The Jaivana Cannon (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: जयवाण) is a large 18th-century

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

preserved at

Jaigarh Fort Jaigarh Fort is situated on the promontory called the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the Aravalli range; it overlooks the Amer Fort and the Maota Lake, near Amer in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Raja Kakil Dev captured the Amber region from ...

, in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. At the time of its manufacture in 1720, it was the world's largest cannon on wheels. Rajasthan-Jaipur-Jaigarh-Fort-Jaivana-cannon-Apr-2004-00

History

The Jaivana was manufactured during the reign of Maharaja Sawai

Jai Singh II Sawai Jai Singh II (3 November 1688 – 21 September 1743), was the 30th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after ...

(1699–1743) at a foundry in Jaigarh. The cannon was fired only once, with a charge of of gunpowder, and when fired was claimed to have covered a distance of about . It is said that the projectile fired from it made a small lake in Chaksu, though this is clearly an embellished legend and could not have physically happened. Jaivan Canon on wheels

The cannon is now located at the

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

, at .

Technical data

The length of the barrel of the cannon is and it weighs 50 tons. The circumference near the tip of the barrel is and that of the rear is . The diameter of the bore of the barrel is and the thickness of the barrel at the tip is . The thickness gradually increases as one moves towards the rear of the barrel. The two thick rings on the barrel were used for lifting it with the help of a crane which, though incomplete, is still lying in Jaigarh. A elevating screw was used for raising and lowering the barrel. The barrel has floral design. An elephant rests on the tip of the barrel and a pair of peacocks are carved in the centre. A pair of ducks also decorates the rear of the barrel. Jaivana rests on a high two-wheeled carriage. The wheels are in diameter. The carriage is equipped with two removable additional wheels for transport. The removable wheels are in diameter. 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. About of gunpowder fired a shot ball weighing . The uses and range of the cannon and cannonballs vary over different sources. The Jaivana Cannon was only fired once by

, as a test-fire in 1720. The most exaggerated myth claims that the weapon had a range of , other sources say it is 35, 22 and , although the exact range could perhaps never be determined without adequate scientific computation. Most sources, including local tourist guides agree that it was fired in the direction of

Chaksu Chaksu is a municipality in Jaipur district in the state of Rajasthan, India. The town is situated at a distance of 40 km from Jaipur on National Highway 52. The town is also one of the 13 tehsil headquarters of Jaipur District. Chaksu is ...

. The impact is said by many locals and tourist guides to be powerful enough to have caused a depression where a pond can be seen today. Legend has it that after it fired, pregnant women living nearby suffered miscarriages.

References

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History

Technical data

See also

References

Further reading