Jaipur
Popularly known as the Pink City, Jaipur was founded by Sawai Jai Singh in
1727 AD, one of the greatest rulers of the Kachhawaha clan. The pink color
was used at the time of making to create an illusion of red sandstone
buildings of Mughal cities - and repainted in 1876, during the visit of the
Prince of Wales.
Accessibility
Jaipur is 262 kilometers from New Delhi, and the abode is well connected by
road, rail and air.
Exact location: Jaipur
Jantar Mantar is the a masterpiece of architecture situated in Jaipur, the
capital city of Rajasthan. Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur constructed 5
observatory in west central in India between 1727 to 1734. And Jantar Mantar
in Jaipur is the largest of all.
The Jantar Mantar was essentially a Sanskrit word yantra mantra meaning
instruments and formulae but later due to mispronunciation it was changed to
the known name. Jantar Mantar was built not only to verify astronomical
observations made at Jaipur, but also to stimulate interest in astronomy,
which had become enmeshed in theory, superstition and religious jargon.
Sawai Jai Singh sent his colleagues to all parts of the world before
starting the construction of this observatory. They all returned with many
manuals on astronomy containing cutting-edge technological information. One
of these manuals was a copy of La Hire's "Tables". The king
ordered the observatory to be built according to the details contained in
this manual.
The Observatory
Jai Singh had the choice either to construct the observatory with metal
instruments or masonry instruments. The metal instruments, constructed
according to the texts of the Islamic school of astronomy, did not measure
up to Jai Singh's expectations. So, he discarded them in favor of the
instruments of stone and masonry that he himself designed.
The observatory at Jaipur endorses the samrat yantra, the jaiprakash
yantra, ram yantra and the 'composite instrument' that includes a sundial
and a massive hemisphere on the northern wall.
