The Jaivana cannon is a wheeled cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

.

It is located at the Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort is situated on the premonitory called the Cheel ka Teela of the Aravalli hill ranges; it overlooks the Amber Fort and the Moata Lake, near Amber in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India...

, Jaipur

Jaipur

Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 (India) at (26°58′48.03"N 75°50′37.29"E).
It was cast in 1720, by Jai Singh II of Jaipur the administrator of Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh Fort is situated on the premonitory called the Cheel ka Teela of the Aravalli hill ranges; it overlooks the Amber Fort and the Moata Lake, near Amber in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India...

 during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...

. The formidable strength of its builder, the scientifically inclined warrior Sawai Jai Singh II, lay in the large number of artillery and copious supply of munitions which he maintained.
Jaivan rests on a high four-wheeled carriage. The front wheels are 2.74 m (9 ft) in diameter and the rear wheels are 1.37 m (4.5 ft) in diameter.

The Barrel

The length of the barrel of the cannon is 6.15 m (20.2 ft) and it weighs 50 tons. The circumference near the tip of the barrel is 2.2 m (7.2 ft) and that of the rear is 2.8 m (9.2 ft). The barrel has floral design. An elephant rests on the tip of the barrel and a pair of peacocks are carved in the centre. A pair of ducks also decorates the rear of the barrel. The diameter of the bore of the barrel is 28 cm (11 in) and the thickness of the barrel at the tip is 21.6 cm (8.5 in). The thickness gradually increases as one moves towards the rear of the barrel. The two thick rings on the barrel were used for lifting it with the help of a crane which, though incomplete, is still lying in Jaigarh.

A 776 mm (30.6 in) long elevating screw was used for raising and lowering the barrel.

Reportedly, it took four elephants to swivel it around on its axis

Myths of the Jaivana and its firing power

About 100 kg (220.5 lb) of gun powder fired a shot ball weighing 50 kg (110.2 lb).

The uses and range of the cannon and cannonballs vary over different sources.
Some say the Jaivana Cannon was only fired once by the Jai Singh II, as a test-fire in 1720 and the then Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah

Muhammad Shah also known as Roshan Akhtar, was a Mughal emperor of India between 1719 and 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar Jahan Shah, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. Ascending the throne at 17 with the help of the Sayyid Brothers, he later got rid of them with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk Chin...

 is known to have attended the event before ousting the Sayyid Brothers from power. Others say that it was fired many times, indicated by the fire marks on the inside of the barrel. The most exaggerated myth claims that the it had a range of 40 km (24.9 mi), other sources say it is 35, 22 and 11 km (6.8 mi), although the exact range could perhaps never be determined without adequate scientific computation. Most sources agree that it was fired in the direction of Chaksu

Chaksu

Chaksu is a city and a municipality in Jaipur district in the state of Rajasthan, India.-Geography:Chaksu is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Demographics:...

, where the impact was said to be so colossal that it formed a depression that has since formed a pond.