Exploring the Astronomical Instruments at Jantar Mantar, A UNESCO World Heritage Site

        We visited Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of the largest stone sundial (vrihat samrat yantra). This 290+ year-old observatory houses 14 huge, stone/marble/bronze-made astronomical instruments which function to tell the time, determine the movements of the planets and point the locations of heavenly bodies. For more information, just take a peek at this site. I don't have much time and ability to go on explaining deep astronomical facts, much more the structures labeled in Hindi terms. Oh, by the way, as I did my research, I learned that the movie titled "The Fall" was filmed here.

        It was lunchtime and the heat was unbearable, so after swiftly roaming around the site, I stayed in the grassy, shaded area near the entrance while letting my companions (JL & Tin) explore the instruments. There I got  to see chipmunks, had the opportunity to talk with strangers and enjoyed seeing people from afar. I was fascinated with different kinds of locals I met. One was a student who wore a bright orange saree whom I learned  to have come from Punjab and just got here due to a scheduled exam. Another was a couple with a small baby with golden accessories. A tourist guide-businessman who used to sell jewelries was also staying in the same area. He told me about his caste background and introduced me to his friends who were guides as well. Since the observatory also functions as a horoscope reference for some, they asked me if I believe in it and wanted me to give them answers when I said I didn't (click here if you're curious to know why). 

The tallest sundial, an instrument known to tell the time in an accuracy of two seconds,
 includes an observatory on its top. 

Unnatamsa, an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object in the sky, sat near
the entrance and the grassy area where I stayed. 

Maharajah Jai Singh started to build observatories in
different parts of the country when he was tasked to rectify the calendar.
The construction in Jaipur started in 1727.  

Krantiwritta Yantra, a tool used to measure celestial latitude and longitude.

Chipmunks freely roam around the area. 

View from afar. 

JL and Tin were able to roam around while listening to the audio guide. 

The entrance area.

I've got two shaky clips too :)


       


        Jantar Mantar's official site provided this notable fact: "Early Greek and Persian observatories contained elements that Jai Singh incorporated into his designs, but the instruments of the Jantar Mantar are more complex, or at a much greater scale than any that had come before, and in certain instances, are completely unique in design and function."