Laghu Samrat Yantra from Jantar Manta, Jaipur

Laghu Samrat Yantra from Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

When we think of our culture, our pride, our rituals the first thing that comes to our mind are our national heritage, our monuments. And if we talk about the monuments Jantar Mantar of Jaipur will definitely come to our mind.Jantar Mantar is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites which was constructed in the 18th century by King Sawai Jai Singh 2. This is the only Jantar Mantar from the five Jantar Mantar's of India which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites.Now many people may be thinking what is the meaning of Jantar Mantar? "Jantar" word is derived from Sanskrit word " Yantra" which means " instrument or machine" and "Mantar" is derived from Sanskrit word "Mantrana" which means "consult or calculate".Therefore, Jantar Mantar literally means "calculating instrument". Why Jantar Mantar is included in the UNESCO World Heritage site because of its features the World's Largest Stone sundial known as "Samrat Yantra" which has an accuracy of up to two seconds.

 Now you guys are looking at the primary instrument of Jantar Mantar, which is known as "Laghu Samrat Yantra" and also known as "small sundial".This is the instrument, which is used for time calculation. The staircase you are looking at is known as the gnomon, which is at an angle of 27°, which represents the standard time of Jaipur. On each side of gnomon, there are two arcs. The left side arc is for the time calculation in the morning and the right side arc is for the time calculation in the afternoon. The scale of the sundial is divided into 6 hrs on each side and the numbers for hours is written in Hindi on each arc. The Hours are further divided into 15 minutes of 4 quarter and each 15 minutes quarter is subdivided into 5 minutes of 3 quarter. With the help of shadow from gnomon, which falls on one of the arcs, we find out the standard time of Jaipur and then adding 37mintues to standard time of Jaipur we can find the standard time of India. The accuracy of this sundial is of 20 seconds. 

‌After almost more than 200 years this wonderful structure knows how to attract visitors. If you are in Jaipur or planning for Jaipur there is no doubt that you do not visit this place and in my opinion, hire a guide for this place if you want to learn about the zodiac signs and other instruments no doubt that you will never regret to have knowledge about this place through them.