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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|conventional_long_name = Orchha State
|common_name =Orchha
|nation = [[British India]]
|subdivision = [[Princely State]]
|era =
|year_start = 1531
|date_start =
|event_start=
|year_end = 1950
|date_end =
|event_end= [[Independence of India|Accession to the Union of India]]
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|p1 =
|s1 = India
|flag_p1 =
|flag_s1 = Flag of India.svg
|image_flag = Flag of the Orchha State.svg
|image_coat = Orchha State CoA.png
|image_map = Orchha-Panna map.jpg
|image_map_caption =Orchha State in the [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]
|stat_area1 =5400
|stat_year1 =1908
|stat_pop1 =321,364
|today = [[India]]
|native_name=|demonym=|capital=[[Orchha]], Tikamgarh}}
'''Orchha State''' (also known as '''Urchha''', '''Ondchha''' and '''Tikamgarh''')<ref name="gaz241">{{cite book |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V19_247.gif |title=Imperial Gazetteer of India |page=241 |volume=19 |year=1908 |publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref> was a kingdom situated in the [[Bundelkhand]] region and later a [[princely state]] in [[British India]]. It was located within what is now the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]].

The [[Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha)|Chaturbhuj Temple]] was built, during the time of [[Akbar]], by the Queen of Orchha,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/c/019pho0000002s4u00059000.html |title=Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha |publisher=British Library |access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref> while the Raj Mandir was built by Madhukar Shah during his reign, 1554 to 1591.<ref name="BLfort">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/f/019pho0000002s4u00056000.html |title=Fort and Palace at Orchha |publisher=British Library |access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref> In 1811, during the period of [[Company Rule in India]], it became part of the [[Bundelkhand Agency]] within the [[Central India Agency]]; after the [[independence of India]] in 1947, it acceded to the [[Dominion of India|Union of India]], in 1950.

== History ==
=== Before Company Rule ===
[[File:Old temple, Orchha.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Chaturbhuj Temple (Orchha)|Chaturbhuj Temple]] at Orchha, is noted for having one of the [[List of tallest Gopurams#Tallest Vimana|tallest Vimana]] among [[Hindu temple]]s standing at 344 feet.]]

Orchha State was founded in 1531 by the [[Rudra Pratap Singh]], who became its first king. He had a fortress at [[Garh Kundar]] and took advantage of the politically unstable environment of the time to make territorial gains. He moved to [[Orchha]] on the banks of the river [[Betwa]] and established it as his new capital. He died in the same year.<ref name="busch29">{{cite book |title=Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi Literature of Mughal India |first=Allison |last=Busch |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19976-592-8 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl0sbzehWvAC&pg=PA29}}</ref>

Rudra Pratap Singh was succeeded by his son, Bharatichand, who died without leaving an heir in 1554 and was in turn succeeded by his younger brother, Madhukar Shah.<ref name="busch29" /> Both Bharatichand and Madhukar had to deal with attacks, organised under the Afghan [[Islam Shah Suri]] (r. 1545-53) and the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]] (r. 1556-1605). Events involving the former were noted by the court poet [[Keshavdas]] and those involving Madhukar, who had to relinquish lands to Akbar in 1577 and 1588, were recorded in the ''[[Akbarnama]]''. Madhukar's position had become so precarious in the 1570s that he agreed to Orchha becoming a [[tributary state]] and to enlistment of himself and his family in the service of the Mughal empire, but another near-contemporary historian, [[`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni]], records him as a rebel in 1583.<ref>{{cite book |title=Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi Literature of Mughal India |first=Allison |last=Busch |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19976-592-8 |pages=29, 258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl0sbzehWvAC&pg=PA29}}</ref>

