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Who founded the city of Jaipur and built the Jantar Mantar observatories at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi?
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Answer: Option C — Sawai Jai Singh II
Detailed Solution
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (1688-1743), the Kachhwaha Rajput ruler of Amber, founded the city of Jaipur and built five astronomical observatories called "Jantar Mantar".
About Sawai Jai Singh II:
- He became the ruler of Amber in 1699, at the age of about 11.
- He received the title "Sawai" ("one and a quarter", meaning more capable than others) from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
- He served as a governor under the later Mughal emperors, such as Muhammad Shah.
He founded the city of Jaipur in 1727 and moved his capital there from Amber. The city was planned with the help of the architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, using the principles of Vastu Shastra, with a grid of streets.
He was deeply interested in astronomy and mathematics, and he studied Indian, Islamic and European astronomical works.
He prepared astronomical tables called "Zij-i-Muhammad Shahi", dedicated to the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.
The Jantar Mantar observatories:
- They were built between about 1724 and 1735 at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi.
- The Delhi Jantar Mantar was the first (about 1724).
The Jaipur Jantar Mantar (completed in about 1734) is the largest and best preserved. It has about 20 main instruments, including the "Samrat Yantra", the world's largest stone sundial (about 27 metres high), which can tell the local time to an accuracy of about two seconds.
The Jaipur Jantar Mantar was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
The Mathura observatory no longer exists.
The name "Jantar Mantar" comes from "yantra" (instrument) and "mantra" (formula or calculation).
Other rulers of Jaipur:
- Raja Man Singh I: a general of Akbar; built much of Amber Fort.
- Sawai Pratap Singh: built the Hawa Mahal (1799).
- Sawai Ram Singh II: had Jaipur painted pink (1876).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Sawai Pratap Singh built the Hawa Mahal.
- ✗Raja Man Singh I was a general of Akbar.
- ✗Sawai Ram Singh II had Jaipur painted pink in 1876.
Quick tip
Remember: Sawai Jai Singh II = founded Jaipur (1727) and built five Jantar Mantars (Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura, Varanasi); Jaipur Jantar Mantar = UNESCO 2010, Samrat Yantra = largest sundial.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.