Rajasthan News Desk!!! City Palace is one of the most famous historical and tourist places in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It is a palace complex. It is situated right in the middle of the ‘Pink City’ Jaipur. This beautiful complex has many buildings, spacious courtyards and attractive gardens, which are a testament to its royal history.
This complex also has important buildings like ‘Chandra Mahal’ and ‘Mubarak Mahal’. Precious items from the past have been preserved here. A small part of its palace has been converted into a museum and art gallery. Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to the City Palace to see the beauty of the palace. City Palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II between 1729 and 1732 AD. Royal architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya and English architect Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob had created a modern city of the twentieth century. Also the best, beautiful, royal palace equipped with all facilities and security.
The building style of City Palace is an incredible blend of Rajput, Mughal and European styles. The intricate stone carvings and paintings on the walls in these buildings made of red and pink sandstone fascinate. The Kachwaha rulers had no dearth of wealth. Therefore Maharaja Jai Singh II wanted to establish a fully planned, safe, beautiful and prosperous city. Jaipur city was the first planned city built in the eighteenth century. Besides this, its grandeur was excellent and astonishing.
Tourists reach Jaleb Chowk from Sirhadyodhi Darwaza via ‘Badi Chaupar’ via ‘Hawa Mahal’ route. Here they can park their vehicles. Opposite the Sirhadyodhi gate is the Udaipol gate to enter the palace. The entry gate to the City Palace is from the Virendra Pol Gate of Jantar Mantar, from the southern gate of the Chowk. There is a ticket window immediately to the right of the gate, where important information can be obtained along with paying the prescribed fee for entering the palace. On the left side of Virendrapol is the security room and on the right side is the photography room. Upon entering from here, tourists have to go through a metal detector security system.
This quote is accurate about the City Palace of Jaipur that “There is no City Palace in the middle of the city, there is a city around the City Palace.” The secret of this mysterious fact lies in the architecture of Jaipur. The establishment of Jaipur was completely based on Vaastu. Just as there are planets around the Sun. Similarly, the Sun of Jaipur is Chandramahal i.e. City Palace. Just as the Sun is the lord of all the planets, similarly the city of Jaipur was also centered on the blessings of the City Palace. On the lines of nine planets, Jaipur was settled in nine blocks. These blocks are clearly visible from Nahargarh. Out of these nine blocks, City Palace was established in two and Jaipur city i.e. Parkota was established in the remaining seven. Thus, the City Palace, which covered a large part of the city, included many buildings. These include Chandramahal, Surajmahal, Talkatora, Hawamahal, Chandni Chowk, Jantarmantar, Jaleb Chowk and Chaugan Stadium. Presently the royal family resides in Chandramahal. The remaining parts have been incorporated into the city and parts of the City Palace have been converted into museums.
On entering Virendra Pol, one comes to a big square, in the middle of which there is a beautiful two-storey palace. It is called ‘Mubarak Mahal’. On the right side of the square, a huge clock is visible on a square tower on a two-storey building. Mubarak Mahal was the reception counter at that time. The second floor of the building houses the officials of the City Palace administration, while the ground floor houses the Vastragarh Museum. The museum stores the garments of the kings, queens, princes and princesses of Jaipur. Singhpol is in the south-west corner of the square. This door opens in Chandni Chowk. There is no normal traffic through this door. To the west of Mubarak Mahal is Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Gallery. In a verandah in the north-western corner of this square, the famous artistic puppet artists of Jaipur entertain the tourists by showcasing their art along with singing. There is a Silah Khana in the northern upper verandah of the Chowk. A place where weapons are kept. Here hundreds of small and big, modern and ancient weapons of the 15th century have been beautifully preserved. The most attractive is the sword presented by Queen Victoria of England to Maharaja Ram Singh, on which the ruby and emerald work is a pleasant surprise.
‘Sarvatobhadra’ i.e. ‘Private Audience Hall’ is also known as ‘Diwan-e-Khas’. Two big silver pitchers kept in Sarvatobhadra are a subject of curiosity. Maharaja Madho Singh filled them with Ganga water and took them to England. That is why they are called ‘Gangajali’. Gangajalis holds the world record in the Guinness Book of Records in the category of giant containers of precious metal. There is a small gate to the east of Sarvatobhadra itself, which leads to the ‘Sabhaniwas’ i.e. ‘Diwan-e-Aam’. This is a grand hall built for the visiting tourists.
There is a small square of Antapur situated just south of ‘Chandramahal’. The four gates built at the four corners of the square present amazing artistry and workmanship. These are called ‘Riddhi-Siddhi Pole’. The structure of all four is similar, but the artistry of each is superior to the other. Mayurdwar in the north-east of the square is mesmerizing. The murals of peacocks and dancing peacocks on the gate are magnificent. This gate is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Kamaldwar in the south-east. This gate is dedicated to Shiva-Parvati. The artwork on this door indicating the summer season provides coolness. Just in front of this gate, in the south-west of the square, is the Rose Gate. Dedicated to the clan goddess of Kachwaha Rajputs. Lahariya Gate is also called Green Gate. Lahariya is the symbol of Saavan. Green color is a symbol of greenery and wave design is a symbol of the culture of Jaipur.
