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The Jantar
Mantar is the name given to observatories built by Maharaja
Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur. While it exists in four cities
in all, the sundials at Jaipur are considered to be the most
exquisite and mysterious.
Jantar comes from Yantra or instrument, and Mantar comes from
Mantra or chanting, which makes the Jantar Mantar a "chanting
instrument".
For instance, one of the instruments is an equinoctial dial,
consisting 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 is intended to measure the time of day, correct
to half a second, and declination of the Sun and the other
heavenly bodies.
Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur constructed two of these
massive solar dials
The Yantra Mandir (literally the 'temple of instruments', and
often called the Jantar Mantar) is in the modern city of New
Delhi, Delhi. It consists of a collection of architectural
astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of
Jaipur, for his own use, from 1724 onwards. 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 astrology.
Jai Singh later had another similar observatory, now known by
the same name, built for him at Jaipur.
Introduction
Jantar Mantar is an important landmark of Delhi and a unique
edifice. It is an observatory built by Sawai Jai Singh II, the
erstwhile ruler of the princely state of Amber and a
contemporary of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The various
abstract structures within the Jantar Mantar are, in fact,
instruments that were used for keeping track of celestial
bodies. Nevertheless, the Jantar Mantar is not only a
timekeeper of celestial bodies: it also tells a lot about the
technological achievements under the Rajput kings and their
endeavor to unravel the mysteries pertaining to astronomy.
Construction
The Jantar Mantar of Delhi is only one of the five
observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II, the other four
being located at Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura. All of
these were built as far back as AD 1724-1730 during the period
generally known as the dark age of Indian history, when the
last great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had died and the Mughal
Empire was declining rapidly.
During this period of chaos, Muhammad Shah ascended the throne
of the Mughal Empire. As many enemies surrounded him, he
sought the alliance of the [Hindu] rulers. Of these, the most
notable was Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber, who came into
limelight since the days of Aurangzeb. When Jai Singh ascended
the throne of Amber in 1699, he was barely eleven, but sharp
and shrewd far beyond his years. The then Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb was so impressed with the young ruler that he gave
Jai Singh II the title of Sawai, meaning one and a quarter of
an average man in worth. As Jai Singh repeatedly proved
himself as a worthy ally of the Mughals, Muhammad Shah, who
was seeking a dependable ally, zeroed in on Jai Singh and duly
raised him to the rank of governor of Agra and later, of Malwa.
Jai Singh was passionate about two things-the arts and the
sciences, chiefly astronomy. Once, at the court of Muhammad
Shah, he found the Hindu and Muslim astrologers embroiled in a
heated argument over certain planetary positions. It was
imperative that the positions be known accurately to determine
an auspicious hour for the emperor to set out on an
expedition. Jai Singh offered to rectify the then available
astronomical tables, an offer that was readily accepted by the
Mughal emperor. The result: an onsite Jantar Mantar in Delhi,
an astronomical observatory where the movements of sun, moon
and planets could be observed. Jai Singh's idea was to create
a renaissance in practical astronomy among the Indian masses
and practicing astronomers. However, the lofty ideals of the
Jantar Mantar remained unfulfilled as the country at that time
was in turmoil and the full potential of this observatory was
never realized.
Monument of India
This unique observatory was completed in 1724 and remained
operational only for seven years. Astronomical observations
were regularly made here and these observations were used for
drawing up a new set of tables, later compiled as Zij Muhammad
Shahi dedicated to the reigning monarch. Jai Singh named his
observatory Jantar Mantar (actually Yantra Mantra, yantra for
instrument and mantra for formula). It is dominated by a huge
sundial known as Samrat Yantra, meant to measure the time of
the day accurate to within half a second and the declination
of the sun and other heavenly bodies. Jai Singh himself
designed this yantra. Other yantras were also meant for the
study of heavenly bodies, plotting their course and predicting
eclipses. The two pillars on the southwest of Mishra Yantra
are meant to determine the shortest and longest days of the
year. Interestingly, in December one pillar completely covers
the other with its shadow while in June it does not cast any
such shadow at all.
Spurred on by the completion of the first Jantar Mantar and
with a view to verifying astronomical observations made at
Delhi, Jai Singh built similar, if smaller observatories, at
other important Indian cities-Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain, and
Mathura. The state of these observatories is bad; the one in
Mathura was demolished, while those in Ujjain and Varanasi are
in state of decay. But the observatory at Jaipur is the best
preserved of all because in 1901 Raja Ram Singh, the then
ruler of Jaipur, refurbished it with the help of a British
engineer. All the masonry instruments were lined with marble
so that the graduations on them are not worn out.
The Jantar Mantars may have fallen into disuse but they remain
an integral part of India's scientific heritage. The Jantar
Mantar in Delhi is often projected in travel books, brochures,
on postage stamps and was the logo of the 1982 Asian Games.
The Jantar Mantar shows that the spirit of scientific enquiry
was not dead in India and would have yielded rich results if
only an opportunity had been given to it to fructify. The
Jantar Mantar on the Parliament Street remains one of the most
intriguing structures of the capital, one that explodes in a
burst of questions in the mind of the inquisitive tourist |
