Dhundhar, also known as ''Jaipur region'', is a

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

state in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It includes the districts of

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

, parts of

Sikar Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is part of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu.Si ...

District lying to the east of the

Aravalli Range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern- Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

Dausa Dausa is a city and administrative headquarters of Dausa district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is 55 km from Jaipur, 240 km from Delhi and located on Jaipur-Agra National Highway (NH-21).Current population is around 1.25 lak ...

Sawai Madhopur Sawai Madhopur is a city and Municipal Council (Nagar Parishad) in the Sawai Madhopur District in Rajasthan state, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sawai Madhopur District of Rajasthan. Ranthambore National Park which is 7&nbs ...

, and Tonk and the northern part of Karauli District. The region lies in east-central Rajasthan, and is bounded by the

on the northwest,

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

to the west, Mewar region to the southwest,

Hadoti Hadoti is a region of Rajasthan state in western India, which was once called the Bundi Kingdom. The biggest cities are Jhalawar and Kota. It includes the districts of Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar and Kota and is bounded on the west by the Mew ...

region to the south, and

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...

, Bharatpur, and Karauli districts to the east.

Geography

In 1900, at the times of Jaipur Kingdom, region had a total area of 15,579 square miles (40,349 km²). Dhundhar Region (RAJ

The southern and central portions of the region lie in the basin of the

Banas River The Banas is a river which lies entirely within the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is a tributary of the Chambal River, itself a tributary of the Yamuna, which in turn merges into the Ganga. The Banas is approximately 512 kilometre ...

and its

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

tributaries, including the

Dhund River Dhund may refer to: *Dhund (tribe) (also Dhond) a tribe of northern Pakistan *Dhund (1973 film), ''Dhund'' (1973 film), Indian Hindi-language thriller film by B. R. Chopra, starring Sanjay Khan, Zeenat Aman and Danny Denzongpa *Dhund (2003 film), ...

, which gives its name to the region. The northern portion of the region is drained by the ephemeral Banhanga River, which originates in Jaipur district and flows east to join the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

state.

History

The state of Jaipur was earlier known as Dhundhar and was ruled by

Meenas Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...

. Later Kachhawahas supplanted the

. After Dulherai, his son Kokil Deo defeated the Meenas of Amer and made Amer the capital of Dhundhar after

Khoh Khoh is a historical region of Rajasthan state in western India. Which was located just five miles to the east of Jaipur city. Colonel James Tod Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (20 March 1782 – 18 November 1835) was an officer of the ...

Culture

Generally liberal policies of the rulers permitted

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

to flourish at

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

and later at Jaipur. It continues to be one of the most important centers of Jainism in India. It is here where the Bispanthi/

Digambar Terapanth Kanji Swami (1890–1980) was a teacher of Jainism. He was deeply influenced by the ''Samayasāra'' of Kundakunda in 1932. He lectured on these teachings for 45 years to comprehensively elaborate on the philosophy described by Kundakunda and ot ...

i divisions among the Jains emerged in the 17th century. In the 17th century the

Chittor Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghold ...

seat of the Bhattarakas of

Mula Sangh ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

Saraswati gachchha moved from Champawati to Sanganer and then to Amber and finally to Jaipur where the last Bhattarka was present until 1965. The lineage is: *Narendrakirti (

Samvat The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

1691, Sanganer) – *Surendrakirti (

1722, Amber) – *Jagatkirti – *Devendrakirti – *Mahendrakirti – *Kshemendrakirti (

1815, Jaipur) – *Surendrakirti – *Sukhendrakirti – *Nayankirti – *Devendrakirti – *MahendrakirtiVarni, Jinendra, Jainendra Siddhanta Kosa, in 4 volumes. New Delhi, 1970-1973 – *Chandrakirti.

References

History of Jaipur Regions of Rajasthan Historical regions {{Historical regions of North India, state=expanded