Mandsaur is a city and a municipality in Mandsaur district located on Border of Mewar and

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...

region of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District. The ancient Pashupatinath Temple is located in Mandsaur.

History

Aulikaras of Dashapura

Epigraphical discoveries have brought to light two ancient royal houses, who call themselves as Aulikaras and ruled from Dashapura (present-day Mandsaur). The first dynasty, who ruled from Dashapura from the beginning comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Jayavarma, Simhavarma, Naravarma, Vishvavarma and Bandhuvarma. The Risthal stone slab inscription discovered in 1983 has brought to light another Aulikara dynasty, which comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Drumavardhana, Jayavardhana Ajitavardhana, Vibhishanavardhana, Rajyavardhana and Prakashadharma. After Parakshadharma, the ruler of Mandsaur was Yashodharma, who is identified with Vishnuvardhana, who erected a pillar of victory at

Bayana Bayana is a historical town and the headquarters of Bayana tehsil in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan in India. Hindaun City is nearest city of Bayana - 33 km. It was the site of famous Important Battle of Bayana in 1527 between the Raj ...

due to which Bayana's name became Vijaygarh. In all probabilities, he was the son and immediate successor of Prakashadharma.

Yashodharman rule

Sondani (सोंधनी) is a small village at a distance of about 4 km from Mandsaur situated on Mahu-Nimach Highway towards Mahu. In a part of the inscription Yasodharman praises himself for having defeated king Mihirakula:

Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty

The

Gurjara Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

empire was extended up to Mandasor during the reign of

Mahendrapala II Mahendrapala II (944–948) ascended the throne of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty after his father Mahipala I Mahipala I (913–944) ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his step brother Bhoja II. He was a son of Queen Mahidevi. M ...

Medieval era

There are two gardens in which there is a pillar of torandwar. It is believed to be pillar of Surya Mandir of the inscription of Bandhu Varma. There is a

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

statue also in the garden.Usha Agarwal:Mandsaur Zile ke Puratatvik samarakon ki paryatan ki drishti se sansadhaniyata - Ek Adhyayan, Chrag Prakashan Udaipur, 2007, p. 19

Princely State

In 19th century before India's independence in 1947, Mandsaur was part of the princely state of Gwalior. It gave its name to the treaty with the

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the M ...

Maharaja of

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

, who concluded the Third Anglo-Maratha War and the

Pindari War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

in 1818. At the turn of the 20th century it was a centre of the Malwa opium trade.

Mention in Kalidas Manuscript

Mention of Dashpur can be found in

Kalidas Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and th ...

poem Meghdoot (Purva-megha
47th stanza
Kalidas writes about the beauty of the eyes of women from Dashpur in his aesthetic piece of words.

Geography

Mandsaur District forms the northern projection of Madhya Pradesh from its western Division, i.e., Ujjain Commissioner's Division. It lies between the parallels of latitude 230 45' 50" North and 250 2' 55" North, and between the meridians of longitude 740 42' 30" East and 750 50' 20" East. The District is an average size district of Madhya Pradesh. It extends for about from north to south and from east to west. The total area is with a population of 1,16,483 in 2001.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Mandsaur had a population of 141,468 male population was 72,370 and female population was 69,098, giving a sex-ration of 898. Mandsaur had an effective literacy rate of 86.79%, higher than the national average: male literacy was 92.74, and female literacy was 80.60%. 15,721 (11.1%) of the population was under 6 years of age.

References

* {{Authority control Former capital cities in India Cities in Madhya Pradesh