History of the Panjab Hill States

As in the case of many of the other Hill States Sir Alexander Cunningham was the first to institute inquiries into the history of the Mandi royal family and the results of his researches are to be found in the Reports of the Archielogical Survey.2 Unfortunately very little material of a historical character in addition to the Vansavali or genelogical roll of the Rajas is available and [...] The following description of the fortress is from The Rajas of the Punjab " by Sir Lepel Griffin :2 " The hill upon which the fortress is situated extends nearly north and south for six or eight mile& running parallel to and about ten miles from the Janetri Devi in the east and the Bakar Khad on the west. [...] The hill is formed of conglomerate sandstone from 150 to 200 feet in height while the ridge is narrow and serrated and in several places intersected with deep ravines ; the eastern and western sides presenting an uninterrupted scarp of from 40 to 150 feet along the whole length of the lull except at the two approaches to the positions of Anantpur and Kamlah which are guarded The Rajas of the [...] For a time in 1758 he held sway over the whole of the Kangra hills and all the Hill States and even the Mughal Governor of Kangra were compelled to submit to him.3 On his demise Mandi must have come soon afterwards under the influence of the Sikhs though no mention of them occurs in the history till after 1781—in the reign of Surma-Sen. [...] The invitation of the Bilaspur Raja was thus in keeping with their ulterior designs and it was suppored by the rulers of all the States to the west of the Satluj as far as the Ravi.