Rajasthan Mukundra Hill Tiger Reserve in Kota. The state was formed on 30 March 1949 when Rajputanathe name adopted by the British Raj for its dependencies in the regionwas merged into the Dominion of India. Its capital and largest city is Jaipur. Other important cities are Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer and Udaipur. Rajasthan literally means "Land of Kings" or "King's Abode" (from "raja" "king" and "-sthan" "land, abode" from Sanskrit "sthā́na"). The first mention of the name "Rajasthan" appears in the 1829 publication "Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han or the Central and Western Rajpoot States of India", while the earliest known
City Palace, Jaipur northeast of the very centre, located at . The site for the palace was located on the site of a royal hunting lodge on a plain land encircled by a rocky hill range, five miles south of Amber (city). The history of the city palace is closely linked with the history of Jaipur city and its rulers, starting with Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who ruled from 1699 to 1744. He is credited with initiating construction of the city complex by building the outer wall of the complex spreading over many acres. Initially, he ruled from his capital at Amber,