The Katyuris: The First Great Hill Dynasty
The Katyuri kings ruled much of present-day Uttarakhand from roughly the 7th to the 11th century. Their earliest seat is believed to have been at Kartikeyapura, usually identified with the area around Joshimath. They later moved to the fertile Katyur valley near Baijnath, which gave the dynasty its name.
The Katyuris left their mark in stone. The temple groups at Jageshwar (over a hundred shrines in a deodar forest), Baijnath on the Gomti and the Sun temple at Katarmal near Almora show a confident regional style of the Nagara architectural tradition. Copper-plate land grants from the period describe a structured kingdom with officials, villages and temple endowments.
When central Katyuri power weakened, the kingdom broke into smaller principalities ruled by branches of the family. Local legends, including the ballads of Rajula and Malushahi, are set in this later Katyuri world.
The Chands of Kumaon
The Chand dynasty traced its origin to a prince from the plains who, according to tradition, came to Champawat and was given land by the local people. From Champawat the Chands slowly extended their power over the Katyuri successor states, and by the 16th century they controlled most of Kumaon.
In the 16th century the Chand king Kalyan Chand moved the capital to Almora, a ridge with a commanding view and a reliable water supply. The town grew around the royal palace (Malla Mahal), the Nanda Devi temple and market streets such as Lala Bazaar, whose stone paving and carved wooden houses survive today.
- Administration: The Chands organised land revenue, village headmen and a professional army, and kept detailed land records.
- Religion and art: They patronised temples, the worship of local deities such as Golu Devta, and the Nanda Devi cult that still shapes Kumaoni festivals.
- Decline: Court intrigues and wars with Garhwal and the Rohillas of the plains weakened the kingdom in the 18th century, leaving it open to the Gorkha invasion of 1790.
The Panwars and the 52 Forts of Garhwal
Medieval Garhwal was a patchwork of small chiefdoms, each centred on a hilltop fort (garh). Tradition counts 52 garhs, and the region's name — "the land of forts" — comes from them. The Panwar (Parmar) family, believed to have arrived from the plains around the 9th century, began as rulers of one of these forts at Chandpur Garhi.
The turning point came under Ajay Pal, around the 15th century, who subdued the rival chieftains and united most of Garhwal. He moved the capital to Devalgarh and then to Srinagar on the Alaknanda, which remained the royal city for nearly three centuries. Later rulers took the title "Shah", and Garhwal kings presented themselves as guardians of Badrinath — the king was traditionally styled Bolanda Badri, "the speaking Badrinath".
Rani Karnavati, the "Nose-Cutting Queen"
In the 17th century, while ruling as regent for her young son, Rani Karnavati faced an invasion by a Mughal army sent during Shah Jahan's reign. Her forces trapped the invaders in the hills and cut off their supplies. According to the well-known account, she spared the soldiers' lives but had their noses cut off as a humiliation — earning her the name Nak-kati Rani. She is also remembered for building canals around Dehradun.
The Gorkha Conquest
In 1790 the Gorkha army of Nepal took Almora, ending Chand rule. In 1803 a powerful earthquake devastated Garhwal, and the Gorkhas invaded the weakened kingdom. King Pradyumna Shah was killed in battle at Khurbura, near Dehradun, in 1804. The following decade, known locally as the Gorkhyani, is remembered for heavy taxation, forced labour and the sale of people into slavery.
Treaty of Sugauli and the Tehri State
The British East India Company defeated Nepal in the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16). Under the Treaty of Sugauli, Kumaon and the eastern part of Garhwal became British territory, governed as the Kumaon Division. The western part of Garhwal, west of the Alaknanda and Mandakini, was restored to Pradyumna Shah's son Sudarshan Shah, who founded a new capital at Tehri at the meeting of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana.
Tehri Garhwal remained a princely state for more than 130 years. Popular discontent against its rulers grew in the 20th century, especially after the death of Sridev Suman in 1944, and the state merged with the Indian Union on 1 August 1949. Old Tehri itself now lies under the waters of the Tehri Dam reservoir.
Where to See This History Today
- Jageshwar and Baijnath: The finest Katyuri-era temple groups.
- Champawat: The early Chand capital and the carved Baleshwar temple.
- Almora: The Chand capital's old bazaar and the Nanda Devi temple.
- Chandpur Garhi and Devalgarh: Ruins of early Panwar seats near Karnaprayag and Srinagar.
- Narendra Nagar: The palace built by the Tehri kings in the 20th century, now a well-known spa resort.