- Yantra Mandir (Delhi)
The Yantra Mandir (literally the 'temple of instruments', and often called the Jantar Mantar), is located in the modern city of
New Delhi ,Delhi . It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built byMaharaja Jai Singh II ofJaipur , from 1724 onwards, and is one of five built by him, as he was given byMughal emperor Muhammad Shah the task of revising the calendar and astronomical tables. [ [http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=019PHO000000394U00044000 Jantar Mantar] British Library] .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 .Other observatories
In all, between 1727 and 1734,
Jai Singh II , built five similar observatories,Yantra Mandir s, in west central India, all known by the same name, thus includes ones atJaipur -Yantra mandir (Jaipur) ,Ujjain andVaranasi [ [http://www.jantarmantar.org/ Introduction] www.jantarmantar.org.]Today the observatory is mainly a tourist attraction, and is significant in the history of astronomy.
Further reading
* [http://www.jantarmantar.org/JmArticles.html Articles on Jantar Mantar]
ee also
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Yantra Mandir References
External links
* [http://www.jantarmantar.org/ Jantar Mantar - The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh II]
* [http://www.josephclarke.net/?p=17 Observations on Jantar Mantar in New Delhi]
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