Jantar mantar the Astronomical observatory jaipur

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh built five astronomical observatories in India and Jantar Mantar at jaipur is one of them. This is one of the largest and the best preserved. The king was passionate about astronomy and numerology – small wonder then that it led to the setting up of the observatory. The astronomer prince with the help of skilled labourers managed to create a collection of complex astronomical instruments chiselled out of stone, most of which continue to provide accurate information to this day. The most striking instrument is the Brihat Samrat yantra Sundial, the biggest sundial in the world an imposing yellow edifice to the far right of the observatory complex which has a 27m high gnomon arm set at an angle of 27degrees.The shadow that this casts moves up to 4m in an hour and aids in the calculation of local and meridian pass time and various attributes of the heavenly bodies, including declination, the angular distance of a heavenly body from the celestial equator and altitude. This highlight of the observatory which stands as a testimony to the genius of the Maharaja has made it a centre of attraction for the tourist visiting Jaipur.