Jabalpur

Jabalpur, in eastern Madhya Pradesh, has a layered history shaped by river trade, forts and changing empires. The region around modern Jabalpur was part of ancient Mahakoshal, influenced by Nanda, Maurya and Gupta power, and dotted with early settlements along the Narmada. Later, it became associated with the Kalachuri rulers of Tripuri (near present-day Tewar), who controlled the Narmada valley between roughly the 9th and 12th centuries and left temples and inscriptions in the wider area.

After their decline, the countryside saw a mix of Gond chiefs and local Rajput lineages, until the 16th–17th centuries, when the Gond kingdom of Garha-Mandla emerged as a major force. Jabalpur grew as an important town under these Gond rulers, before the kingdom was gradually weakened and parts of it came under Mughal and then Maratha influence.

In the early 19th century, after the Anglo–Maratha conflicts, Jabalpur passed into British control and rose rapidly as a cantonment and administrative centre of the Central Provinces. Railways, courts and educational institutions turned it into a key urban hub. In independent India, Jabalpur became a divisional headquarters and a major military, industrial and educational city, known alongside its scenic attractions like Bhedaghat and Dhuandhar for its long role as the heart of Mahakoshal.