Marvellously magnificent and steeped in mystique, Jantar Mantar evokes a strong sense of cultural pride and awe. The massive masonry structures in the sprawling grounds of New Delhi or the smaller one tucked at the rooftop level of the Mana Mahala Varanasi are intriguing and bemusing.
As tourists, we are frequently led around these tall structures, and our curiosity is piqued. However, except for spinning tales about historical curiosities, most tourist guides are unaware of the workings of these devices. Our hunger to make sense of what these structures are, why where they were built, or how they work mostly remains unfulfilled. We return to the hustle and bustle of daily life, and the memories of these visits fade yet remain like a sepia portrait.
Understanding Jantar Mantar: Observatories of Jai Singh
There is indeed scholarly work, the celebrated Sawai Jai Singh and His Observatories by VN Sharma and the magnificent Stone Observatories in India by Prahlad Singh. Also, there is a beautiful and passionately written book, Jantar Mantar, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh’s Observatory in Delhi (now out of print) by Anisha Shekhar Mukherji. These provide detailed explanations of the observatories and technical details; however, they are inaccessible for most of us unfamiliar with intricate positional astronomy.
Understanding Jantar Mantar: Observatories of Jai Singh with five popup models, authored by VSS Sastry and published by the Ankur Hobby Centre, Ahmedabad (ankurhobby@yahoo.com), is a unique DIY kit that fills a void. The book’s lucid descriptions of the astronomical instruments, crafted by the great Raja Sawai Jai Singh (1688–1743) of Jantar Mantar, empower the reader and ignite a sense of wonderment.
Popup book
The popup book by VSS Sastri enables us to create some of the instruments contained in the Jantar Mantars, Dakshinottara Bhitti, Nadivalaya, Shasthansa Yantra, and Samrāt Yantra, as well as comprehend how these simple celestial instruments operate. It is an excellent device in instructors’ hands for inspiring young pupils to learn the fundamentals of astronomy and an edutainment toy in the hands of a curious youngster. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for students and general readers. Reading about Jantar Mantar’s instruments, we learn practical observational astronomy, fundamental concepts in astronomy, and how the instruments work.
Jantar Mantar – a medieval marvel
Between 1724 and 1730, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur built five astronomical observatories, which he named ‘Jantra’, meaning ‘yantra (instrument)’ in the local dialect.
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II
The strange-looking massive buildings crafted from stone and marble to predict the positions of nakshatras, planets, and celestial events such as eclipses and conjunctions were considered ‘magical’, so ‘Mantra’ (calculation/ magical charm) was suffixed by the general population. Hence, they were variously known as Yantra Mandir, Yantra Mantra, and Jantar Mantar.
Maraharaja Jai Singh-II
The account of how Jai Singh-II, a.k.a Jayasimha, the 30th Kachwaha Rajput monarch of Amber and creator of Jaipur (Jayapura in Sanskrit), received the ceremonial title ‘Sawai’ is intriguing. Since Akbar’s rule in the 16th century, the Kachchwas had pledged their loyalty to the Mughal Emperors. They remained vassals, participating in military expeditions and receiving security and financial assistance.
According to folklore, Jai Singh, a youngster, took over Amber, the Kachchwa clan’s royal seat, after his father, Bishan Singh, died about 1699-1700. When Jai Singh took over, the kingdom was desolate. He could not gather the needed troops and was summoned to Delhi by Aurangazeb. Greeting Jai Singh, Aurangzeb extended his arms and sought an explanation for the delay in gathering warriors to fight the Marathas in the Deccan. Jai Singh, aged 15, said that the Emperor’s outstretched hand suggested that he would defend Jai Singh and his realm. Impressed by a young man’s bold response, Aurangzeb bestowed the title of Sawai, which means one and a quarter times superior to everyone.
Another story claims that Aurangazeb, furious at the delay in mobilising men, demoted Jai Singh to commanding 500 troops and cut his salary in half. Jai Singh rushed to Khelna to avoid angering the Emperor, where the Mughals besieged a Maratha fort. Jai Singh bravely captured the fort for the Mughal Army to delight the Emperor, and Aurangazeb named him ‘Sawai’ for his bravery.
