Where in Rajasthan, the printing press ‘Vedic Yantralaya’ was established?

Correct — option (3), Ajmer.

The Vedic Yantralaya was Swami Dayanand Saraswati's printing press. It did not begin in Rajasthan: the Maheshprasad Maulvi Granthavali, edited by Bhavanilal Bharatiya, says it was set up at Kashi in 1880, went to Prayag in 1881 and reached Ajmer in 1891.

Bharatiya's Paropakarini Sabha ka Itihas (1975) also records the press coming to Ajmer in 1891. Har Bilas Sarda's Works of Maharshi Dayanand and Paropakarini Sabha (1942) notes that the 1884, 1887 and 1890 editions of the Satyarth Prakash were printed while the press was still at Allahabad.

Within Rajasthan, then, the press was set up at Ajmer, option (3), where the Paropakarini Sabha ran it; Sarda's own 1942 book was published by the Manager, Vedic Yantralaya, Ajmer.

The idea to remember: Vedic Yantralaya — Kashi 1880, Prayag 1881, Ajmer 1891.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Jodhpur — Jodhpur is not where the press was set up. The Maulvi Granthavali traces the Vedic Yantralaya from Kashi to Prayag and then to Ajmer, which it reached in 1891.

  The Rajasthan city in that record is Ajmer, the press's home from 1891, under the Paropakarini Sabha.

• (2)
  Udaipur — Udaipur was the seat of the Paropakarini Sabha, not of the press. Bharatiya records that Dayanand reconstituted the Sabha at Udaipur, where its registration is dated 27 February 1883, and that the Sabha's office stayed in Udaipur until 1893.

  The press itself came from Prayag to Ajmer in 1891, and the Sabha's office followed it to Ajmer in 1893.

• (4)
  Jaipur — Jaipur does not figure in the press's recorded moves. The Maulvi Granthavali traces it from Kashi (1880) to Prayag (1881) to Ajmer (1891).

  Bharatiya's history of the Paropakarini Sabha also places the press at Ajmer from 1891.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj, set up his own press to print his works. The Maulvi Granthavali dates its founding at Kashi to 12 February 1880; it moved to Prayag in 1881 and to Ajmer in 1891.

The press passed to the Paropakarini Sabha. Bharatiya says Dayanand first formed the Sabha by a will (Svikar Patra) registered at Meerut in 1880, giving it rights over his clothes, money, books and the press.

In early 1883, at Udaipur, a second will reconstituted the Sabha; the Udaipur State council that Bharatiya calls the Mahadraj Sabha registered it on 27 February 1883. Dayanand died at Ajmer on 30 October 1883.

The Sabha's office stayed at Udaipur until 1893, when Har Bilas Sarda became joint secretary and the office moved to Ajmer, where the press already was.

Key facts

• The Maulvi Granthavali (ed. Bhavanilal Bharatiya) dates the Vedic Yantralaya's founding at Kashi to 12 February 1880.
• The Maulvi Granthavali says the press moved to Prayag in 1881 and reached Ajmer in 1891; Bharatiya's history of the Sabha also gives 1891 for Ajmer.
• Bharatiya: the Paropakarini Sabha was reconstituted at Udaipur and registered there on 27 February 1883.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati died at Ajmer on 30 October 1883.
• Bharatiya: the Sabha's office remained at Udaipur until 1893, then moved to Ajmer with Har Bilas Sarda as joint secretary.

Common traps

• Taking Ajmer as the press's first home. The Vedic Yantralaya began at Kashi in 1880 and came to Ajmer only in 1891, by way of Prayag.
• Choosing Udaipur because the Paropakarini Sabha was registered there. Udaipur held the Sabha's office until 1893; the press was at Ajmer.
• Merging the press's move (1891) with the Sabha office's move (1893). Bharatiya gives the two different years.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to Bhavanilal Bharatiya's history of the Paropakarini Sabha, the Sabha's office moved in 1893 from Udaipur to —

  • (a)Meerut
  • (b)Ajmer
  • (c)Jodhpur
  • (d)Prayag
  Answer(2) — Bharatiya records that the office stayed at Udaipur until 1893 and was then moved to Ajmer under joint secretary Har Bilas Sarda. Meerut (1) is where the Sabha was first registered in 1880. Prayag (4) housed the press from 1881 to 1891. Jodhpur (3) is not the city he names.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange the places where the Vedic Yantralaya functioned in chronological order: A. Ajmer B. Kashi C. Prayag

  • (a)A, B, C
  • (b)C, B, A
  • (c)B, C, A
  • (d)B, A, C
  Answer(3) — Kashi (1880), then Prayag (1881), then Ajmer (1891), per the Maulvi Granthavali. Options (1) and (2) begin at Ajmer or Prayag, and option (4) puts Ajmer before Prayag.