[[File:The capture of Orchha by imperial forces (October 1635).jpg|thumb|right|200px|The capture of Orchha by invading [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] forces (October 1635).]]
During the rule of the Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]], his vassal, [[Vir Singh Deo]], was ruler of the Orchha area.<ref name="bm"/> His reign ended in either 1626<ref name="michael" /> or 1627 and it was during this period that Orchha reached its zenith in both political power and architectural splendour. Examples of the architecture include the [[Jahangir Mahal, Orchha|Jahangir Mahal]] (built ca. 1605) and the Sawan Bhadon Mahal.<ref name="bm">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/t/019pho0000002s4u00055000.html |title=Sawan Bhadon Palace, Orchha |publisher=British Library |access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref>

In the early-17th century, Raja [[Jhujhar Singh]] rebelled against the Mughal emperor but was defeated. [[Shah Jahan]] placed the former raja's brother on the throne in 1641. Orchha was the only Bundela state not entirely subjugated by the [[Maratha]]s in the 18th century.<ref name="michael" />

The town of Tehri, [[Tikamgarh]], about {{convert|52|mi|km}} south of Orchha, became the capital of Orchha state in 1783, and is now the district town; Tehri was the site of the fort of Tikamgarh, and the town eventually took the name of the fort.<ref name="gaz241" />
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
Orchha Fort and Bridge.jpg|[[Orchha Fort complex]]
OrchhaPalace.jpg|[[Jahangir Mahal]], Orchha
Orchha mausolea.jpg|Memorial [[Chhatri]]s of the ruler of Orchha, on the bank of the [[Betwa River]].
Lakshmi Temple, Orchha.jpg|Lakshmi Temple, Orchha
</gallery>

=== During the British era ===
Hamir Singh, who ruled from 1848 to 1874, was elevated to the style of ''[[Maharaja]]'' in 1865. During his reign the allied forces of Orchha and Datia invaded [[Jhansi]] in 1857 intending to divide the Jhansi territory between them. However they were defeated by [[Rani Lakshmibai]]'s army and her allies in August 1857. (She intended at this time to hold Jhansi on behalf of the British who had no forces there at the time.)<ref>Edwardes, Michael (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books, p. 117</ref> Maharaja Pratap Singh (born 1854, died 1930), who succeeded to the throne in 1874, devoted himself entirely to the development of his state, himself designing most of the engineering and irrigation works that were executed during his reign.

In 1908, the boundaries of the state lay between 24° 26′ and 25° 40′ North and 78° 26′ and 79° 21′ East. It formed a part of the [[Bundelkhand Agency]] and had an area of {{convert|2080|sqmi|km2|abbr=off}}.<ref name="gaz241" /> The [[1901 Census of India]] recorded a population of 321,634.<ref>Great Britain India Office. ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908</ref> It was the oldest and highest in rank of all the Bundela states,<ref name="michael">{{cite book |title=Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900 |first=Thomas |last=Michael |editor-first=George S. |editor-last=Cuhaj |edition=6th |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-89689-940-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ur2magic_dAC&pg=PA728 |page=728}}</ref> with a 15-gun salute, and its maharajas bore the hereditary title ''First of the Prince of Bundelkhand''.

Vir Singh, Pratap Singh's successor, merged his state with the [[Dominion of India|Union of India]] on 1 January 1950. The district became part of [[Vindhya Pradesh]] state, which was merged into the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

== Rulers ==
[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Portrait of Rao Vir Singh.jpg|thumb|Vir Singh]]
[[File:Maharaja Pratap Singh of Orchha.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Pratap Singh of Orchha]]

===Rajas===
Prior to Company Rule, the rulers of Orchha all held the title of ''Raja''. They were:

