RAS question
The 'Jantar Mantar' observatory in Jaipur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by:
Correct answer: (A) Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (in 1734).
The Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and completed in 1734.
Explanation
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, belongs to the eighteenth-century astronomical programme of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the Rajput ruler who also founded Jaipur. Rajasthan Tourism identifies him as the builder and gives 1734 as the year of completion. Its importance is not only dynastic: the site is an astronomical observatory with nineteen instruments designed to observe celestial positions with the naked eye and calculate local time. The best-known instrument is the Samrat Yantra, the world's largest stone sundial. The Jaipur observatory is the best-preserved of Jai Singh's five observatories and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Maharaja Man Singh I belongs to the sixteenth century, while the Jaipur Jantar Mantar is an eighteenth-century observatory completed in 1734.
- (C) Akbar was a Mughal emperor, but Rajasthan Tourism attributes the Jaipur Jantar Mantar to the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II.
- (D) Maharana Pratap was associated with Mewar, whereas Jantar Mantar is in Jaipur and was built by Sawai Jai Singh II.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's art-and-culture syllabus through the link between Jaipur's Kachhwaha rulers, scientific architecture and UNESCO heritage. RAS repeats such questions because monuments are often asked with their patron, date, function and heritage status.