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Jantar Mantar is an amazing Astronomical Observatory situated in New Delhi. It was constructed in the year 1724 by Jai Singh II, the Maharaja of Jaipur. It is located near the Connaught Place in New Delhi.
According to a legend, there is a reason behind the construction of Jantar Mantar. It is said that Maharaja Jai Singh was an astronomy enthusiast. This interest of his made him find a solution behind the endless arguments that took place between the Hindus and Muslims over the positioning of heavenly planets. And the solution was to form an observatory called Jantar Mantar that would determine the correct planetary positioning. This solution of Maharja Jai Singh actually worked at that time since the observatory was able to give genuine observations that were entirely fact based and thus correct to some extent.
In earlier days all instruments used for observation were of brass. But later it was realized that brass was responsible for bringing in some flaws in the observation. This realization brought about some very useful changes in the make of Jantar Mantar.
Tourists can visit Jantar Mantar daily from sunrise to sunset. Rregular bus services are available from all parts of the city. Shopaholics have ample opportunities to try their hands at Janpath Market located near Jantar Mantar. Here you can collect some great souvenirs to take back home.
Jantar Mantar looks spectacularly in contrast with the high tech modern buildings that surround it. Jantar Mantar is not only situated in New Delhi, there are similar observatories located in Varanasi, Ujjain, Jaipur, and Mathura.
The Jantar Mantar is said to hold four major instruments or the yantras. These yantras include Samrat, Jaiprakash, Ram, and Misra. These observatory instruments are used to keep the track of celestial bodies. Jantar Mantar as a whole can be considered as a time keeper of all the celestial bodies. These types of observatories are of historical importance as they carry a legend behind the greatness of the Indian scientific heritage.
Despite being really old, the instruments at the Jantar Mantar observatory offer a promising grandeur. This also reminds of the achievements that took place under the Rajput reign.
Jantar Mantar remains open daily from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm
