RAS question
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur was built by which ruler?
Correct answer: (A) Sawai Jai Singh II.
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur was built by Sawai Jai Singh II, the Rajput ruler who founded Jaipur, and was completed in 1734.
Explanation
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is attributed to Sawai Jai Singh II, not to the later Jaipur rulers often associated with other monuments. Rajasthan Tourism identifies it as a monument built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, and says it was completed in 1734. The site explains why this was more than a palace-era structure: it is an astronomical observatory with nineteen instruments designed to observe celestial positions and calculate local time. That matches the standard RAS explanation that Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar is the largest of the five observatories associated with Jai Singh II, the others being at Delhi, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura. It is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is why the ruler-monument link is repeatedly tested.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Sawai Pratap Singh is associated here with Hawa Mahal, whereas the Jaipur Jantar Mantar is identified as the work of Sawai Jai Singh II.
- (C) Sawai Man Singh II was a later ruler, so he does not fit the 1734 completion of Jantar Mantar under Sawai Jai Singh II.
- (D) Raja Man Singh I is associated here with Amer Fort, not with the Jaipur astronomical observatory built by Sawai Jai Singh II.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan art-and-culture attribution: matching a major monument with its patron ruler. It recurs in RAS because Jaipur monuments, especially World Heritage-linked sites, connect political history with architecture and scientific culture.