HISTORY OF DISTRICT

History of Satna district is part of the history of the region known as Baghelkhand, a very large portion of which was ruled by the treaty state of Rewa, while a small part towards the west was ruled by feudatory chiefs, holding their States under sanads given by the British rulers, There were eleven in all; important ones being Maihar, Nagod, Kothi, Jaso, Sohawal and Baraundha and the five Chaube Jagirs of Paldeo, Pahra, Taraon, Bhaisundha and Kamta-Rajula.

The early Budhist books, the Mahabharat etc, connect the Baghelkhand tract with rulers of the Haihaya, Kalchuri or Chedi clan, who are believed to have gained sufficient importance sometime during the third century A.D. Their original habitat is placed on the Narbada with Mahishmati (identified by some with Maheshwar in west Nimar district) as the capital; from where they seem to have been driven eastwards. They had acquired the fort of Kalinjara (a few miles beyond the border of Satna district, in U.P.), and with this as base, they extended their dominious over Baghelkhand. During the fourth and fifth centuries, the Gupta dynasty of Magadha was paramount over this region as is shown by the records of the feudatory chiefs of Uchchakalpa (Unchehra in Nagod tehsil) and the Parivrajak Rajas of Kot (in Nagod tehsil). The chief stronghold of the Chedi clan was Kalinjar, and their proudest title was Kalanjaradhishwara (Lord of Kalanjar). The Kalchuris received their first blow at the hand of Chandel chief Yashovarmma (925-55), who seized the fort of Kalinjar and the tract surrounding it. The Kalchuris were still a powerful tribe and continued to hold most of their possessions until the 12^th century.

The chiefs of Rewas were Baghel Rajputs descended from the Solanki clan which ruled over Gujrat from the tenth to the thirteenth century. Vyaghra deo, brother of the ruler of Gujrat, is said to have made his way into northern India about the middle of the thirteenth century and obtained the fort of Marpha, 18 miles north-east of Kalinjar. His son Karandeo married a Kalchuri (Haihaya) princess of Mandla and received in dowry the fort of Bandhogarh (now in the tehsil of the same name in Shahdol district), which, until its destruction in 1597 by Akbar was the Baghel Capital.

In 1298, Ulugh Khan, acting under order of emperor Alauddin drove the last Baghel ruler of Gujrat from his country and this is believed to have caused a considerable migration of the Baghels to Bandhogarh. Until the 15^th century the Baghels of Bandhogarh were engaged in extending their possessions and escaped the attention of the Delhi kings. in 1498-9, Sikandar Lodi failed in his attempt to take the fort of Bandhogarh. The Baghel king Ramchandra (1555-92), was a contemporary of Akbar. Tansen, the great musician, was in the court of Ramchandra and from their he was summoned by Akbar to his court. After the death of Birdhabra, Ramchandra's son, a minor named Vikramaditya acceded to the throne of Bandhogarh. His accession gave rise to disturbances. Akbar intervened and captured and dismantled the Bandhogarh fort in 1597 after a seize of eight months. It is after this that the town of Rewa started gaining in importance. It is said to have been founded by Raja Vikramaditya in 1618 (which perhaps means that he undertook the construction of palaces and other buildings there because the place had already assumed importance in 1554 when it was held by Jalal Khan son of emperor Shershah).

In 1803, after the treaty of Bassein, the British made overtures of alliance to the ruler of Rewa, but the latter rejected them. In 1812, during the time of Raja Jaisingh (1809-35), a body of Pindaris raided Mirzapur from Rewa territory. Upon this Jaisingh was called upon to accede to a treaty, in which he acknowledged the protection of the British Government, and agreed to refer all disputes with neighbouring chiefs to their arbitration and to allow British troops to march through or be cantoned in his territories. At the mutiny of 1857, Maharaja Raghuraj Singh helped the British in quelling the uprisings in the neighbouring Mandla and Jabalpur district, and in Nagod which is now a part of Satna district. For this, the king was rewarded by restoration to him of the Sohagpur (Shahdol) and Amarkantak parganas, which had been seized by the Marathas in the beginning of the century . The rulers of Rewa State bore the title of 'His Highness' and "Maharaja" and received a salute of 17 guns. Most of the Raghuraj Nagar and entire Amarpatan tehsil of the present Satna district were in the Rewa State prior to the formation of Vindhya Pradesh.

Nagod State: Until the 18^th century, the state was known as Unchahara from the name of its original capital. The chierfs of Nagod were Parihar Rajputs belonging traditionally to Mount Abu. In the seventh century, Parihar Rajputs drove out the Gaharwar rulers from and established themselves in the country between Mahoba and Mau. In the ninth century, they were repulsed eastwards by the Chandels, where Raja Dhara Singh seized the fort of Naro from the Teli Rajas in 1344. In 1478 Raja Bhoja obtained Unchahara, which he made the chief town, and which remained so until 1720, when the capital was moved to Nagod by Raja Chainsingh. Later on the Parihars lost all their territories to the Baghels and Bundelas except the limited territory that they held before 1947.

