Earliest maintain of this city found place in the writings of Bhavbhuti as
Pawaya which was situated on the River Para (modern
Parbati) and Chandrabhaga (modern
Sindh). Pawaya was ancient capital of
Naga dynasty and it had relationships with
Gupta Empire too. Current pawaya village is situated in east direction (7 km radius) from modern town. It was captured by Maratha kings of Gwalior (
Scindias) in a small clash. Afghans has important role in this war The Bhitarwar Fort was established by Hanselia
Jat ruler Raja Berajshah in 16th century.He also built a Fort at the nearby hill known as Laxmangarh for his brother Laxman Singh. There are many other building of Hanselia
Jat rulers in Bhitarwar.There are many other fort build by Hanselia rulers like Mastura Fort, Kiror Fort and Gijora Fort. By the early 20th century, Bhitarwar was the seat of the
pargana of Mastura. It was hit hard by the
Indian famine of 1899-1900, and many people died. Early-20th-century Bhitarwar had a post office run by
Gwalior State, a police station, and a small, poorly maintained fort. The 1901 census recorded its population as 1,530 people (815 male and 715 female). ==Demographics==