Ghatika Yantra-The Ancient Indian Water Clock

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We all must have read about the sun dial which were used in ancient India to measure the time, but what if there is no sun, such as on a cloudy day. Ancient Indians devised a different type of clock, one that is based on water, called Ghatika Yantra.

In ancient India in the towns, a group of men called Ghadiyali were appointed to measure time. To measure time vessel with a hole at the bottom was place over another big vessel containing water. When the vessel with the hole was filled with water, they used to strike the ghariyal, a thick brass disc hung at a high place with a mallet. This indicated a certain period of time.

The bowl-shaped outflow is the simplest form of a water clock and is known to have existed in India, China, Babylon, and in Egypt thousands of years ago.Historians suggest that pots excavated from Mohenjo Daro might have used as water clocks; they are taped at the bottom, have a hole on the side. The use of the water clock in ancient India is also mentioned in the Atharvaveda from the 2nd millennium BCE. 

The Chinese traveler who visited India during the 7th century A.D had given an account of how this water clock worked at Nalanda, a Buddhist university. At Nalanda four hours a day and four hours at night were measured by a water clock, which consisted of copper bowl holding two large floats in a larger bowl filled with water. The bowl was filled with water from a small hole at its bottom.

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