Raipur

Raipur was the capital of a branch of the Kalachuri kings in the Chhattisgarh plain. Its name is traditionally linked to Brahmadeva or his father Ramachandra, and the remains of an old fort recall its role as a royal seat. The kingdom formed part of the historical country of Dakshina Kosala, whose rulers held a network of fortified districts. Temples and inscriptions at Raipur, Rajim and Khallari preserve evidence of the dynasty’s patronage and authority.

In the fourteenth century the Kalachuri house divided, and a junior branch established a separate kingdom based at Raipur. Inscriptions at Raipur and Khallari record Brahmadeva’s rule in 1402 and 1414. The Hatkeshwar Mahadev temple on the Kharun River was built in his time by Hajiraj Naik, providing the growing town with a sacred place dedicated to Shiva. Maratha armies entered the region in 1741; Amar Singh Deo, the last Raipur ruler, was later displaced by the Bhonsles of Nagpur. After his death in 1753, the Marathas took the districts left to him.

British officials assumed administration after the Maratha defeat in 1818 and made Raipur their headquarters in Chhattisgarh. Authority returned to the Bhonsles in 1830. Across these changes the town remained a centre for the surrounding plain, linking the legacy of its Kalachuri kings to the successive governments that followed them.