When the British became paramount after the treaty of Bassein (1820), Nagod was held to be a tributary to Panna and was included in the sanad granted to that state in 1807. In 1809, however, a separate sanad was granted to Lal Sheshraj Singh confirming him in his possessions. In the mutiny of 1857, the chief Raghvendra Singh behaved most loyally in assisting the Britishers and was rewarded by the grant of 11 villages, which had belonged to the confiscated state of Bijeraghogarh. The Nagod chiefs had the title of Raja and received a salute of 9 guns.

Maihar: The chiefs of Maihar claimed descent from the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The family apparently migrated from alwar in the 17^th or 18^th century, and obtained land from the Orchha chief. Thakur Bhimsingh later entered the service of Chhatrasal of Panna. His granted Beni Singh became minister to Raja Hindupat, who granted him the territory that now forms most of the Maihar tehsil in about 1770. (Originally it had been a part of Rewa Beni Singh, who was killed in 1788, constructed numerous tanks and buildings. His son Rajdhar was conquered by Ali Bahadur of Banda early in the nineteenth century. Ali Bahadur, however, restored the State to Durjan Singh, a younger son of Benisingh. In 1806 and 1814, Durjansingh received sanads from the British Government confirming him in the possession of his lands. On his death in 1826 the State was divided between his two sons BishanSingh, the elder, succeeding to Maihar, while Pragdas, the younger obtained Bijai Raghogarh. The latter state (now in Murwara Tehsil of Jabalpur district) was confiscated in 1858 owing to the rebellion of the chief. Rulers of Maihar enjoyed the title of Raja and were entitled to a salute of 9 guns.

Kothi: Kothi was a small sanad state of about 169 square miles, now included in the Raghuraj Nagar tehsil. The state was formerly ruled by chiefs of the Bhar tribe but Jagat Rai Singh Baghel drave out the original Bhar chief and founded the jagir. On the establishment of British supremacy Kothi was held to be subordinate to Panna, because in the eighteenth century when Chhatrarao Bundela was in power in Panna, the Kothi chiefs were his tributary. Thereafter, however, during the domination of Alibahadur of Banda, and afterwards, the Kothi chiefs maintained their independence. In view of this the British granted in 1810 a sanad to Rais Lal Duniyapati Singh, making him directly dependent on British Government

Sohawal: This also was a small sanad state of about 213 square miles, separated into two sections by the Kothi state. Its founder Fatehsingh was one of the two sons of Maharaja Amarsingh of Rewa. He had revolted against his father in the sixteenth century. Originally the state was of considerable extent including Birsinghpur, Kothi and other tracts in the neighbourhood. On the rise of Panna under Chhatrasal, Sohawal became a tributary but retained its independence. Later on, however, Jagatrai and Jirdeshah, sons of Chhatrasal, actually seized much of its territory, while the Kothi chief, taking advantage of these disturbances, threw off his allegiance, and attacked and killed the Sohawal chief, Prithipal Singh. On the establishment of British supremacy in nineteenth century, Sohawal was first held to be subordinate to Panna. But a separate around was granted to Rais Amansingh in 1809 on the ground that, the state had existed before Chhatrasal's rise to power and had remained independent throughout the supremacy of Alibahadur of Banda. The state has been merged in Raghuraj Nagar Tehsil since 1950.

Baraundha (or Pathar Kachhar): This was also a petty sanad state of about 218 square miles. Formerly it was much larger, comprising most of the present Banda district of U.P., the family having held the country for at least 400 years. The name Pathar Kachhar was derived from its position on the skirts of the Vindhayas. The ruling family claimed to be an old one and to belong to the Raghuvansi clan of the solar division of Rajputs. The original seat of the family was in Rasin in Banda district, originally called Raja Vasini, Where there are many old remains. The early history is, however, very obscure, During Bundela supremacy, the state appears to have been held on a sanad from Hirdeshah of Panna. On the accession of British to paramount power, Raja Mohansingh was recognised and confirmed in his territory by a sanad granted in 1807. The rulers of the state bore the title of Raja and received a salute of 9 guns.

Chaube Jagirs :This was a collection of five petty sanad states between Baraundha State and Banda district of U.P. The five states were Paldeo,Pahara,Taraon, Bhaisundha and Kamta-Rajauli with an area of 126 square miles. The holders of these estates were Jijhotia Brahmins and bore the appellation of Chaube. They originally held land at village Dadri near Nowgon cantonment. Their aptitude for military service brought them to notice and they rose to high rank under Raja Chhatrasal of Panna. The owners of the first four estates were descended from Ramkishan who was governor of Kalinjar fort under Raja Hirdeshah of Panna. The jagirs are now in Raghuraj Nagar tehsil.