In 1728, Sawai Jai Singh II, rajah of Jaipur, dispatched his emissaries across the globe to gather the most accurate astronomical data possible.

When they returned, Jai Singh ordered the construction of the original Jantar Mantar complex in New Delhi, a monumental astronomical observatory constructed entirely out of stone and based on the astronomical tables of the French mathematician Phillipe de la Hire. In all Sawai Jai Singh built a total of five observatories, with the largest being this later construction of the Jantar Mantar in his hometown of Jaipur.

Among the stone instruments Jai Singh constructed was the Samrat Yantra, a 73-foot-tall sundial. Though indistinguishable in design from other sundials of the day, it was far and away the most accurate. Its two-second interval markings are more precise than even de la Hire's table. The smaller but older (and pink) version of the Jantar Mantar can be seen in New Delhi.

In 2011, the 31-meter Reloj Solar Multicaja-Zaragoza was completed in Spain, and claimed the title of largest sundial in the world.