Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur

December 1969 Issue

Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur

Maharajah Jai Singh II really wanted to keep track of all things heavenly. The site of May’s photo, the Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur, India, is one of five astronomical facilities which he had built during his reign, 1699-1743.

Jantar mantar means “calculation instrument,” and May’s photo depicts one of the 14 stone-and-marble devices that used geometry in astronomical observations. It is the Narivalaya Yantra, an equatorial sundial.

Sixty-eight readers sent in correct answers, and SUSAN ROSENZWEIG of Owings Mills, Maryland, won the drawing. We thank Marilyn Santiago of Port Angeles, Washington, for contributing the photo.