JAHAN KOSHA CANNON

Sakil Molla 17 months ago

Jahan Kosha Cannon (also known as the Great Gun, and literally means the Destroyer of the World) is placed in the Topekhana, 400 m to the south east of the Katra Mosque, in the town of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Topekhana was the Nawab's Artillery Park and the entrance gate of the old capital of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, the city of Jahangir Nagar. The cannon is more than 7 tons in weight. It is 17 feet and 6 inches in length and 3 feet in width. It has a girth of 5 feet at the touch hole end. The circumference of its mouth is more than one foot. The radius of the touch hole is one and a half inches. In order to fire this cannon once, 17 kilograms of gunpowder was needed. The bore is approximately 6 inches. The cannon was made in 1637 by Janardan Karmakar, a blacksmith and gunsmith, under the instructions of Daroga Shere Mohammad and under the supervision of Hara Ballav Das. The cannon was made in Dacca, when Shah Jahan was the Mughal emperor, at the instance of Islam Khan, who was the Subedar of Bengal. This is confirmed by an inscription engraved on it. However, the cannon has several other names like the "Great Gun", the "Destroyer of the world", the "Conqueror of the universe", the "World Subduer" and so on. The cannon is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is protected on the east by the Gobra Nala, locally known as the Katra Jheel. Here, the Jahan Kosha Cannon is laid to rest. Before being placed at its current location, it rested on a carriage with wheels and was surrounded by the roots of a Peepal tree. The growth of the tree roots gradually lifted the gun four feet above the ground. The wheels of the gun carriage have disappeared, but the iron-work of the carriage and the trunions are still visible. The cannon is made of ashtadhatu or 8 metals, namely silver, gold, lead, copper, zinc, tin, iron and mercury.

TrickoFind (Anirban) 11 months ago

When Murshidabad was the part of the Bengal province under the Mughal Empire it was known as Jahangir Nagar and Topkhana was situated close to the city entrance gate. An artifact which is a large Cannon was discovered by ASI and placed on display for the tourists near Katra Mosque. This Canon is known as Jahan Kosha Gun means the World Subduer or the Great Gun.

During the Mughal rule, special attention was paid to the manufacture and production of cannons, metallurgical techniques and casting etc.

The casting of this special cannon was done by Janardan Karmakar, a skilled blacksmith and expert in making alloys, under the supervision of Harvallabh Das on the instructions of Dhaka's security or artillery incharge Shamsher Khan.

Octo alloy was used in its crafting and casting. It's a heavy cannon weighing more than 7 tons. It was designed and developed during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan in 1736 AD when Islam Khan was the Governor of Bengal. All these details are engraved on the body of the Cannon in the Persian language. Its various names are also inscribed in the Persian language.

It has two sets of pivots, which indicates that it was fitted on a gun carriage. Rings for lifting are casted with the body. Proper reinforcement rings, barrel, vent muzzle shape stand this Cannon in unique category. It has the provision of rear and fore sight for accurate target shooting.

Its history is quite exciting and a must visit artifact. This sight is a protected monument of national importance.

Saptarshi Manna 15 months ago

We walked for 20 minutes from the railway station to the Cannon. It was huge, something was written along the sides of the cannon, no tourists were present. The Cannon was made by a Bengali, Janadhan Karmakar. The cannon has 4 handles on which it is kept now, previously it had wheels attached from the handles. It has 3 ring on each side which were used to the ropes & pulled by elephant. At the back end of the Canon, you will find a eye hole with a target locker. Just ahead of the eye hole, there is a sealed hole on the body which was used to ignite the canon.