Raigadh

Raigarh lies in the eastern Chhattisgarh country, on the approaches between the Mahanadi basin and the forested hills to the north. It became the seat of a local state under a ruling family associated with the Gond chiefs of Chanda. The family’s traditions trace its founder Madan Singh to Bairagarh, from which he came to establish his authority in this country.

According to the district history, Madan Singh had been a subordinate of the ruler of Sambalpur before creating a separate Raigarh state. His successors maintained the local ruling house as neighbouring powers competed over the surrounding lands. The state belonged to a group of small principalities between Chhattisgarh and western Odisha, where political authority was organized around estates and fortified seats rather than a single large city.