Pundrik Ji ki Haveli (Brahmpuri)
Also Known As · Ratnakar Pundrikji-ki-Haveli, Pondrik Ji ki Haveli, Pundrik Painted Haveli
Jaipur, Rajasthan · monument
Hushed, scholarly and offbeat — a working conservation office wrapped around a jewel-box room of faded courtly murals, far from the tourist churn.
- Days OpenOpen daily
- Entry Fee₹0
- Best SeasonWinter (October to March), when Jaipur's weather is pleasant for walking the Brahmpuri lanes and pairing this with nearby Gaitor.
- Best Time of DayMid-morning, roughly 10:00 AM to noon, for the best natural light in the mural room and the calmest lanes.
- Time NeededAbout 30-45 minutes for the painted room and courtyard, longer if you pair it with Gaitor next door.
- Nearest MetroChandpole
- Crowd LevelsVery low; this is an unsung, often-overlooked monument that also serves as a government office, so you may have the mural room almost to yourself.
- Kid Friendly2 of 5
- Wheelchair AccessNo
Tucked into the Brahmin quarter of Brahmpuri, at the base of the Nahargarh ridge on the old Jaipur-Amer road, Pundrik Ji ki Haveli is one of the city's least-visited but most rewarding heritage buildings. It was raised in the eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, as a residence for his rajpurohit (royal chaplain) and teacher, Ratnakar Pundrik. Where the great forts and the City Palace draw the crowds, this modest ochre haveli survives almost anonymously among lanes of temples and old Brahmin homes, watched over today by the Archaeological Survey of India, which protects it as a monument of national importance and also runs its Jaipur sub-circle office from the premises.
Where to Eat Nearby
Nearby Vegetarian Eats
Rawat Misthan Bhandar
4 km awayThe original pyaaz (onion) kachori with hot masala chai, and seasonal ghevar
Doodh Misthan Bhandar (DMB)
4 km awayKachori-sabzi and fresh milk sweets at this pure-veg Bani Park institution
Laxmi Misthan Bhandar (LMB)
4.5 km awayPaneer ghewar and the eggless bakery counter; a Johari Bazaar landmark since the 18th century
About
Tucked into the Brahmin quarter of Brahmpuri, at the base of the Nahargarh ridge on the old Jaipur-Amer road, Pundrik Ji ki Haveli is one of the city's least-visited but most rewarding heritage buildings.
- It was raised in the eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, as a residence for his rajpurohit (royal chaplain) and teacher, Ratnakar Pundrik.
- Where the great forts and the City Palace draw the crowds, this modest ochre haveli survives almost anonymously among lanes of temples and old Brahmin homes, watched over today by the Archaeological Survey of India, which protects it as a monument of national importance and also runs its Jaipur sub-circle office from the premises.
- The reason to seek it out sits inside a single upper room: a suite of Jaipur-school wall paintings from the middle of the eighteenth century.
- Worked in the warm mineral palette of the period, the murals record courtly life under the early Kachwaha rulers — a royal darbar in session, the boisterous play of Holi, the spring procession of Gangaur, festive gatherings, and columns of horse and foot on the march from the palaces.
- They are a rare, in-situ survival of the style that decorated Amber and Jaipur's early mansions, and the ASI has undertaken conservation work to stabilise the fragile pigment.
- The man the haveli honours is himself a good story.
- Born Ratnakar Bhatt in the Maharashtra Brahmin tradition, he travelled to Kashi (Banaras) for advanced study of scripture, astronomy and tantra; there Jai Singh, a serious patron of scholarship, met him, was struck by his learning, and brought him to his new capital as guru and royal priest, bestowing the title 'Pundrik'.
- He is remembered as the priest who guided Jai Singh's Vedic yagnas.
- For vegetarian travellers the surrounding area poses no difficulty of conscience but little of convenience: Brahmpuri is an old temple neighbourhood with only informal tea and snack stalls, and the nearest fully verified pure-vegetarian, egg-free kitchens lie a few kilometres south inside the walled city, so it is wise to plan a meal there before or after.
- Pair the haveli with the nearby Gaitor royal cenotaphs and Kanak Vrindavan for a calm, low-crowd morning away from the tourist churn.
- Because the building works as a government office and the painted room is not always open, phone the ASI Jaipur sub-circle ahead to be sure you can see the murals.
Timings & Entry Fee
Visiting Hours
- • Approximately 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM on working days
- • Painted room viewable by prior permission only — call ahead
Entry Fee: No standard ticket is charged; the haveli is a protected monument that also functions as an ASI office. A camera fee may apply and viewing the painted room usually needs prior permission — confirm with the ASI Jaipur sub-circle before visiting.
