India Guide
Rajasthan
Jantar Mantar
Address: Immediately south of the City Palace, Pink City
Price: Rs10, camera Rs50, video Rs100; guide service Rs100–150
Opening time: Daily 9am–4.30pm
The remarkable Jantar Mantar consists of a large grassy enclosure containing eighteen huge stone astronomical measuring devices constructed between 1728 and 1734 at the behest of the star-crazed Jai Singh. Many were his own invention, and their strange, abstract shapes lend the place the look of a weirdly futuristic sculpture park. This was one of five identically named observatories created across North India by Jai Singh, including one in Delhi (see Jantar Mantar, Delhi. His motivation was astrological rather than astronomical; he aimed to more accurately map events in the heavens in order to more precisely predict their effects on earth.
The observatory was able to identify the position and movement of stars and planets, tell the time and even predict the intensity of the monsoon. The time calculated is unique to Jaipur, between ten and forty-one minutes (depending on the time of year) behind Indian standard time. Probably the most impressive of the observatory's constructions is the 27-metre-high sundial, the Samrat Yantra, which can calculate the time to within two seconds. A more original device, the Jaiprakash Yantra, consists of two hemispheres laid in the ground, each composed of six curving marble slabs with a suspended ring in the centre, whose shadow marks the day, time and zodiac symbol – vital for the calculation of auspicious days for marriage.