JAIPUR, an Indian state in the Rajputana agency; area 15,579 sq.m., pop. (1931) 2,631,775. The centre of the state is a sandy and barren plain 1,600 ft. above sea-level, bounded on the east by ranges of hills running north and south. On the north and west it is bounded by a broken chain of hills, an offshoot of the Aravalli mountains, beyond which lies the Rajputana desert. The hills are more or less covered with jungle trees, of no value ex cept for fuel. Towards the south and east the soil becomes more fertile. Salt is largely manufactured from the Sambhar lake (q.v.). The maharaja of Jaipur belongs to the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs, claiming descent from Rama, king of Ajodhya. The state is said to have been founded about 1128 by Dulha Rai, from Gwalior, who with his Kachwahas is said to have absorbed or driven out the petty chiefs. The Jaipur house furnished to the Moguls some of their most distinguished generals. Among them were Man Singh, who fought in Orissa and Assam; Jai Singh, commonly known by his imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears in all the wars of Aurangzeb in the Deccan; and Jai Singh II., or Sawai Jai Singh, the famous mathematician and astronomer, and the founder of Jaipur city. Towards the end of the 18th century the state was in great confusion ; there was a constant rivalry between Jaipur and Jodhpur for the honour of marrying a princess of Udaipur, and at the same time Amir Khan with the Pindaris was exhausting the country. By a treaty in 1818 the protection of the British was extended to Jaipur and an annual tribute fixed. During the Mutiny the maharaja assisted the British and was rewarded by an extension of territory. His adopted son and suc cessor, Maharaja Madho Singh, was a type of the old school of orthodox rajput chiefs ; when he went to England for King Edward's coronation, he chartered his own ship and took not only all the food and water that would be required during his stay out of India, but even the plot of Indian earth on which he could sit for his meals. In his time the state was opened up by railways,
and the city greatly improved. It was also he who took a lead in establishing the "Indian People's Famine Fund," to which he and his maharani contributed in all 25 lakhs of rupees (£167,000). The present maharaja is a minor; the salute is 17 guns. The state maintains a transport corps, with an ambulance section, which saw service on the frontier, in Afghanistan, and in Mesopotamia during the World War.
Jaipur City was founded in 1728 by the warrior-astronomer, Maharaja Jai Singh II. It is well laid out and lighted, with wide (III feet) and regular main streets which divide it into six rectangular blocks; it is also a city of colour, as the houses are painted, and the whole town is surrounded by crenellated walls, overhung by rugged hills crowned with forts. The chief buildings are the maharaja's huge palace in the middle of the city; a re markable open-air observatory erected by Jai Singh ; a college where no fees are charged; a public library and a hospital; and a School of Art, for teaching and perfecting the local artistic industries. There is also a fine public garden with a menagerie. The city is a busy and prosperous commercial centre ; its trades comprise jewel cutting and setting, as a variety of precious stones are found locally; enamel and metal work; the colour printing of cloths and muslins; and the treatment of marble and inlay. Pop. 144,179 in 1931. The ancient capital of Jaipur was Amber (q.v.).