<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Jantar Mantar</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">Weeks after the<strong> Delhi High Court asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)</strong> to file a status report on the functionality of instruments at Jantar Mantar, several visitors expressed their displeasure at the lack of facilities in the 299­ year­ old observatory.</li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>About&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">In the early <strong>18th century, Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur constructed five Jantar Mantars in total, in New Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi</strong>; they were completed <strong>between 1724 and 1735.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">It includes a set of some 20 main fixed instruments.&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-indent-1">They are monumental examples in masonry of known instruments but which in many cases have specific characteristics of their own.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The instruments enable for naked-eye observation of astronomical positions. The observatory is an example of <strong>Ptolemaic positional astronomy</strong>, which was widely used.</li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>Jantar Mantar, Jaipur&nbsp;</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">The monument was completed in <strong>1734.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">It features the world’s largest stone sundial, and is a <strong>UNESCO World Heritage site.&nbsp;</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">The instruments allow the <strong>observation of astronomical positions</strong> with the naked eye.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The observatory is an example of <strong>Ptolemaic positional astronomy which was shared by many civilizations.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">The Jantar have <strong>Samrat Yantra, Jai Prakash, Ram Yantra and Niyati Chakra; </strong>each of which are used for various astronomical calculations.&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">It was designated a <strong>monument of national importance in 1968.</strong></li></ul><h3><br></h3><h3><strong>Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1693-1744):</strong></h3><ul><li class="ql-indent-1">He was a great warrior and astronomer. He came to power at the age of II on the death of his father <strong>Maharaja Bishan Singh.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1">He was feudatory of the<strong> Mughals and Aurangazab conferred the title of Sawai to Jai Singh,</strong> meaning one and a quarter, a title that all of Jai Singh’s descendants kept.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">He was trained by the best teachers and scholars in art, science, philosophy and military affairs.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Jai Sing’s lineage can be traced back to the Kucchwaha Rajput clan who came to power in the 12th century.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">He built Astronomy Observatories at <strong>Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura known as the Jantar Mantar.</strong></li><li class="ql-indent-1"><strong>Jaipur</strong> gets its name from him.</li></ul><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong>PRELIMS NOTES:</strong><a href="https://sunyaias.in/notes/prelims-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a></h1>