A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun.
Standing 27 metres (90 feet) tall and with a base length of 147 feet, the Vrihat Samrat Yantra (The Large Supreme Instrument) is the world’s largest sundial !
It is housed in Jantar Mantar ( literally means 'calculation instrument') in Jaipur, in the state of Rajasthan.
It’s shadow moves visibly at 1 mm per second, or roughly a hand's breadth (6 cm) every minute,
It's face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Hindu chhatri (small cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons.
Used for calculating the time of the day to the exact second using the position of the dial and the shadow it casts from the sun, it has an accuracy of about two seconds. If an astronomical observer knew the time it took a prominent star to transition the sky, they could even use the Yantra to tell the time at night.
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