Garha

Garha was an early seat of the Gond rulers of Garha-Mandla, near the upper Narmada valley. Its kings built a state whose strongholds and districts extended across much of the surrounding country. Sangram Shah, remembered for possessing fifty-two forts, left his mark near Garha in the great tank called Sangram Sagar and the Bajnamath temple on its bank. The kingdom became one of the most prominent Gond powers of central India.

After the death of Sangram Shah’s son Dalpat Shah, his widow Durgavati governed for their young son. In 1564 the Mughal commander Asaf Khan invaded; Durgavati met his forces and, wounded in battle, chose death rather than capture. The kingdom was subsequently restored under Gond rulers in a reduced form. Its political centre later moved to more defensible sites, including Ramnagar on the Narmada, but Garha remained associated with the dynasty’s rise.