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Masonry instruments of the Jantar Mantar on the roof of Man Mahal above Man Mandir Ghat, Varanasi
Shared heritageHeritage

Jantar Mantarजंतर मंतर

  • TimingsSunrise–21:00 (UP Tourism; ASI ticket listing 06:00–21:00); some guides say 09:00–16:30
  • Entry₹25 cash / ₹20 online (Indian, SAARC, BIMSTEC) · ₹300 / ₹250 (foreign); under 15 free
  • Time needed45 min–1 h (with the museum)
  • Best timeA sunny morning, when shadows fall sharply on the dials; pair it with the ghats at sunrise

On the terrace of Man Mahal, the palace Raja Man Singh of Amber built above Man Mandir Ghat around 1600, Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur laid out a stone observatory around 1737, one of five he built with Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain and Mathura.

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Visit at a glance

Timings and fees are not confirmed from an official source; check before you go.

Good to know

  • One ASI ticket covers the observatory and the Virtual Experiential Museum inside Man Mahal; paying by card or online is ₹5 cheaper for Indians and ₹50 cheaper for foreigners.
  • Read the ASI board first: it explains what each of the six instruments measured.
  • Children under 15 enter free.
Read the full story

The ASI board on site names six masonry instruments: the Samrat and Laghu Samrat Yantras for time and the hour angle, the Dakshinottara Bhitti for a star's height on the meridian, the Chakra Yantra for declination, the Digamsha Yantra for azimuth and the Nadivalaya, which tells which hemisphere of the sky a body is in. They still stand, though the Astronomical Society of India describes them as in a state of disrepair. Protected by the ASI since 1920, the palace also houses the Virtual Experiential Museum, opened in 2019, on the same ticket.

When Sir Robert Barker visited in 1772 he found the instruments in good condition, though 'the index is wanting'. An engraving by Archibald Campbell of about 1777 records the same stone dials on the palace roof.

Sources: ASI site board 'Man-Mahal and Stone Observatory' (photo on Wikimedia Commons): Man Singh's palace c. 1600, Jai Singh II's observatory, six instruments · Wikipedia — Jantar Mantar, Varanasi (1737; Barker's account of 1772; coordinates) · Astronomical Society of India — Observing at the Jantar Mantar (Delhi and Varanasi instruments in disrepair) · ASI Sarnath Circle — Centrally protected monuments: 'The observatory of Man Sinha', Varanasi (1920); OpenStreetMap way 1268422242 · UP Tourism (Government of Uttar Pradesh) — Man Mahal: VEM with monument ₹25 Indian/SAARC/BIMSTEC, ₹300 foreign, sunrise to 9 PM, under 15 free · ASI Sarnath Circle — Visitor information (₹25 cash / ₹20 online; ₹300 / ₹250 foreign) · Observatory of Man Singh (Man Mahal) — ASI tickets on District (open 06:00–21:00 daily)

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