Jai Singh’s fortunes fluctuated after Aurangazeb’s death. Ultimately, in 1719, his patron and great-grandson of Aurangazeb, Muhammad Shah, became Emperor, tipping the scales in his favour. In 1721, Sawai Jai Singh became Sarmad-i-Rajabae Hind, Mughal provincial governor, again becoming a high official in the Mughal officialdom.
Interest in astronomy
His interest in astronomy developed in 1706 when he was seventeen and working as Malwa’s deputy governor under Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. His guru, Jagannātha Samrāt, an avid astronomer and panchang computer, had been his instructor since 1702. His library collection includes thirteen manuscripts of classic astronomical texts transcribed by two scribes between 1706 and 1707.
Tutored by Hindu pandits, his early schooling was exclusively based on the Hindu school of astronomy, based on which he wrote Suryasiddhanthasaravichara, a treatise dedicated to calculating the latitude and longitude of the Sun, Moon, lunar nodes, and planets.
It is reported that as a young man, he discovered a means to calculate the sine of a minute. However, Ulugh Beg’s finest sine table could only identify the sine of one degree. Soon, his focus shifted to enhancing ancient Indian methods by incorporating global astronomical advances.
In 1716, he got the first Persian book for his collection, Turtya Jantra, from Sheikh Abdu’llah, and he became interested in Persian-Arabic school astronomy, acquiring books and patronising its experts. In 1725, he began collecting Persian and Arabic astrological manuscripts, including Nasir al-Din’s recension of Ptolemy’s Almagest, Theodosius Spherics, Eculid’s Elements, and Ulugh Beg’s Zij-i Sultani. He planned to convert all of these writings into Sanskrit. His collection comprised manuscripts of Hindu astronomy and Arabic and Persian writings.
Nonetheless, Jai Singh discovered that these predictions, be they Hindu or Islamic, were inconsistent with the observations. In the preface to the Zij-i-Muhammad Shahi, Jai Singh states that calculating the positions of the stars using commonly used tables, such as Sayyid Gurgani’s new tables, Hindu books, and European tables, frequently yields vastly different results than those obtained through observations. For example, the appearance of the new moon did not match the observation.
When Jai Singh chose to establish his observatories, other notable observatories were erected across Europe, notably the Tycho Brahe observatory in 1576, the Royal Observatory of Paris in about 1672, and the Royal Observatory of Greenwich in 1675.
Construction of Jantar Mantar
Sawai Jai Singh II noted a significant divergence between theoretical estimates using the old Hindu panchang or the Persian Zij tables and actual observations of celestial bodies. Harvest cycles and religious festivals were linked to the astronomical alignments. In the mediaeval era, Hindu and Islamic civilisations strongly believed in astrology and astrological omens. The initiation of architectural projects such as the construction of new cities, appointing a time for political negotiations or going to war, and all such momentous events of the empire were dependent on the correct prediction of the new moon, nakshatra position, eclipses, and the rising and setting of the Sun and planets. Thus, the pursuit of astronomy had ramifications for pure knowledge and statecraft. Jai Singh urged the Emperor to update the astronomical tables that were in use. Muhammad Shah immediately consented to constructing a new observatory unlike any other in the Indian subcontinent.
Sawai Jai Singh began building the first Jantar Mantar on the outskirts of Shahjahanabad. During Jai Singh’s reign, several wooden and brass devices were used to track the movement of celestial bodies. However, the description of the instruments indicates they were modest in size, with the lowest count of measuring coordinates being little more than a fraction of a degree. Jai Singh initially attempted to refine his observations by building enormous brass equipment such as astrolabes, quadrants, and sextants. In fact, the first few instruments in the Delhi Jantar Mantar were made of metal. However, metal and wood distorted in India’s hot and humid atmosphere. Furthermore, they were too small to split into minute calibrations or too heavy and bulky for practical measurements.
Jai Singh was unsatisfied with such instruments and, inspired by Ulugh Beg, devised the bold concept of making gigantic instruments out of brick and mortar to improve accuracy. Ultimately, Jai Singh invented the seven masonry instruments constructed in Delhi. The observatory was probably finished in 1724 or 1725. This was followed by the building of the Mathura observatory in 1723, the Jaipur observatory from 1728 to 1735, the Varanasi observatory in 1730, and Ujjain about 1730.
