Jantar Mantar (Jaipur)
| Jantar Mantar, Jaipur जंतर मंतर, जयपुर |
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| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
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| Location | India |
| Type | Cultural, History |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Reference | 1338 |
| UNESCO region | South Asia |
| Coordinates | 26°55′29″N 75°49′28″E / 26.92472°N 75.82444°ECoordinates: 26°55′29″N 75°49′28″E / 26.92472°N 75.82444°E |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (34th Session) |
 Location of Jantar Mantar, Jaipur in India Rajasthan.
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The Jantar Mantar monument in Jaipur, Rajasthan is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments, built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II , and completed in 1734 CE. It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Located near City Palace and Hawa Mahal of Jaipur, the monument features masonry, stone and brass instruments that were built using astronomy and instrument design principles of ancient Hindu Sanskrit texts. The instruments allow the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. The monument expresses architectural innovations, as well as the coming together of ideas from different religious and social beliefs in 18th century India. The observatory is an example of the Ptolemaic positional astronomy which was shared by many civilizations.
The monument features instruments operating in each of the three main classical celestial coordinate systems: the horizon-zenith local system, the equatorial system and the ecliptic system. The Kapala Yantraprakara is one that works in two systems and allows transformation of the coordinates directly from one system to the other.
The monument was damaged in the 19th century. Early restoration work was undertaken under the supervision of Major Arthur Garrett, a keen amateur astronomer, during his appointment as Assistant State Engineer for the Jaipur District.
The name is derived from jantar (yantra, Sanskrit: यन्त्र, "instrument, machine"), and mantar (from mantrana, Sanskrit: मन्त्रण, "consult, calculate"). Therefore Jantar Mantar literally means 'calculating instrument'.
The observatory consists of nineteen instruments for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking location of major stars as the earth orbits around the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. The instruments are (alphabetical):
The Vrihat Samrat Yantra, which means the "great king of instruments", is 88 feet (27 m) high; its shadow tells the time of day. Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Hindu chhatri (small cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons.
The instruments are in most cases huge structures. The scale to which they have been built has been alleged to increase their accuracy. However, the penumbra of the sun can be as wide as 30 mm, making the 1mm increments of the Samrat Yantra sundial devoid of any practical significance. Additionally, the masons constructing the instruments had insufficient experience with construction of this scale, and subsidence of the foundations has subsequently misaligned them. The samrat yantra, for instance, which is a sundial, can be used to tell the time to an accuracy of about two seconds in Jaipur local time. The Giant Sundial, known as the Samrat Yantra (The Supreme Instrument) is one of the world's largest sundials, standing 27 metres tall. Its shadow moves visibly at 1 mm per second, or roughly a hand's breadth (6 cm) every minute, which can be a profound experience to watch.
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