Historical Study of Jaipur City in India

Krishanu  Ganguly

Historical Study of Jaipur City in India

Exploring the Decline of the Mughal Empire in Jaipur: A Historical Perspective

by Krishanu Ganguly*,

- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540

Volume 16, Issue No. 6, May 2019, Pages 3011 - 3016 (6)

Published by: Ignited Minds Journals

ABSTRACT

Jaipur, after its foundation, acquired the fame as one of the most graceful and planned cities - based on 'Grid-Iron Pattern' of street planning of India, where it emerged as one of the major cities of Northern India during the l8th century. Though, the eighteenth century is generally considered as a period of stagnation and general decline in India, scholars are widely divided on its nature. A group of historians in their monumental works came out with their conclusion that there was a general decline in the 18th Century because of the decline of the Mughal Empire , though they have cited different causes of the decline of the Empire.

KEYWORD

Jaipur City, India, historical study, grid-iron pattern, street planning, major cities, Northern India, eighteenth century, stagnation, general decline, Mughal Empire

Religious Identities in Islamic South Asia, eds. D.Gilmartin and B. Lawrence, University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 2000, pp. 121-148, ibid, f. n. 23. 35 Nath R., "Sri Govinda Deva's itinerary from Vrindavan to Jayapura C.I534-I72T\ in Govinda Deva: A Dioogue in Stone, edited by Margaret Case, (1996), N. Delhi: IGNCA Pub., p.l78. 36 Ashar, Catherene, op.cit, in D. Gilmartin and B. Lawrence (ed.) (2000) Beyond Turk and Hindu: Rethinking Religioua Identities in Islamic South Asia, Gainesville University of Florida Press, pp. 121148, ibid, f. n. 25; cf Shikha Jain, Princely Terrain, p.l 15. 37 See Sketch Plan of the Palatial Complex. 38 'Preface' to the Zij-i-Jadid Muhammad Shahi, f; cf W. Hunter, "Some Account of the Astronomical Labour of Jayasinha of Ambhere or Jayapur", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol.V, Calcutta, 1799 AD, ff. 177-221, Eng. Tr. of the 'Preface' or the Introduction to the Zij-i-Jadid Muhammad Shahi, ff. 177-189; These three instruments are indeed peculiar to his observatories and to some extent attributed to his personal ingenuity. There is a manuscript of Sawai Jai Singh's time (no.31) in the Collection of Pothikhana, Jaipur which bears the title "yantra-prakar" or "the modes of (constructing) astronomical instruments". It begins "Atha Shrimaharajadhirajavirachit yantrami likhyate " (now the mode of the instrument designed by the Maharadhiraj is described). Then as many as fifteen 'yantras' (instruments) have been described. The words 'Shree maharajadhiraj kritani' may be interpreted as 'Maharaja' or 'Maha-rajadhirajen icritani' designed by the Kritani 'designed for the Maharajadhiraj. It is, therefore, possible that he might have designed some if not all of the instruments described in the manuscript (G.N. Bahura & Chandramani Singh, Kachhwahas of Amber - The City of Mother Goddess, Publication Scheme, Jaipur, 2009, pp.20, 22), but it can be inferred from his introduction to ZiJ-i- Jadid Muhammad Shahi that Jayaprakash-

either side of the gnomon in a quadrant of a circle parallel to the plane of the equator41. Each edge of the quadrant is graduated in hours and minutes as well as degrees, and each edge of the gnomon has two scales of tangents. It is 90 feet high 47 feet long and radius of each quadrant is nearly 50 feet42. The Jaiprakash is a hemisphere43 on the concave side of which are mapped out certain co-ordinates, cross wires are stretched north to south and east to west, and the shadows of the intersection of the wires falling on the surface of the hemisphere indicates the position of the sun in the Space; other celestial bodies can be observed directly by placing the eye at the proper graduated point and observing the passage of the body across the point of intersection of the wires. For this purpose the instrument is duplicated. It has a diameter of 17 feet and 5 inches44. The Ram-Yantra is a cylindrical instrument open at top and with a pillar at its centre45. The floor and the inside of the circular wall are graduated for attitude and azimuth observations. To facilitate observation the floor is broken up into 12 sectors46. The walls are also broken up and one section of the wall corresponds to one sector. On each side of the wall sections are notches in which sighting bars can be placed horizontally. The Digamsha-Yantra or azimuth instrument is a small and useful device, consisting of a pillar surrounded by two circular walls47. Cross wires are stretched from the cardinal points on the outer wall, and both walls are graduated. The Narivalaya- Yantra is a cylindrical dial48, the axis of the cylinder being horizontal and pointing north and south, and the northern and southern faces being parallel to the plane of the equator. There are also two meridian circles of different designs.

Yantra, Rama-Yantra and SamratYantra were designed by him. As for as the nomenclature of these instruments are concern, G.N. Bahura suggests, "It appears that these were named after him, his great grandfather Ram Singh-I and his guru the Samrat (Jagannat). In case of the 'Jayaprakash-Yantra' it is also possible that it was named to commemorate his illustrious ancestor Mirza Raja Jai Singh, cf. Bahura, Kachhwahas of Amber - The City of Mother Goddess, p.22. 39 See Plate No. 11 (B) 40 See Plate No. 12(B) 41 See Plate No. 11(A) 42 At Delhi, it is 68 feet high, 125 feet from east to west and 113.5 feet from north to south, cf. Sarkar, Jadunath, A History of Jaipur, op.cit, p.214. 43 See Plate No. 13(A) 44 At Delhi, it is 10 feet more; See plate; cf Sarkar, A History of Jaipur, pp.214-15. 45 See Plate No. 13(C) 46 At Delhi, it is divided into 30 sectors, ibid, p.l 15 47 See Plate No. 13(C) 48 See Plate No. 14(A)

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Corresponding Author Krishanu Ganguly*

Research Scholar, Department of History, Sri Satya Sai University of Technology & Medical Sciences, Sehore, M.P.