Jagat Shiromani Temple

Queen Kanakwati, the wife of Man Singh the First, ruler of Amer, built this temple to preserve the name of her deceased son, Jagat Singh. He was the eldest son and heir of the family, and he earned his position in the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar: he commanded troops, received court assignments, and was given rewards.

By fifteen ninety-nine, his father had secured an important appointment for Jagat. Man Singh governed distant Bengal on Akbar's behalf and asked for his son to be made his deputy. The emperor agreed. Jagat was to leave Agra and take charge of the vast province, but he died on September twenty-sixth without ever setting out. His son, Maha Singh, was sent to Bengal in his place. Kanakwati chose the form of an active Vaishnava temple for worshippers of Vishnu in the family's native capital, below Amer Palace, to commemorate Jagat. Construction began in the year of his death and was completed by sixteen oh eight. On a high stone platform, they built a sanctuary to Radha and Krishna, a two-story prayer hall, and a pavilion of Garuda, Vishnu's companion.

The name allows two readings. The word “shiromani” means a crown or the highest jewel, so “Jagat Shiromani” sounds like religious praise of a deity: “jewel of the world.” At the same time, Jagat is the personal name of the man for whom Kanakwati commissioned the temple.

A separate temple legend is connected with the black image of Krishna. It is considered to be the very statue before which Meera Bai, a poet and devotee of Krishna, prayed in Mewar. In the traditional version, Man Singh brought the image from Chittorgarh to Amer. There is no continuous documentary history of the statue, so the connection with Meera remains a legend; it gave the temple its second name, Meera Temple.

Krishna continues to be worshipped in the sanctuary, a stone Garuda stands before the entrance, and the official name still repeats the name of the heir who did not manage to leave for Bengal.