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 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 empire was extended up to
Mandasor during the reign of
Mahendrapala II.
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 statue also in the garden.
Maratha Empire The
Battle of Mandsaur took place in Mandsaur,
India between the
Maratha Army and
Jai Singh II of
Amber. In February 1732, the Marathas completely surrounded Jai Singh with their enormous cavalry and started cutting of his supplies. The Jaipur Raja was forced to sue for peace, he offered the Marathas six lakhs, but
Holkar refused and demanded more. While the negotiations were taking place, a rumour surfaced about reinforcements from the emperor. This raised the morale of the
Jaipur army and the
Rajputs got ready for battle, the Marathas quickly attacked the rearguard of the Jaipur army and killed its commander. The Rajputs also attacked and killed fifteen Maratha officers in the fight that followed. Holkar and his men retreated 30 miles away from the battlefield. Jai Singh followed them but was outpaced by the
Maratha cavalry who reached Jai Singhs camp and forced him to surrender. Jai Singh was forced to give six lakhs to Holkar and allow him to collect
chauth from 28 pargana's in
Malwa. had the following consequences:
Scindias and
Holkars were emboldened to renew their attack on
Rajputana.
Kota and
Bundi were made the next targets in the same year by the Marathas.
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 Maharaja of
Indore, who concluded the
Third Anglo-Maratha War and the
Pindari War in 1818. At the turn of the 20th century, it was a centre of the Malwa
opium trade.
Mention in Kalidas Manuscript The 47th stanza of
Kalidas's poem
Meghdoot (Purva-megha) mentions Dashpur. In his aesthetic piece of writing, Kalidas writes about the beauty of women's eyes in Dashpur. ==Geography==