Then, after seeing photos of the DELHI Jantar Mantar, I have been obsessing about it.
We recently had a girls' outing with our bestest of Delhi buds and headed out for an afternoon of meandering and photo taking.
The Yantra Mantra (literally the 'instrument and formula' and often called the Jantar Mantar), is located in Delhi. It has 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1724 onwards, and is one of five built by him. He was given the task by Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (wait ... I think I learned about him during a Seven Cities tour?) the task of revising the calendar and astronomical tables.
Without further ado, I present ... the structures ::
The Mishra Yantras
The girls climbing to the top
This structure allowed the indication of when it was noon in various cities all over the world. How cool is THAT?
The Samrat Yantras
This massive structure is a giant triangle that is an equal hour sundial. It is 70 feet high, 114 feet long at the base, and 10 feet thick. It has a 128 foot long hypotenuse (a what???) that is parallel to the Earth's axis and points toward the North Pole.
The Jai Prakash Yantra
This structure acted as a reflection of the sky above. Crosswires stretched over the center of the bowl hold a metal ring, and every point in the sky can be reflected onto a corresponding point on the bowl through the ring. It is said that the Jai Prakash Yantra were so accurate, they were used to calibrate the other instruments in the Jantar Mantar.
The Ram Yantra
Looks like the Coliseum!
Used to measure the altitude and azimuth of celestial objects such as the sun and stars, there are TWO of these instruments. They are perfect complements of one another – the solid portions of one Ram Yantra’s floor correspond to open spaces in that of its partner.
The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astrology.
My grandpa would have LOVED this place.
