The Legend of Sawai Jai Singh II

There are five Jantar Mantars in India built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The first four were experimental and the fifth Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is the most elaborate one with the biggest collection of instruments. They also depict the horoscope.

The Samrat Yantra is the largest sundial in the world. It measures time to an impressive precision of two seconds. The main function of this yantra is to indicate the local time. In the Samrat Yantra, the shadow wall throws a shadow on the small marble markings which tells us the precise time of the city. It is an impressive example of ancient astronomical technology and continues to attract visitors to Jantar Mantar in Jaipur.

Jai Prakash Yantra is an intriguing instrument designed by the Maharaja himself. It consists of two inverted marble bowls and was used for verifying the readings of other instruments. These two marble bowls represent the celestial hemispheres turned upside down. A wire suspended at the level of the rim of the bowls holds a metal plate with a circular opening directly over the centre of the bowls, which points to a dot that depicts a newborn child’s zodiac sign.

There are many other instruments or yantras present in the Jantar Mantar that tell us more about the ancient studies of celestial bodies and time. They also tell us about our ancestor’s intelligence and interest in astrology.

Writen By Amanna, Kanan, Prannya & Shobhit (Delhi Public School, Mohali).

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