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The day used by ancient Indian astronomers began at sunrise at the prime meridian of Ujjain, [2] and was divided into smaller time units in the following manner: [3] Time that is measurable is that which is in common use, beginning with the prāṇa (or, the time span of one breath). The pala contains six prāṇas.
Jantar Mantar or Vedh Shala is located in the holy city of New Ujjain. It is an observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1725 which consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. The observatory is one of the five observatories built by Maharaja Jai Singh II when he was governor of Ujjain. [1] [2] [3]
The prime meridian of the Moon lies directly in the middle of the face of the Moon visible from Earth and passes near the crater Bruce. The prime meridian of Mars was established in 1971 [35] and passes through the center of the crater Airy-0, although it is fixed by the longitude of the Viking 1 lander, which is defined to be 47.95137°W. [36]
Longitudes were referred to a prime meridian passing through Avantī, the modern Ujjain. Positions relative to this meridian were expressed in terms of length or time differences, but degrees were not used in India at this time. It is not clear whether this method was put into practice.
Since the fourth century BC, Ujjain has enjoyed the reputation of being India's Greenwich, [32] as the Prime Meridian of the Hindu geographers. The observatory built by Jai Singh II is one of the four such observatories in India and features ancient astronomical devices.
The Iranian geographers Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī and Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi set the Prime Meridian of their maps at Ujjain, a centre of Indian astronomy. [15] In the early 11th century, the Persian geographer Abu Rayhan Biruni visited India and studied the country's geography extensively. [6]
Ujjain continues to be an important place of pilgrimage for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Shaktas. [7] [8] Bathing in the holy Shipra river of Ujjain liberates one from sins. Therefore, Ujjain is also called the 'Mokshadayini city'. The name of this river is taken among the holy rivers like Kaveri, Narmada, Godavari and Krishna.
Most medieval Muslim geographers continued to use al-Khwarizmi's prime meridian. [4]: 188 Other prime meridians used were set by Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī and Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi at Ujjain, a centre of Indian astronomy, and by another anonymous writer at Basra. [4]: 189