Where is Jaipur of Rajasthan?
Jaipur is the capital of the state of Rajasthan in the northern part of India. It is situated on the Delhi-Ajmer National Highway. It is located about 285 kilometers away from Delhi and 135 kilometers away from Ajmer.
Jaipur of Rajasthan
Today, Jaipur, known as the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan, is considered as the capital as well as a famous place and the most famous city with its cultural and historical importance. Jaipur being a famous city is the highest income earning city of Rajasthan. Jaipur is considered to be the largest city of Rajasthan. Jaipur is also called the Paris of India and along with this it is also called the Pink City. Jaipur is also included as the triangle of India. It is called the triangular Golden City comprising Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, hence Jaipur is also called the Golden Triangle of India. The city is surrounded by the Aravalli mountain range on three sides. The city of Jaipur is identified by its palaces and old havelis and historical monuments. Jaipur city is surrounded by walls and ramparts in which 7 doors were built for entry and later one more was added by the name of “Newgate”. This entire city is divided into 6 parts and is divided by such 111 feet wide roads. 15 parts of this city fall from the east, south and west and the sixth part is situated in the extreme east.
The city was given World Heritage City status by UNESCO in July 2019.
Building Jaipur city
Jaipur city was built by Sawai Jai Singh or Jai Singh II in the year 1727. Raja Sawai Jai Singh lived in Amer (Amber Fort) at that time. It is situated in the Aravalli valley and mountains, 10 kilometers away from Amer Jaipur and Jaipur is also surrounded by the Aravalli mountain range from three sides. The reason for Raja Sawai Jai Singh II shifting the capital of his kingdom from Amer to Jaipur was the lack of water and increase in population there. And he wanted to build some new palaces in his city and convert it into a larger area. To build this city, King Sawai Jai Singh II got this place searched by his scholars and the right place was chosen by the scholars here. And at that time, the king established this city by combining 6 villages. At that time, these 6 villages were Nahargarh, Talkatora, Santosh Sagar, Moti Katla, Galtaji and Kishanpol.
The builder/architect of this city was a Bengali named Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, who transformed the entire city into a new shape and built it with geometrical forms and taking care of every inch. While building this city, special attention was paid to the width of roads and various paths.
This city was built by the king in nine sections, out of which two sections had the Rajmahal, Rani Niwas, Jantar Mantar, Govind Dev Ji’s temple etc. and the remaining seven sections were earmarked for houses, shops and factories of the common people.
This city was surrounded by walls and mountains on all sides in which 7 gates were built for entry and later another one was built which was called “New Gate”.
In this city Jaipur, King Sawai Jai Singh II had built the city and entrance gates along with havelis, palaces, fort, factories, queen’s residence, temples, artillery etc. Presently all these are tourist places here and in today’s time a lot has changed in Jaipur.
History of Jaipur
• If seen in terms of era, the history of Jaipur is not very old. The city was built in the late Middle Ages. But the dynasty of the ruler who founded it is considered to be several centuries old. It is believed that the Kanchwada family settled here from Gwalior, who considered themselves to be the descendants of Lord Shri Ram. The founder of this dynasty was Dulharay (Tejkaran), who defeated the Badgurjars in 1137 AD and established the new Dhundhar state. In the year 1207, Kokildev of the same dynasty conquered Amer from the Meenas and made Amer his capital and from then till the 17th century, Amer was the capital. In the beginning of the 18th century, the ruler of the same dynasty, Jai Singh II or Sawai Jai Singh, established the city of Jaipur and made Jaipur the new capital from Amer and built many palaces and observatories here.
Rulers of Jaipur from its establishment till present.
Although many rulers ruled Jaipur, but from the establishment of Jaipur to the present, there are some rulers who ruled Jaipur and made changes in Jaipur during their rule. The rule of Jaipur from its establishment till present is:-
1. Sawai Jai Singh or Jai Singh II-
When Jaipur was established, the king of Jaipur was Sawai Jai Singh and it was he who established Jaipur in 1727. His real name was Vijay Singh. But Emperor Aurangzeb compared him with Jai Singh I and changed his name from Vijay Singh to Sawai Jai Singh. He fought a war against the Marathas on behalf of the Mughal army.
He was a great scholar of Sanskrit, Persian, mathematics and astrology and is also called the ruler of astrology. It was he who built Jantar Mantar (observatory) in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjen, Mathura and Banaras. Along with the observatory, he also constructed Nahargarh Fort and Jayaniwas Palace. It is said that Jai Singh II was the last Mughal Hindu ruler who organized the Ashwamedha Yagya. The priest of this yagya was Pundarika Ratnakar.
