Jantar Mantar (Vedh Shala)

The Vedh Shala observatory stands as one of five Jantar Mantars built across India by Maharaja Jai Singh II in the eighteenth century. Its stone instruments were designed to track eclipses, calculate local time, and measure the declination of the sun, stars, and planets. Ujjain's position on the Tropic of Cancer gives the site added significance for Hindu astronomers, who regard the city as a reference point for astronomical calculations. The observatory remains functional and open to visitors today.