Verified: July 2026
Location & How to Reach
Address
Pundrik Ji ki Haveli (ASI Jaipur Sub-Circle Office), Brahmpuri, near Gaitor, Jaipur-Amer Road, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302002, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302002
🚇 Nearest Metro: Chandpole (Pink Line), about 4 km south; take an auto-rickshaw north from there.
🚶 Walking from Metro: Not walkable — roughly 4 km from Chandpole Metro; use an auto-rickshaw or cab for the final stretch up the Amer road.
Distance from
- • Hawa Mahal / walled-city core: 4 km (~15 min)
- • Gaitor ki Chhatriyan: 1 km (~5 min)
- • Jal Mahal: 3 km (~12 min)
- • Amber Fort: 6 km (~20 min)
- • Jaipur Junction Railway Station: 6 km (~25 min)
Parking
street · Free to nominal
Only informal roadside parking in the Brahmpuri lanes; a small car or auto is easiest given the narrow streets.
🚕 Ride Hailing Tip: Ola and Uber reach the Amer road easily, but the exact haveli is on unsigned inner lanes — share the Gaitor / ASI sub-circle office as your landmark and finish the last stretch on foot.
How to Reach: Brahmpuri lies at the foot of Nahargarh on the Jaipur-Amer road, about 4 km north of the walled city (Hawa Mahal / Badi Chaupar). From the old city take an auto-rickshaw or cab up the Amer road; the haveli sits in the temple lanes near the Gaitor cenotaphs. The nearest Metro station is Chandpole or Badi Chaupar on the Pink Line, from where it is a short auto ride north — the site itself is not walkable from the Metro. Ask locally for 'Pundrik Ji ki Haveli' or the ASI sub-circle office, as it is unsigned on the main road.
Best Time to Visit
History & Significance
History
Pundrik Ji ki Haveli was built in the eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II (reigned 1699-1743), the founder of Jaipur, as the residence of his royal purohit and preceptor Ratnakar Pundrik.
- Pundrik, originally named Ratnakar Bhatt, belonged to the Maharashtrian Brahmin scholarly tradition and had gone to Kashi (Banaras) for advanced study of the Vedas, astronomy and tantra.
- Jai Singh — a noted patron of astronomers and scholars, and the builder of the Jantar Mantar observatories — encountered him there, was impressed by his erudition, and brought him to his kingdom as guru and rajpurohit, conferring the honorific 'Pundrik'.
- Tradition records that Pundrik guided the maharaja's Vedic sacrifices, including a Vajapeya yagna in the early eighteenth century.
- The house he was given in Brahmpuri, the Brahmin quarter Jai Singh established below Nahargarh, was decorated in the mid-1700s with murals in the emerging Jaipur school.
- The building is now a Centrally Protected Monument under the Archaeological Survey of India, which also uses it as its Jaipur sub-circle office and has carried out conservation of the painted room.
Significance
The haveli matters on three counts.
- First, its mid-eighteenth-century murals are a rare surviving example of the early Jaipur school of wall painting still in its original setting, documenting court ritual and festival life — darbar, Holi, Gangaur, processions and troop movements — of the young capital.
- Second, it preserves the memory of Ratnakar Pundrik, the scholar-priest who links Jaipur's founding to the wider world of Sanskrit learning at Kashi and to Jai Singh II's celebrated patronage of astronomy and Vedic scholarship.
- Third, as a Centrally Protected Monument and the seat of the ASI's Jaipur sub-circle, it is a working piece of India's heritage-conservation machinery rather than a staged tourist attraction.
Places to Visit Nearby
Gaitor ki Chhatriyan (Royal Cenotaphs)
1 km awaySerene marble cenotaphs of the Kachwaha maharajas at the foot of Nahargarh — a dignified, low-crowd memorial garden
Jal Mahal
3 km awayThe water palace set in Man Sagar lake, best admired from the promenade
Nahargarh Fort
6 km awayRidge-top fort with sweeping views over the whole city, especially at sunset
Amber Fort
6 km awayThe grand hilltop palace-fort of the Kachwahas, Jaipur's flagship monument
Family & Accessibility
Family Highlights
- • A quiet, screen-free look at 250-year-old paintings for older, curious children
- • Easy to combine with the open lawns of nearby Gaitor
- • A gentle history lesson about Jaipur's founding and its royal scholar-priest
Photography & Drone
💰 Equipment Fees: A still-camera fee may apply at the ASI's discretion; ask on arrival.
