Q. With reference to Sawai Jai Singh II (c. 1688–1743) of Amber, consider the following statements:
1.He founded the city of Jaipur, designing it based on classical Indian architectural principles like the Shilpa Shastra and incorporating the grid-plan of contemporary European cities.
2.He was a distinguished astronomer who erected five astronomical observatories (Jantar Mantars), the most famous being in Jaipur and Delhi.
3.His astronomical work, Zij-e-Muhammad-Shahi, contained new and unique celestial observations that entirely superseded the ancient tables prepared by Ulugh Beg and European astronomers of his time.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: B
Notes:
Explanation:
- Statement 1: Correct. Jai Singh II was an exceptional town planner. Jaipur was built on a precise grid system, blending Hindu Vastu-Shastra principles with European town planning concepts.
- Statement 2: Correct. He built five major astronomical observatories (Jantar Mantars) at Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Ujjain, and Varanasi.
- Statement 3: Incorrect. His Zij-e-Muhammad-Shahi (named after the Mughal Emperor) was a compilation and revision of existing astronomical tables (Arab, Persian, and European), but it was based on pre-telescopic observational methods and was unaware of the profound heliocentric discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton in the West, which rendered his tables largely outdated.
