Madhya Pradesh, India

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandivada Rathnasree</span> Indian astronomer and science historian (1963–2021)

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The Jantar Mantar at Jaipur, India Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy, in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Site
  3. 1 2 Smithsonian. Timelines of Science. Penguin. p. 136. ISBN   978-1465414342.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yukio Ohashi (Editor: H Selin) (1997). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. Springer. pp. 83–86. ISBN   978-0792340669.{{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  5. 1 2 Sharma, VN (1991). "The Kapala Yantras of Sawai Jai Singh" (PDF). Indian Journal of History of Science. 26 (2): 209–216. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 81, p. 257
  7. ↑ mantraNa, yantra. "Sanskrit - English Dictionary". Spoken Sanskrit Germany. Koln University. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 Nath., Sharma, Virendra (2016). Sawai Jai Singh and his astronomy. Jai Singh II, Maharaja of Jaipur, 1686-1743. (2nd ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN   978-81-208-1256-7. OCLC   32699670.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Johnson-Roehr, Susan N. (2014). "Observatories of Sawai Jai Singh II". Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy: 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 David Kelly (2011). Exploring Ancient Skies: A Survey of Ancient and Cultural Astronomy. Springer. p. 82. ISBN   978-1441976239.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Lindsay Brown (2008). Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra. p. 157. ISBN   978-1741046908.
  12. ↑ Andreas Volwahsen (2001). Cosmic architecture in India. Prestel. pp. 48–73. ISBN   978-3791325064.
  13. ↑ SC Bhatt (2006). Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories. p. 362. ISBN   978-8178353791.
  14. ↑ "Largest sundial world record".
  15. ↑ Barry Perlus. "Architecture in the Service of Science: The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh II" (PDF). Jantarmantar.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  16. ↑ THE RAJASTHAN MONUMENTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND ANTIQUITIES RULES, 1968
  17. 1 2 3 David Edwin Pingree (1981). A History of Indian Literature, Vol 6. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 52–54. ISBN   978-3447021654.
  18. ↑ gnomon. "Sanskrit - English Dictionary". Spoken Sanskrit Germany. Koln University. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Twisted Music". Twisted Music. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.