The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh c10.33

c10.33

The descriptions given by Hunter and Thorn seem to indicate that there was, a century ago, only one Jai Prakāś. Hunter's words are: “Between these two buildings (i.e., the Rām Yantra), and the great equatorial dial is an instrument called Shamlah. It is a concave hemispherical surface, formed of mason work, to represent the interior hemisphere of the heavens. It is divided by six ribs of solid work and as many hollow places; the edges of which represent meridians at the distance of fifteen degrees from one another. The diameter of the hemisphere is twenty-seven feet five inches.” Thorn uses the same phraseology. The old drawings and photographs are ambiguous on this point, but they show that the original structure has been altered considerably. Probably there were two complementary instruments originally, but one of them had disappeared.