*[[Rudra Pratap Singh]] (1501–1531)<ref>{{cite book |title=Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi Literature of Mughal India |first=Allison |last=Busch |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19976-592-8 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl0sbzehWvAC&pg=PA23}}</ref>
*Bharatichand (1531–1554)<ref name="busch29" />
*Madhukar Shah (1554–1592)<ref name="Busch">{{cite book |title=Poetry of Kings: The Classical Hindi Literature of Mughal India |first=Allison |last=Busch |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19976-592-8 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl0sbzehWvAC&pg=PA46}}</ref>
*Ram Shah (1592–1605)<ref name="Busch" />
*[[Vir Singh Deo]] (also spelled Bir Singh Deo) (1605–1626/7)<ref name="BLfort" /><ref name="michael" />
*[[Jhujhar Singh]] (1626/7–1635)<ref name="michael" /> (brother of Hardaul Singh)
*Devi Singh (1635–1641) (brother of Jhujhar Singh)
*Pahar Singh (1641–1653)
*Sujan Singh (1653–1672)
*Indramani Singh (1672–1675)
*Jaswant Singh (1675–1684)
*Bhagwat Singh (1684–1689)
*Udwat Singh (1689–1735)
*Prithvi Singh (1735–1752)
*Sanwant Singh (1752–1765)
*Hati Singh (1765–1768)
*Man Singh (1768–1775)
*Bharti Singh (1775–1776)
*Vikramajit Mahendra (1776–1817)<ref name="michael" />
*Dharam Pal (1817–1834)<ref name="michael" /> Queen Ladai Sarkar was his wife
*Taj Singh (1834–1842)<ref name="michael" />
*Surjain Singh (1842–1848)<ref name="michael" />
*Hamir Singh (1848–1865)<ref name="michael" /> (Queen Ladai Sarkar ruled at this time)

===Maharajas===
During the British era, initially under Company Rule and then as a part of the [[British Raj]], the title of ''Raja'' was in use until 1865, when it was replaced with that of ''Maharaja''. The rulers were:
*Hamir Singh (1865–1874)<ref name="michael" /> (Queen Ladai Sarkar ruled at this time)
*Pratap Singh (1874–1930)<ref name="michael" />
*Vir Singh II (4 March 1930 – acceded 1 January 1950) (b.1899 - d.1956)

===Titular Maharajas===
*Vir Singh II (1 January 1950 – 1956)
*Devendra Vijay Singh (1956 – 1995)
*Madhukar Shah (1995 – present)

== Postal history ==
[[File:Orchha 1914 2 a red brown.JPG|right|thumb|Orchha stamp, dated 1914]]
Postage stamps for the state were prepared for use in 1897 but were never issued. The first Orchha State stamps were issued in 1913 (half-[[Indian Anna|anna]] and one anna); in 1914 there was another issue of four stamps (half-anna to four annas). The third issue was in 1939 when a range of stamps bearing the maharajah's portrait were issued which included denominations from half-anna to eight annas and one [[Indian rupee|rupee]] to ten rupees.<ref>{{cite book |title=Stanley Gibbons' Simplified Stamp Catalogue |edition=24th |year=1959 |publisher=Stanley Gibbons Ltd |page=1063}}</ref>

Separate stamps were discontinued on 30 April 1950 after the state was merged with the Union of India early that year.

== Coinage ==
Orchha minted coins in copper and silver. The currency was known as ''Gaja Shahi'' because it most commonly bore the symbol of a [[mace (bludgeon)|mace]] (''gaja'') on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]]. The mace symbol was imitated on coins issued by [[Datia State]].<ref name="michael" />

== See also ==
*[[Hasht-Bhaiya]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite news |title=Discovery of monuments at Orchha |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/consumer-life/discovery-of-monuments-at-orchha/articleshow/5032282.cms |publisher=[[The Economic Times|Economic Times]] |date=20 September 2009 }}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
* {{cite news |title=Orchha Journal; See the Ruins (Before They Vanish)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/18/world/orchha-journal-see-the-ruins-before-they-vanish.html |work=[[New York Times]] |date=18 January 1992 }}

{{MP Princely States}}
{{Princely states of India}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|25.35|N|78.64|E|region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Princely states of Bundelkhand]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1531]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1950]]
[[Category:Tikamgarh district]]
[[Category:Rajputs]]
[[Category:1531 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1950 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Orchha]]

Orchha State - Revision history

imported>Dominus Moravian: /* External links */