Jantar Mantar is a fascinating astronomical observatory and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Indian city of Jaipur, famous for being home to the world’s largest sundial. The site is a series of giant astronomical instruments, known for their unique architecture and scientific significance, which together make up one of the largest and most elaborate observatories ever created. The observatory was built in the 18th century by the Rajput ruler, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, and consists of several astronomical instruments, such as sundials, sextants and other instruments used for observing the movements of the sun, moon and stars.
As a scholar in physics, mathematics and astronomy, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II also constructed four further observatories around India: Mathura, Delhi, Ujjain and Varanasi. The instruments are built on a large scale, with some of them being the largest of their kind in the world - including the Vrihat Smarat Yantra sundial, which provides very precise measurements of time, accurate to two seconds.
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