New Delhi: A Jantar Mantar is an astronomical instrument made of stone which was designed to be used with the naked eye. In India, Raja Jai Singh II, who was keenly interested in astronomy, mathematics and architecture, built five Jantar Mantars. The largest example is the equinoctial sundial belonging to Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar. In this article, we will take a look at the Jantar Mantar in our country.

Maharaja Jai Singh II was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber and he later founded the fortified city of Jaipur. He was a powerful ruler who tried to unite the Rajputana to curb the growing influence of the Marathas at that time. In the early 18th century, he constructed five Jantar Mantars. They are located in Jaipur, New Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. The observatory at Mathura and the fort that protected it were destroyed before 1857.

His observatories........

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