The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh c16.2

c16.2

It has been related how he discarded brass instruments and pinned his faith on large immoveable masonry instruments; and some of these he claims to have devised himself. As has already been pointed out (pages 12, 13), the basic idea was not peculiar to Jai Singh. The Arab, Persian and Tartar astronomers had constructed huge instruments; and they had formulated the notion, that the only bar to accuracy of observation was the limit imposed by circumstances on the size of the instruments. Jai Singh was prepared to carry out the idea, on which this proposition is based, to, what he thought, a reasonable extent.