Jantar Mantar
The Jantar Mantar constructions contain various spectacular devices designed to accomplish a specific astronomical task. Take the 27-metre-tall Samrāt Yantra, the tallest sundial in the world, found in Delhi. It tells time with a two-second precision. In addition to Delhi, miniature Samrāt Yantra (Equinoctial sundial) is found at Jaipur, Ujjain and Varanasi. The Dakshinottara Bhitti (north-south wall) at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura is used to measure ‘meridian altitude’, that is, the angle of a celestial object, like the Sun, at local noon.
Astronomers can track the passage of celestial bodies, in particular, determine the time and location when they transited the zenith, using the Jaiprakash Yantra, which resembles two cups like a hollowed-out hemisphere connected by wires. This device is found in Delhi and Jaipur. The position of stars and planets in the zodiac sign is observed using the Rashivalaya yantra found in Jaipur. Dhuruvadarshaka Pattika, an instrument that indicates the Dhruva, or the north pole of the celestial sphere, was built at Jaipur. Nadivalaya, equinoctial dial, is at Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura. Palabha, the horizontal sundial, is at Jaipur and Ujjain, while Agra (amplitude instrument) is at Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura and Jaipur. Rama Yantra (Delhi and Jaipur), Rasi Valaya (Jaipur), Sara Yantra (Celestial latitude dial) Jaipur, Digamsa (Azimuth circle) Jaipur, Ujjain and Varanasi, Kapala (hemispherical dial) Jaipur, Sasthamsa (60 deg meridian chamber) Delhi and Jaipur are some of the other instruments designed by Jai Singh and his astronomers. The Misra Yantra, added by his son, Sawai Madho Singh, thirty years after its original construction, tracks the passing of time to ascertain the precise date of Uttarayan, the Northern Hemisphere’s longest evening, Dakshinayan, The Northern Hemisphere’s longest day and the days when day and night are equal are known as Vishu. While the metal instruments did not meet Jai Singh’s expectations, the masonry devices provided an accuracy of roughly 3 arc minutes, with some as accurate as 1 arc minute – the absolute limit of naked-eye observations.
Stagnation
India has enjoyed vibrant astronomy research since Aryabhata (~500 CE), with numerous scholars disputing and expanding on earlier works. During the 14th and 15th centuries, astronomers such as Bhaskara II, Mahadeva (~1316), Padmanabha (~1398), Makaranda (~1478), Kesava II (1496), Ganesa Daivajna (~1520), and Nityananda (~1628/1639) had a significant impact in northern India. Padmanabha authored Yantrachitamani, a book on astronomical instruments. Kesava was a superb observer who utilised his observations to produce his Grahakautuka, and his son Ganesa Daivajna authored numerous writings on astronomy, including his highly popular Grahalaghava. An inventory of Jai Sing’s library indicated he had access to most of this material.
Nonetheless, by the time of Kamalakara (~1658), most astronomers believed in the supremacy of ancient texts, particularly Surya Siddhanta, which was said to have been revealed to Maya by the Sun God Surya himself. Not only that, but astronomers then held that any concept not based on Surya Siddhanta is false; for example, when the observation did not match the timing of the occurrence of Amavasya, or new moon, Kamalakara, argued that the meaning of ‘amavasya’ is not the time of the conjunction of the Moon and the Sun, as it should be, but a calculated result based on Surya Siddhantha. He refused to assign ‘astronomical’ significance to ‘Amavasya’. Instead, he considered it a nominal computational result obtained from the formulae found in Surya Siddhanta. Nityananda’s Siddhanthasindhu, published in 1639, was the most popular astronomical work of the period. Yet, Nityananda (~1628/1639) used a fable to conceal facts borrowed from Islamic astronomy, claiming that Surya, the sun god, revealed them to Bhaskara when he was born in the Yavana country (Romaka) under the curse of Lord Brahma. Most astronomers dared not rely on their statements on sense-based evidence or observation. The emergence of such uncritical faith in ancient writings slowed the advancement of logical thought and science.
