Khaniadhana

Khaniadhana emerged from the division of Bundela family possessions in Bundelkhand. In 1724 Maharaja Udot Singh of Orchha granted the place, together with Mohangarh and Ahar, to his son Amar Singh. This established a local estate whose authority rested on a dynastic grant from the Orchha ruling house.

The advance of Maratha power added another source of recognition. In 1751 the Peshwa issued Amar Singh a sanad confirming his possession. A grant within a ruling family had thus acquired a second political guarantee under the power becoming dominant in the region. The relationship did not settle every question of superiority: Orchha and the Maratha government at Jhansi continued to dispute claims over Khaniadhana. Its rulers consequently governed amid overlapping assertions of allegiance. The estate's early history illustrates how Bundela inheritance and Maratha documentary confirmation could sustain a local dynasty while leaving its place within a wider hierarchy unsettled.