Chandernagore to Jaipur - An Astronomical Contact
The 17th and 18th centuries saw significant developments and
increase in activities in terms of astronomy, not only in the West, but also in
China, Japan, and South Asia. There were also noteworthy cross-cultural contacts
that facilitated the transfer of knowledge and technologies, in which Jesuit
missionaries played an important role. In this case, an interesting contact not
just connects two individuals, but also the cities where they lived- Jaipur and
Chandernagore.
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| Chandernagore, Samuel Davis, 1757–1819 | Google Arts & Culture |
Jesuit scholars had for a long time been consistently migrating to India with scholarly knowledge on astronomy. Settling in different towns throughout South and Southeast Asia and China, they got down to noting down observations and exchanging them with each other. The Jesuits of Chandernagore and Pondicherry actively engaged in recording celestial movements.
Pere Claude Stanisla Boudier (1686-1757) was on a mission in
Chandernagore, where he also began collecting astronomical data around 1730. He
was even comparing meridians with a fellow Jesuit leading French astronomer
stationed in Beijing by the name of Pere Antoine Gaubil.
In 1734, Boudier received an invitation from Jai Singh. The
Raja was engaged heavily in supervising and patronizing astronomical studies,
sending missions as far as Lisbon in search of knowledge in his area of
interest, even inviting French Jesuits like Joseph du Bois to translate and
introduce European tables. However, soon discrepancies appeared in the
collected data and the translations of European tables. Europeans in Jaipur, unable to figure out the solution, recommended Boudier of Chandernagore. Jai Singh
initially addressed a set of questions to the Jesuits in the French settlement.
However, Boudier saw it as a great means of gaining closeness and potential
patronage from a powerful indigenous ruler.
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| Map of Jaipur in the early 19th century, City Palace Museum | Jaipur World Heritage |
With his large astronomical instruments, Boudier and his associate Pons embarked on a journey to Jaipur from Chandernagore on January 6, 1734. They measured latitudes and longitudes, altitudes of stars and eclipses, and determined the longitude of 63 en route cities. They even stopped at the Delhi Jantar Mantar on their way. On reaching Jaipur, Boudier confirmed the errors that the Raja had addressed. To him, the Raja was among the most accomplished astronomers and scholars among Indians.
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| The Observatory At Delhi (Jantar Mantar) - Thomas Daniell |
Boudier returned to his mission in Chandernagore more than a year later in 1736. Even though his results were far from accurate, and didn’t help Jai Singh in the long run, calling it a failure would be a great disservice. For not only was it one of many scientific interactions between the East and the West, the reports also served as the basis for the production of maps of North India by James Rennel in 1776. In addition, while on their journey on the meandering Hooghly from Chandernagore to Cossimbazar, they were able to correct a major cartographic error- Calcutta, which was earlier thought to be more eastwards than Chandernagore, turned out more westwards.
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