Jaigarh Fort

Coordinates: 26°59′09″N 75°51′03″E / 26.9859°N 75.8507°E / 26.9859; 75.8507
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the fort in Maharashtra, see Jaigad Fort.

Jaigarh Fort
Victory Fort
Part of
Amer, Rajasthan, India
Jaigarh Fort
Jaigarh Fort Victory Fort is located in Jaipur
Jaigarh Fort Victory Fort
Jaigarh Fort
Victory Fort
Jaigarh Fort Victory Fort is located in Rajasthan
Jaigarh Fort Victory Fort
Jaigarh Fort
Victory Fort
Coordinates26°59′09″N 75°51′03″E / 26.9859°N 75.8507°E / 26.9859; 75.8507
TypeFort
Site information
Controlled byJaigarh Public Charitable Trust
Open to
the public		Yes
ConditionGood
Site history
MaterialsRed Sandstone
Battles/wars436
EventsDeath of Dara Shikoh
Garrison information
Past
commanders		Shazada Jalal Muhammad Mirza Mughal Empire

Jaigarh Fort is situated on the promontory called the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the

Amer in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.[1][2] The fort was built by Mirza Raja Jai Singh in 1726 to protect the Amer Fort and its palace complex and was named after him.[1][2][3]

The fort, rugged and similar in structural design to the

Amer Fort, is also known as Victory Fort. It has a length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) along the north–south direction and a width of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). The fort features a cannon named "Jaivana" (Jaivana Cannon
), which was manufactured in the fort precincts and was then the world's largest cannon on wheels. Jaigarh Fort and Amer Fort are connected by subterranean passages and considered as one complex.

Geography

Amer Fort
. Right: View of Aravalli Hills from Jaigarh Fort

The Jaigarh Fort, located on one of the peaks of the Aravalli range of hills is built about 400 m above the Amer Fort.[1] It provides an excellent of view of Aravalli hills and the Amer Fort down below.

The fort is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from Jaipur city. It stands on a short diversion from the Jaipur-Delhi Highway, which leads to the Jaivaan cannon at the Dungar Darwaza ('Darwaza' means "gate"), the same road leads to another important fort called the Nahargarh Fort. It can also be approached from the Amer Fort over a short climb along a steep hill track, arriving at the Awami Gate near the fort museum.[1][4]

History

Dara Shikoh secured the high impregnable Mughal Cannon outpost of Jaigarh Fort, in the year 1658 during the Mughal war of succession.

Amer was known in the ancient and medieval period as

Kachwahas from the 10th century onwards. The history of Amer and Jaigarh is indelibly linked to these rulers, as they founded their empire at Amer.[5]

Cannon foundry

During the reign of the

Jai Singh II as the official Mughal quiladar of Jaigarh Fort according to a Firman, ultimately Jai Singh II is known to have molded the great Jaivana Cannon by utilizing the important foundry and devices inside Jaigarh Fort.[6]

Description

Jaigarh Fort water supply

The fort is highly fortified with thick walls of red sandstone and is spread over a layout plan with a length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) and a width of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi); it has an impressive square garden (50 metres (160 ft) square) within it. Ramparts in each corner are sloping and provide access to the upper level structures. The palaces have court rooms and halls with screened windows. A central watch tower on a raised ground provides excellent vistas of the surrounding landscape. The Aram Mandir and the garden within its courtyard, on the northern side of the fort complex, has a triple arched entrance "The Awani Darwaza" which was refurbished in recent times to get fine views of the Sagar Lake (an artificial lake); water from this lake used to be transported to the fort in pouches loaded on elephant backs and also by humans carrying water pots.

