Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II as the new capital of Amber due to safety concerns with Amber's location and increasing population. Jaipur was planned with a grid-like layout on flat land south of Amber to allow for expansion. The city was designed for defense, with natural barriers of hills to the north and east. Water supply was ensured through dams and channels. Over time, the city expanded beyond its original walled boundaries under later rulers in the 18th-19th centuries, adopting modern infrastructure like railways. Jaipur became an important religious and commercial center.

1. JAIPUR
AN HISTORIC PINK CITY
A PRESENTATION BY :KADAMBANI SINGH
SHAZIA KHAN

2. INTRODUCTION
Jaipur is one of the most important
cities in India from the point of
tourism. Situated in Rajasthan the
city was founded by Maharaja Sawai
Jai Singh II on 18 November 1727.
Jaipur is a land of natural beauty and
great history. It has a flourishing
tourism industry. Also called pink
City, it is the capital of Rajasthan. It
is well connected to the other parts of
the world, through its vast network of
airways, railways and roads.

3. HISTORY
•Jaipur was founded on 18th November 1727
by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a Kachawaha
Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Initially his
capital was Amber (now pronounced as
Amer), lies at a distance of 11 km from Jaipur.
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II felt the need of
shifting his capital city because of safety
reasons as it was likely to be attacked by a
Mughal King Bahadur Shah after the death of
Aurangzeb, as well as ever-increasing
population and growing scarcity of water also
pushed him to set up a well planned city.

4. Jaipur lies at a distance of about 200 miles from Delhi, 150 miles from Agra and 84 miles from Ajmer. Capital city of Rajasthan is located amidst the Aravali hill ranges at an altitude of about 430 m above sea level.
•Latitude – 26 55’
•Longitude – 75 50’
Reasons for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to change his
capital from Amber to Jaipur:
Military Reasons
Defence was an important consideration.
A site at the South of Amber ensured
greater distance from Delhi and also
prevented the expansion of the city in that
direction. It was clear that the out skirting
hill ranges (Nahargarh hills) shaped as a
horseshoe would allow the new city to
expand only in the South. So this flat site
with a basin like shape was chosen. It was
an open plain bounded on the north-west
and east by hills.
Earlier rajput capitals were established in
the hills, and so moving capital to the
plains was an ex of Sawan Jai Singh's
boldness.
SITE

5. Geographical Reasons
The rocky terrain of Amber restricted expansion.
Jaipur had the potentialities of developing into a city with adequate drinking
water due to the presence of a perennial stream nearby and good drainage
system.
Its rugged hills also ensured a constant supply of building material, which might
be required in the times to come
Two significant facts responsible for the origin of the city and its
subsequent layout:
The need of a new capital for 18th century Dhoondhar as the earlier one of Amber
built on a hill was getting congested.
Sawai Raja Jai Singh’s vision of the new capital as a strong political statement at
par with Mughal cities and as a thriving trade and commerce hub for the region.
The site with the natural east west ridge and the surrounding forts as defense
feature
The site with the natural east west ridge and the surrounding forts as defense

6. The site selected for establishing the new
capital of Jaipur was a valley located south
of Amber and the plains beyond, a terrain
that was the bed of a dried lake. There
used to be dense forest cover to the north
and the east of the city.
The physical constraints that informed the
building of Jaipur city included the hills on
the north that housed the fort of Jaigarh
and the Amber palace beyond, and the hills
on the east, which contained the sacred
spot of Galtaji.
To facilitate water supply to the new city,
the Darbhavati river in the north was
dammed to create the Jai Sagar and Man
Sagar (that later housed the Jal Mahal)
lakes. Later the Jhotwara River in the north
west was diverted through the Amani Shah
Nallah and a number of canals were
channelised through Brahmapuri and Jai
Niwas to supply water to the city.

7. CITY AND ITS EVOLUTION
Interpretation of the 18th century map from Kapad-dwara
collection, Jaipur,
with the gridiron pattern evident in the layout
Interpretation of the 18th century map from Kapaddwara collection, Jaipur,
with the gridiron pattern evident in the layout
•
The foundation of the city of Jaipur
was established by
Sawai Jai Singh II (1700-1743) in 1727. The city was
designed
by Sawai Jai Singh II himself and further developed
and
monitored by hisrenowned counsellorVidyadhar.
•
The city planned in the gridiron
pattern was built with
extraordinary foresight and futuristic planning and is
probably the only 18th century walled city in India
that
can still cater to the present day pressures of
vehicular
traffic on roads.
•
It included innovative concepts in
traditional planning
guidelines along with an appropriate adaptation of
the
terrain itself. The direct application of the mandala
in
the plan of Jaipur seems improbable, though parallels
can be found between the Jaipur planning principles
and traditional texts on spatial organization such as
Rajvallabha, the regional 15th century text written by
the
sutradhar Mandan.
•
Two significant facts responsible for
the origin of the city
and its subsequent layout were:
a) The need of a new capital for 18th century
Dhoondhar
as the earlier one of Amber built on a hill was getting
congested;