In sharp contrast, what is now known as the ‘nila school’ or the ‘Kerala School of Mathematics and Astronomy’, a guru-shisha (teacher-disciple) tradition founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Tirur, which included among its members: Parameshvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, and Achyuta Panikkar that flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries in Southern India. A hundred years before Tycho Brahe introduced his model, Neelakanta Somayaji revised old cosmic models. He developed a partial heliocentric model based on years of meticulous observations. Sawai Jai Singh’s venture was an effort to shake astronomy from its slumber, infuse it with new vigour based on new observations and repair Surya Siddhantha using accurate tables.
Cosmopolitan project
After several years of diligent construction, the Delhi observatory was finished in 1724, when the maharaja was 34. Every day for the following seven years, skilled astronomers charted the positions of the Sun, Moon, and other celestial objects in the sky to create astronomical tables. He gathered the findings into three manuals, which he titled Zij-i-Muhammad Shahi and presented to the Emperor. In addition to the Zij, Jagannātha Samrāt’s Samarasiddhanthaakaustubha includes bijas or adjustments provided by Jai Singh in 1726 to rectify Surya Siddhantha’s calculations. The zij and bijas were used to calculate the Hindu panchang and Islamic calendar and fix dates for religious festivals.
Jai Singh’s dream was far greater than the five Jantar Mantars that were eventually completed. He intended to establish a network of hundreds of Jantar Mantar throughout the Moghal empire to collect observational data, which would then be used to refine predictions. With this high aim, Jai Singh embraced cosmopolitanism. Abu Al-Khair was his principal assistant throughout the Zij-i-Muhammad Shah’s preparation. Along with Hindu Jyotish like Jagannātha Samrāt, Kevalarama, Nayansukha Upadhyaya, Krparena, and Hari Lal Misra Yassasgra, Arabic and Persian academics like Dayanat Khan and Shaykh Asad Allah contributed to the synthesis of Jantar Mantar observations.
Jai Singh learnt about European innovations from missionaries, travellers, and merchants. In 1727, Jai Singh sent a team to Portugal to obtain the astronomical tables used in Portugal and learn about ancient and modern astronomy devices. The team, led by Emmanuel de Figueiredo, included Pedro Ji, a Catholic and Moghal by origin and Sheikh Asad’ullah Nujūmī. No Hindu pandit was accompanied for fear of losing one’s caste by crossing the seas. In 1731, the delegation returned with tables by Phillipe de la Hire and John Flamsteed, which Jai Singh found inaccurate, just like the Hindu or Islamic tables.
To understand the methods used in preparing the European tables, he contacted Father Pons and Father Boudier, who were stationed at the French Jesuit mission in Chandernagore, Bengal, to help him understand the progress in European astronomy. Later, he recruited Jesuit astronomers from Goa, such as Andreas Strobl and Anton Gabelsperger, to the Jaipur observatory. He learnt about the new telescope and used it to study celestial objects. However, the observational precision of the telescope at the time was far lower than what he achieved with his brick observatory. However, craftsmen from his workshop produced telescopes based on the European version.
Jai Singh believed that greater astronomical results depended on observations from several locations worldwide. According to Jagannātha Samrāt, Jai Singh sought observations from “in every country, in the east, south, west, and north” to polish the tables he was making. He sent Muhammad Sharif, a Muslim astronomer, to a European country to make observations. This team visited the island of “Mahaila” and determined its latitude to be 4°12 South. They could examine the southern stars and construct a rough sketch of the southern constellations, which were not visible in Jaipur or Delhi.
One of the primary goals of this astronomical effort was to consolidate the growth of astronomy in his time, whether Sanskritic, Central-Asian, or European. Second, the plan was to create new devices to increase measurement precision. Both aims were subservient to the broader goal of compiling an accurate collection of astronomical tables to correctly anticipate eclipses and implement substantial calendar changes.
The Taj Mahal is a monument of love and an ode to the beloved deceased queen; so is Jantar Mantar, a memorial to the love of astronomy and an ode to reviving rationality and reform of traditions.