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 A
unique structure raised in 1724, now lies in the heart of Delhi's
commercial center near Connaught place. This is the Jantar Mantar,
one of several astronomical observatories raised by Maharaja Jai
Singh II of Jaipur.
The various abstract structures within the Jantar Mantar are, in fact,
instruments that were used for keeping track of celestial bodies.
The Jantar Mantar is also not only a timekeeper of celestial bodies: it
also tells a lot about the technological achievements under the
Rajput kings and their endeavor to unravel the mysteries pertaining
to astronomy.
Jai Singh was passionate about two things—the arts and the sciences,
chiefly astronomy. Once, at the court of Muhammad Shah, he found the
Hindu and Muslim astrologers embroiled in a heated argument over certain
planetary positions. It was imperative that the positions be known
accurately to determine an auspicious hour for the emperor to set out on
an expedition.
 Jai
Singh offered to rectify the then available astronomical tables, an
offer that was readily accepted by the Mughal emperor. The result: an
onsite Jantar Mantar in Delhi, an astronomical observatory where
the movements of sun, moon and planets could be observed. Jai Singh's
idea was to create a renaissance in practical astronomy among the Indian
masses and practicing astronomers. However, the lofty ideals of the
Jantar Mantar remained unfulfilled as the country at that time was in
turmoil and the full potential of this observatory was never realized.
To start with, Jai Singh tried to use brass instruments in this
observatory, but soon gave them up because of several inherent flaws.
They were too small, for one thing, their axes were unstable so the
center often got displaced. He next decided to follow the style adopted
by the renowned Arab astronomer, Prince Ulugh Beg, builder of the
famous 15th-century observatory at Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The massive masonry instruments at Samarkand suited Jai Singh's
architectural tastes and promised to be more accurate because of sheer
size. In 1730, Jai Singh sent a mission to the king of Lisbon. On its
return to Jaipur, the mission brought back a telescope and no less a
person than the court astronomer himself, by the name of Xavier de
Silva.
This unique observatory was completed in 1724 and remained operational
only for seven years. Astronomical observations were regularly made here
and these observations were used for drawing up a new set of tables,
later compiled as Zij Muhammad Shahi dedicated to the reigning
monarch. Jai Singh named his observatory Jantar Mantar (actually Yantra
Mantra, yantra for instrument and mantra for formula).
 It
is dominated by a huge sundial known as Samrat Yantra, meant to
measure the time of the day accurate to within half a second and the
declination of the sun and other heavenly bodies. Jai Singh himself
designed this yantra. Other yantras were also meant for the study of
heavenly bodies, plotting their course and predicting eclipses. The two
pillars on the southwest of Mishra Yantra are meant to determine
the shortest and longest days of the year. Interestingly, in December
one pillar completely covers the other with its shadow while in June it
does not cast any such shadow at all.
Spurred on by the completion of the first Jantar Mantar and with a view
to verifying astronomical observations made at Delhi, Jai Singh built
similar, if smaller observatories, at other important Indian cities—Jaipur,
Varanasi, Ujjain, and Mathura. The state of these observatories is bad;
the one in Mathura was demolished, while those in Ujjain and Varanasi
are in state of decay. But the observatory at Jaipur is the best
preserved of all because in 1901 Raja Ram Singh, the then ruler of
Jaipur, refurbished it with the help of a British engineer. All the
masonry instruments were lined with marble so that the graduations on
them are not worn out.
The Jantar Mantars may have fallen into disuse but they remain an
integral part of India's scientific heritage. The Jantar Mantar in Delhi
is often projected in travel books, brochures, on postage stamps and was
the logo of the 1982 Asian Games. The Jantar Mantar shows that the
spirit of scientific enquiry was not dead in India and would have
yielded rich results if only an opportunity had been given to it to
develop. The Jantar Mantar on the Parliament Street remains one of the
most intriguing structures of the capital, one that explodes in a burst
of questions in the mind of the inquisitive tourist.
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