Jantar Mantar
In Jairpur, the capital of the Federal State of
Rhajasthan in the north-west of India, you will find one of the most timeless and
culturally independent pieces of architecture in the world. A place where religion and
science are still living in an unsecularized integrity, only comparable with the witnesses
in stone of the archaic cultures.
The Jantar-Mantar (Sanskrit; translated as "Magical Device") was built between 1728
and 1734 based on the drafts of Maharaja Jai Singh II (1693 -1743) in the
very centre of
Jaipur, which he founded 1727 as new capital city of his principality. The
true meaning and purpose of the observatory mostly lies in darkness as does the
biography of Jai Singh II. There are only a few hints and many legends and
interpretations.
The following description relies upon the rare material available at Jaipur
during my visit in 1993,
informations and tales I got at the observatory and personal observations. It
is my individual approach and interpretation based on many years of examination of
Hinduism and ancient cultures.
