Jan Ban is the key attraction of this fort which is renowned cannon. This Cannon was named as “Jai Bana”which means “Arrow of Victory”. ‘Jivana Cannon’ is one of the greatest cannon on wheels in this fort and also it covers a huge palace complex. This cannon was made in the year 1720, when the Jaipur city is under the rule of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. This cannon is placed on a high 4 wheeled carriage. Diameters of the front wheel are 2.74 m and the back wheels are 1.37m in diameter. It has 11 inches of diameter, its 20 feet in height and 2 inches long barrel which weighs 50 tons. The designs of flower petals, an elephant, and peacocks and a couple of ducks are engraved on the front, tilt, centre and posterior of the barrel, respectively.
Several metals have been used while making this cannon which include iron, steel, gold, silver and brass. If we want to change the direction of the cannon from right to left or vice- versa then we need 12 elephants for doing this task as it is very heavy. If we want to move the cannon with carriage itself then we will 40 elephants for performing this task.
The giant wheels of the cannon with the teeth measuring 9 inches for rotation of the holes. The length of each cutter is 9 feet. Jai ban which is commonly known as Jai Van in the Jai Garh Fort is amongst the largest cannons on wheels in the entire world. The Jaipur region was the major weapon producing center at the time of Mughals and the Rajput rulers. Jaigarh Fort is known as the Fort of Victory. The Jaigarh Fort is the most spectacular among all the forts which are located on hilltops.
At the time of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, this fort became one of the world’s most efficient cannon foundries because of abundance of iron ore which was found in the nearby areas of the fort.
A massive wind tunnel is associated with the foundry of Jaigarh Fort and this tunnel sucked air from high mountain ranges and transfers it into its furnace creating temperatures as high as 2400degrees Fahrenheit, and the heated air would melt the metal. A reservoir chamber is then filled up with the molten metal and then into a canon mold into the casting pit. Most of the Mughal canons were 16ft long and had to be prepared within a single day. The Mughals also built a large ingenious mechanical device that had a precision gear system driven by four pairs of
oxen and this device is used for hollowing out the Cannon barrels. In the year 1658, DaraShikoh secured the Cannon outpost of Jaigarh Fort until he was defeated and executed by his younger brotherAurangzeb.Ultimately Jai Singh II is known to have molded the great Jaivana Cannon by utilizing the important foundry and devices inside Jaigarh Fort.
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