2. Ishwari Singh-
After Sawai Jai Singh, Ishwari Singh, son of Jai Singh, became the ruler of Jaipur. Within a few years of his assuming the throne, his brother Madho Singh attacked Jaipur along with the Marathas to gain the throne, but Ishwari Singh was victorious in this battle. To commemorate the victory, he built a high tower, Isarlat (present-day Sargasuli), in Tripolia Bazaar of Jaipur. Marathas attacked Jaipur in 1750. In which Ishwari Singh committed suicide.
3. Sawai Madho Singh-
After Ishwari Singh committed suicide, King Sawai Madho Singh ascended the throne of Jaipur. After this, Marathi Sardar Malhar Rao Holkar and Jai Appa Scindia demanded a huge amount from him, due to which the Maratha soldiers created a ruckus in Jaipur due to non-payment, as a result of which the citizens revolted and massacred the Maratha soldiers. He died in the year 1768.
Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh built palaces at Moti Dongri in Jaipur during his reign.
4. Maharaj Prithvi Singh-
After the death of Raja Sawai Madho Singh, the eldest son of Madho Singh of Jaipur was made Raja Prithvi Singh. He ruled Jaipur for some 10 years and after that he died suddenly.
5. Sawai Pratap Singh-
After the death of Raja Prithvi Singh, his younger brother Sawai Pratap Singh ascended the throne of Jaipur in 1778. He was a great devotee of Lord Shri Krishna due to which most of the art literature was produced during his tenure. Happened. He was a great scholar of music. He composed poetry in the name of Brijnidhi and also got Radha Govind Sangeet Saar composed. It was he who built Hawa Mahal for the queens and Lord Krishna in 1799.
6. Maharaja Jagat Singh-
After Sawai Pratap Singh, Maharaj Jagat Singh ascended the throne of Jaipur. But they had a dispute with Jodhpur due to which we had the battle of Gingoli in 1807 in which Jagat Singh was defeated. In 1818, he signed a treaty with the East India Company for the protection of Jaipur and died a few years later.
7. Maharaja Jai Singh III-
After the death of Raja Jagat Singh and due to him having no heir, Narwar’s Jagirdar Mohan Singh was made the ruler of Jaipur for a few years. Then Jai Singh, son of Jagat Singh was born and Jai Singh was placed on the throne of Jaipur. But there was more interference from Bhatiani Rani, mother of Jai Singh III. But even after this, Jai Singh III soon died at a young age.
8. Maharaja Ram Singh II-
After the death of Jai Singh III of Jaipur, Ram Singh II ascended the throne of Jaipur but the British government took over the administration of Jaipur due to Ram Singh being a minor.
8.1 Major Jun Ladli took over the administration of Jaipur in the year 1843 and he banned the practice of Sati, slavery, female slaughter and dowry system etc.
- After Ram Singh became an adult, he was given all the rights and he made a lot of improvements and progress in Jaipur.
- Built Maharaja College and Sanskrit College in Jaipur in 1845.
- He supported the British in the independence movements of 1857.
- The British government gave him the title of Sitar-e-Hind.
- Governor General Northbrook visited Jaipur in December 1875 and Prince Albert visited Jaipur in February 1876. > At that time, King Ram Singh II got the entire city of Jaipur painted with rose colors due to which Jaipur came to be known as the city of roses.
- At this time, in memory of Prince Albert’s visit, Albert Hall (Museum) was inaugurated by Prince Albert.
He died in 1880.
9. Sawai Madho Singh II-
After Ram Singh II, Sawai Madho Singh II was made the ruler of Jaipur. In 1902, he went to England to attend the coronation of British Emperor Edward VII and took with him two huge silver jars filled with Ganga water. These jars are the world’s largest jars, which were also recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. He also constructed Mubarak Mahal in City Palace. It was built in Islamic and Christian style. Along with this, he built nine beautiful palaces for his nine pastors in Nahargarh fort.
Madho Singh built the temple of Madhav Bihari ji in Vridavan.
10. Sawai Mansingh II-
Since Madho Singh did not have any son, Mormukund Singh, son of Thakur Sawai Singh of Isarda, was appointed and placed on the throne of Jaipur in 1922. He also did a lot of modern work in Jaipur. With the help of his Prime Minister Mirza Smile, he built schools, medical colleges, hospitals and stadiums etc. in his name in Jaipur. He built the Takht-e-Shahi palace on Moti Dungri for Queen Gayatri Devi, daughter of the ruler of Cooch Behar. Along with this, he also established the City Palace Museum. He is also considered a good world famous polo player.
