History (History of Jaipur)

Jaipur, known as pink city is the first best planned city in India. Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Initially his capital was Amber, which lies at a distance of 11 km from Jaipur. He felt the need of shifting his capital city with the increase in population and growing scarcity of water. The King consulted several books on architecture and architects and finally under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya a Brahmin scholar of Bengal, Jaipur came into existence on the classical basis of principles of Vastu Shastra. Being a lover of Astronomy, Mathematics and Astrophysics, Jai Singh sought advice from Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, to aid him to design many other buildings including the Royal Palace in the center of the city. The construction of the city started in 1727. It took around 4 years to complete the major palaces, roads and square.

The city was built following the principles of Shilpa Shastra, the science of Indian Architecture. The city was divided into nine blocks, of which two consist the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. The city was planned according to Indian Vastu Shastra (Vedic Planning for the comfort and prosperity of the citizens). The directions of each street and market are East to West and North to South. The Eastern gate is called Suraj (Sun) Pol, while the Western gate is called Chand (Moon) Pol. There are three gates facing East, West, and North and a Northern gate (known as Zorawar Singh gate) which faces toward the ancestral capital of Amber, while many gates face South. Huge fortification walls were built along with seven strong gates which encircles the old city. The gates used to be closed at sunset and opened at sunrise. Even today these walls have a suggestion of formidable strength, its function of protecting all within.  For Sawai Jai Singh II and the Bengali Guru Vidyadhar, the founding of Jaipur was also a ritual and a great opportunity to plan a whole town according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. The town of Jaipur is built in the form of an eight-part Mandala known as the 'Pithapada'. Nine signifies the nine planets of the ancient astrological zodiac. It is also known that Sawai Jai Singh II was a great astronomer and a town planner, and hence the 'Pithapada'. Also, the commercial shops are designed in multiples of nine (27), having one cross street for a planet.

Jaipur

Pink City

Places to visit (Places to see in Jaipur)