Kal Bhairav temple of 12th century vintage.[3]

Charbagh garden
at Jaigarh Fort

The water supply facilities in the fort was met by creating water harvesting structures in the vicinity in the Aravalli catchment and conveying water through a canal on the west side of the fort over a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) distance (seen at site) to be stored in three underground tanks below the central courtyard. The largest tank had a capacity of 6 million gallons of water. There were completely false rumors, that a treasure belonging to the

Kachwaha rulers of Amer had been stacked in the fort precincts (including the water tanks), that led to a totally unsuccessful search. The search had been ordered during the Emergency declared by the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during 1975–1977. A futile search was also launched, in 1977, of all the buildings in the fort, by the Income Tax department, using metal detectors.[2][7][4]
[9] There was also a Parliament Question on this issue where a question was posed whether a "Search for treasure carried out from 10 June 1976 till November 1976 by the Income Tax Authorities at Jaigarh Fort on the Jaipur Delhi Road was closed to ordinary traffic for one or two days so as to make way for military trucks carrying treasures to the residence of the then Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi?".[10] However, the search carried out for treasures by an Army unit at Jaigarh Fort, after a three-month search had found no treasures. It was then conjectured that Sawai Jai Singh probably used the treasure to build the city of Jaipur.[11]

Armoury

The armoury chamber here has a wide display of swords, shields, guns, muskets and also a 50 kilograms (110 lb) cannonball. Pictures on display are old photographs of Jaipur's Maharajas namely,

Major General Man Singh II who served in the Indian Army as senior officers.[4]

Museum

The museum is located to the left of the Awami Gate; it has exhibits of photographs of the Royalty of Jaipur, stamps and many artefacts, which include a circular pack of cards. A spittoon of 15th century vintage and also hand drawn plan of the palaces are seen in the museum.[4]

Jaivana cannon

Main article: Jaivana Cannon
Jaivana
cannon

Jaigarh Fort was a centre of artillery production for the

Mughals. This testifies to well-preserved features of fort.[3][7] The cannon was fired only once with a charge of 100 kilograms (220 lb) of gunpowder and when fired covered a distance of about 35 kilometres (22 mi).[4][9]

The Jaivana was manufactured during the reign of Maharaja Sawai

Jai Singh II
(1699–1743) at a foundry in Jaigarh. The barrel is 20.19 foot (6.15 m) in length and weighs 50 tonnes. It has a diameter of 11 inches (280 mm). The barrel has decorations carved on it which depict trees, an elephant scroll and a pair of birds (ducks). It is mounted on wheels and has the mechanism of two back wheels mounted on roller pin bearings, to turn it 360° and fire in any direction. A tin shed was built to protect the cannon against weather. The cannon had a range of 22 miles and used 50 kilograms (110 lb) balls.

Ticket

The entry fee for Indians is ₹150 per person and the entry fee for foreigners is around ₹200 per person. Student can show their Id cards and can have some discount.[12]

Timings

The gates of Jaigarh Fort open at 09:00 hours and close at 18:30 hours throughout the week. It is not advised to stay here in the evening as Jaigarh Fort is surrounded by thick deciduous forest. Nahargarh sanctuary[13] is a part of the forest, and therefore wild animals lurk in the dark.

In popular culture

Jaigarh Fort was the Pit Stop of the 6th leg on the American reality show The Amazing Race 14.

Gallery

A panoramic view from Jaigarh Fort

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-55610-8
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8122-4025-2
    . Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jaigarh Fort – Jaipur, India". cs.utah.edu. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Jaigarh Fort – Jaipur". Mysterioustrip.com. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. ISBN 978-81-85176-48-2
    . Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  6. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  7. ^ a b c "Jaipur". Jaipur.org.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Awani Darwaza (Jaigarh Fort)" (PDF). Indira Gandhi national Center for The Arts. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84353-089-3
    .
  10. ^ India. Parliament. Lok Sabha (1977). Lok Sabha debates. Lok Sabha Secretariat. p. 133. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  11. ^ C.N.Anand (24 October 2009). "Chequered past". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  12. ^ "Jaigarh Fort Jaipur - Entry Fee, Timings, Location, and more". Exploremania.in. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  13. ^ Dey, Panchali. "Two new ecotourism spots to open for tourists in Jaipur". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 December 2019.

External links

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