The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh c10.61

c10.61

Jai Singh tells us ⁶ that he himself represented the question of preparing new tables, to the Emperor, who encouraged him to proceed. “To accomplish the exalted command he had received, he (Jai Singh) bound the girdle of resolution about the loins of his soul, and built here (at Delhi) several of the instruments of an observatory.” This seems to indicate that the construction was started *after* Muhammad Shāh ascended the throne. Also, Jai Singh himself tells us that seven years were spent in preparing the tables. In 1719 Jai Singh was appointed the Emperor’s lieutenant at Agra. Jagannāth records observations made at Delhi in A.D. 1729. The facts seem to point to 1724 as about the date of the founding of the Delhi Observatory.