Ballarpur

Ballarpur stands on the eastern bank of the Wardha River, where a fort preserves the memory of the Gond kingdom of Chanda. The stronghold is traditionally attributed to King Khandkya Ballal Shah in the fifteenth century. A rock temple in the riverbed below the fort is submerged when the Wardha rises in the flood season. The town was a royal seat before the Gond rulers established their later capital at Chanda.

According to local tradition, the king suffered from illness while living at Sirpur. His queen persuaded him to build a fort and palace across the Wardha, where she cared for him until he recovered. The dynasty subsequently made Chanda its chief seat, while Ballarpur retained its fort on the river. Gond rule in the wider country lasted until the Bhonsle Marathas took Chanda in the middle of the eighteenth century.