Story
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber, founder of Jaipur, was a keen astronomer. He built five large masonry observatories — the Jantar Mantars — at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura to make precise naked-eye observations.
Key contributions
- Built giant instruments such as the Samrat Yantra, a sundial accurate to about two seconds
- Prepared new astronomical tables (Zij-i Muhammad Shahi)
- The Jaipur Jantar Mantar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site