📍 The Golden Spot: Inside the upper mural room, framing the darbar or Gangaur-procession panels in soft window light.
🌅 Best Light Time: Mid-morning, when indirect daylight fills the painted room without harsh glare.
Tips & Safety
💡 Insider Tips
🌅 Secret View: Climb to the upper room where the murals sit and let your eyes adjust — the Holi and Gangaur scenes reveal far more detail in soft daylight than under any flash.
🎯 Crowd Hack: Come on a weekday mid-morning after ringing the ASI sub-circle; you will likely be the only visitor, which is unheard of for a Jaipur monument.
💎 Secret Fact: The building is not only a monument but the ASI's own Jaipur sub-circle office — so the people conserving Jaipur's heritage literally work inside one of the paintings' rooms.
⚡ Express Tour
Short on time? See just the painted room, note the darbar and festival scenes, and walk five minutes to the Gaitor cenotaphs.
🔭 Deep Dive Tour
Make a slow northern-Jaipur morning of it: Pundrik Ji ki Haveli for the murals, Gaitor for the royal cenotaphs, Kanak Vrindavan gardens, and finish at Jal Mahal's lakeside before lunch back in the city.
🙏 Etiquette & Dress Code
Do's
- Phone the ASI Jaipur sub-circle ahead to confirm the mural room is open and viewable
- Visit mid-morning on a working day for the best light and the calmest lanes
- Combine the trip with nearby Gaitor cenotaphs and Kanak Vrindavan
- Carry water and dress respectfully, as this is a quiet temple neighbourhood
- Keep a respectful distance from the fragile painted surfaces
Don'ts
- Do not touch the murals or lean on the painted walls — the pigment is fragile and under conservation
- Do not use flash photography, which harms old paintings
- Do not expect a ticketed, staffed tourist site with signage — it is a working office
- Do not turn up unannounced and expect guaranteed entry to the painted room
- Do not treat the surrounding temples and homes as a photo backdrop without courtesy to residents
📷 Photography Rules: Photography of the murals is at the ASI staff's discretion and a camera fee may apply; flash and tripods are best avoided to protect the paintings. Always ask permission before photographing inside the office premises.
Good to Know
💳 Money & Connectivity
🏧 Nearest ATM: ATMs are a few kilometres south toward the walled city and Bani Park; carry small cash for any camera fee, autos and snacks.
📡 Public Wi-Fi: None on site; rely on mobile data.
🔌 Charging Points: None for visitors; charge your phone before arriving.
🆘 Emergency & Health
👮 Tourist Police: Rajasthan Tourist Police operate in the walled-city tourist zone a few km south; dial 1363 for the tourist helpline.
🎒 Lost & Found: No formal desk; enquire with the ASI sub-circle staff on the premises.
💊 Nearest Pharmacy: Pharmacies are along the Amer road and toward the old city, a few km away; carry any personal medication.
Air Quality: Air quality is generally moderate; it can dip in winter mornings, so those sensitive to dust may prefer a mask.
Water Safety: Carry sealed bottled water; there is no drinking-water facility for visitors on site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly is Pundrik Ji ki Haveli, and is it in Jaipur city?
It is in Brahmpuri, the old Brahmin quarter at the foot of Nahargarh on the Jaipur-Amer road, about 4 km north of the walled city (Hawa Mahal). It is within Jaipur but a short auto-rickshaw ride from the main sights, not in the busy bazaar core.
Can I actually go inside and see the paintings?
The haveli is an ASI-protected monument that also houses the Jaipur sub-circle office, so access to the mural room is limited and usually needs prior permission. Phone the ASI Jaipur sub-circle before visiting to confirm it will be open.
What are the murals about?
They are mid-eighteenth-century Jaipur-school wall paintings depicting the royal court, Holi and Gangaur festivals, processions and troop movements — a rare in-situ survival of the early Jaipur painting style.
Is there an entry fee?
There is no standard ticket, though a camera fee may apply. Because arrangements can change, confirm the current position with the ASI office when you call ahead.
Who was Pundrik, and who built the haveli?
It was built in the eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, founder of Jaipur, for his royal purohit and teacher Ratnakar Pundrik — a scholar of scripture, astronomy and tantra whom Jai Singh brought from Kashi to Jaipur.
Where can vegetarians eat nearby?
Brahmpuri itself has only informal tea and snack stalls; the nearest fully verified pure-vegetarian, egg-free kitchens are a few kilometres south in the city, such as Rawat Misthan Bhandar on Station Road or LMB in Johari Bazaar. Plan a meal there before or after your visit.
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