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Located on the banks of the River Ganges in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, Varanasi is one of the eminent religious cities in India. Not only Indians, foreigners too visit this city in huge numbers. Apart from the temples and ghats, the city has much more to offer. There are many sightseeing spots in the city and few tourist attractions nearby the city. The Jantar Mantar, Varanasi is one such famous tourist site in Varanasi. Established in 1737 by the Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh, this is a popular lookout in Varanasi and perhaps was the first observatory in Varanasi. Jai Singh appreciated science and technology to a great extent. His ardent interest in modern technology is clearly reflected when before the beginning of the construction of the Jantar Mantar, Varanasi, he sent scholars and educationists to the foreign countries to learn more about the modern observatories. It was actually constructed for various astronomical purposes like to measure the Sun’s declination, the stars’ declination, the local time, altitude and the planets. Jantar Mantar, Varanasi was built with the aim of ascertaining the different eclipses. The Meridian Pass Time, duration of day and night, and the location of the Pole Star could also be determined. The position of the Zodiac and the constellation of other stars could be detected from this observatory. The Jantar Mantar, Varanasi features many stone devices to indicate and read the speed and the motion of the stars and other planets. There are other smaller and greater exclusive structures which are meant to perform as astronomical instruments. The Jantar Mantar, Varanasi was actually built on the lines of the observatories of Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain and Mathura. Some of the most important yantras or tools found in Jantar Mantar are Digansha Yantra, Dhruva Yantra, Ram Yantra, Krantivritta Yantra, Samrat Yantra, Disha Yantra and Prakash Yantra.
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