Inside Jantar Mantar: Ancient Science and Precision 2026

On our visit to Jaipur, we went to Jantar Mantar, which is a historical observatory built in 1734. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has the largest sundial in the world, called Samrat Yantra. The word Jantar Mantar comes from Sanskrit, where jantar means instrument and mantar means calculation. In India, there are five Jantar Mantars spread across cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura, all built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh II.

At Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar, the guide explained everything so clearly that we understood the concepts perfectly. We were surprised to learn that the Samrat Yantra, which includes a small sundial and a large sundial called the Laghu Samrat Yantra and the Vrihat Samrat Yantra, provides local time with an accuracy of two seconds. There were many other yantras as well, such as the Digamsa Yantra, Jai Prakash Yantra, Narivalaya Yantra, and Ram Yantra, each used for different astronomical calculations. Apart from calculating time, celestial movement, and zodiac signs. This marvellous instrument also shows how intelligent the people of India were in earlier times. Additionally, we were mesmerised by the unique mix of intricate carvings, delicate decorations, and captivating geometry on the instruments.

Overall, visiting Jantar Mantar in Jaipur was extremely fascinating. With this fun and educational journey, we learnt how intelligent Sawai Jai Singh II was and how his knowledge helped people across North India. It was curious and thrilling to know that before modern technology, nature itself helped people achieve so much.

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