Banswara

Banswara lies in the hilly Vagad country of southern Rajasthan, near the Mahi River. The region is home to Bhil communities, and local tradition remembers a Bhil chief named Bansia or Wasna in the story of the town’s foundation. The landscape of wooded hills and river valleys differs markedly from the drier plains farther north.

After the death of the ruler of Dungarpur at the battle of Khanwa in 1527, his sons divided the family’s territory. Jagmal established a separate state at Banswara, whose rulers bore the title Maharawal. His rise is associated in local accounts with the defeat of the Bhil chief Wasna. The Mahi came to mark the boundary between Banswara and Dungarpur, while the new ruling house negotiated its position among the powers of Mewar, Gujarat and Malwa.