RAS question
Sawai Jai Singh II built astronomical observatories (Jantar Mantar) in how many cities?
Correct answer: (C) 5.
Sawai Jai Singh II built Jantar Mantar astronomical observatories in five cities: Jaipur, Delhi, Ujjain, Varanasi and Mathura.
Explanation
Sawai Jai Singh II's Jantar Mantar project was not confined to Jaipur. The UNESCO nomination file for Jantar Mantar, Jaipur describes India as representing five observatories of the same historico-cultural group and states that Sawai Jai Singh II constructed five observatories at Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura. That is why the answer is five. Jaipur matters especially in this set because it is the largest and best-preserved observatory, and the UNESCO file calls the Jaipur site the most extant and best preserved, with the maximum number of observational instruments in functional condition. The fact combines the number of cities with the linked heritage importance of Jaipur.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Three is too low because it leaves out two of the five cities named for Sawai Jai Singh II's observatories.
- (B) Seven is too high because Sawai Jai Singh II's Jantar Mantar group contained five observatory cities, not seven.
- (D) Four misses one city from the five-city Jantar Mantar group associated with Sawai Jai Singh II.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan History and Art-Culture through Sawai Jai Singh II's scientific patronage and the heritage profile of Jantar Mantar. It recurs in RAS because Jaipur's Jantar Mantar links a Rajasthan ruler, pre-telescopic astronomy and UNESCO-linked cultural heritage in one factual frame.