8. Amber Town with the Fort on top of the hill and the
walled town down the slopes
• The medieval towns of Rajasthan
were of
military, agrarian, mercantile
or religious nature. The presence of
a deity marked the reference point
for the ruler’s abode and the rest of
the city. The name of the town
was usually associated with the
political or religious centre (with the
Ambikeshwar temple in the case of
Amber and with Sawai Jai Singh in
the case of Jaipur).
• Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two
previous capital cities of the
Dhoondhar region established on
hill-top, whose planning was guided
by topographical structure of the
areas, Jaipur city was revolutionary
both
in terms of its grid-iron pattern
planning and its location at the base
of
the hills.
• There was also a significant
economic shift from an agricultural
base in
Dausa and Amber to trading in the
capital of Jaipur.

9. I9th and 20th century additions
Later in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were additions in the
built fabric of the city and the palace such as the Hawa Mahal
and a
number of temples added by Sawai Pratap Singh under whom
the
Jaipur architectural vocabulary reached its peak in terms of
stylization.
• Two major contributors to the city development and
establishment
of modern infrastructure were Sawai Ram Singh II (1835 – 1879)
and
Sawai Man Singh II (1922 – 1969).
• In the 19th century, with the accession of Sawai Ram Singh
II, the
city extended beyond the old city walls, adapted newer modes
of
transport such as the railways with a railway station located on
the
western outskirts, started using gaslights on the streets and
adopted
modernized drainage and piped water supply system.
• There were interesting additions in the urban fabric within the
walled city with new buildings constructed in the Indo
Saracenic
vocabulary such as the Mubarak Mahal within the Palace
Complex,
the Naya Mahal or Vidhan Sabha and the Maharaja’s College in
1873
(now Rajasthan School of Arts); and the Ramniwas Bagh that
was
later enhanced with the visual focus of the monumental Albert
Hall
Museum to the south of the walled city.
• The 20th century observed further modernization and urban
renovations within the walled city, including the restoration
work of
the city walls and gates and, converting the inner temporary
houses
in the sectors into more permanent structures; pioneered by the
famous Mirza Ismail who was appointed as the Prime Minister
of
Jaipur in the early 20th century. A number of new colonies such
as
the Bani Park came outside the walled city.
• In 1947, the four largest Rajput

10. Jaipur and Amber, the earlier of capital of Dhoondhar
capital are
renowned for their numerous historic temples. While
Amber has
excellent stone carved temples with shikharas (spires)
built from
11th century onwards, Jaipur became the precursor in
building
haveli temples of the 18th century. The Jain and Hindu
temples
form a significant part of the built fabric.
• The planning of Jaipur is rooted in the centric Indian
philosophy
with the temple of Govind Dev defining the centre that
led to
the genesis of the city plan. The Govind Dev Temple,
established
in a pavilion called Suraj Mahal, standing in between the
Badal
Mahal and Chandra Mahal in the Jai Niwas Garden,
continues to
be the most active temple even today.
• Although there is no definite data, locals state that
around
400 temples were built in Jaipur during its planning.
There are
more than 1000 temples of various sizes in Jaipur with
606
within the walled city as registered temples with the
Devasthan
department in 1973. All the important temple sites,
specifically
on the main commercial streets had been marked in the
Jaipur
plan during the reign of Sawai Jai Singh.
• Even today, the important temples with shikharas can
be observed
at four most important locations in the city along the
cardinal axes
i.e. the Laxmi Narayan Temple at Badi Chaupar, the
Rama temple at
Chhoti Chaupar, the Murli Manohar temple at Ramganj
Chaupar
and the Kalka temple opposite to the main Sireh Deodhi
entrance
to the Palace. It is interesting that in all these temples the
idol is
facing towards Govind Dev, the main deity of Jaipur.

11. Amber Town with the Fort on top of the hill and the walled town down the slopes
PLANNING OF THE CITY
The generic plan of a medieval Rajasthani hill town- as
in Dausa and Amber
The hill town of Dausa with an organic layout guided
by the topography

12. •The medieval towns of Rajasthan
were of military, agrarian,
mercantile or religious nature. The
presence of a deity marked the
reference point for the ruler’s
abode and the rest of the city. The
name of the town was usually
associated with the political or
religious centre (with the
Ambikeshwar temple in the case
of Amber and with Sawai Jai Singh
in the case of Jaipur).
•Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two
previous capital cities of the
Dhoondhar region established on
hill-top, whose planning was
guided by topographical structure
of the areas, Jaipur city was
revolutionary both in terms of its
grid-iron pattern planning and its
location at the base of the hills.
•There was also a significant
economic shift from an agricultural
base in Dausa and Amber to
trading in the capital of Jaipur.
Amber Town with the Fort on top of the hill and the walled town down the slopes