dhar

DHAR

BRIEF HISTORY

The ruling family claims common descent with those of Dewas Senior and Dewas Junior, from the ancient Parmar (or Puar) dynasty. The family possesses a genealogical chart listing 238 generations descended from Agnipalak, who ruled more than four thousand years ago. Vikramaditya (valorous as the sun), perhaps the greatest ruler of this house and the founder of an era still in use, began his reign at Ujjain, in Malwa, in 56 BC. The domains of the ancient Parmars extended beyon d the Narbudda river and encompassed all of Central and Western India, the Indus being their boundary in the West. They carried their arms into the Deccan, perhaps the first to extend the Hindu religion, south of the Narbudda. In the following centuries the family endured great vicissitudes of fortune. The descendants of Vikramaditya established themselves as Rajas of Bijolya, in Mewar and Dhar in Malwa. It is from these rulers that the ruling houses of Dewas and Dhar descend. The family allied themselves with the rising Marathas during the seventeenth century, providing them with several distinguished military commanders. Sardar Uddajirao, cousin of the Dewas rulers, established himself at the Fort of Dhar in 1728, thereby restoring the fortunes of his ancient family in Central India. The state entered into treaty relations with the HEIC after the final defeat of the Maratha confederacy in 1818. It acceded to the Dominion of India in 1947 and joined the Madhya Bharat Union in 1948.

DYNASTY:
Puar (Parmar or Parama).

SALUTE:
15-guns.

ARMS:
Or; an eagle (garuda bird) displayed sable holding a cobra proper in dexter claw; on a chief argent semé of double quatrefoils gules a gateway of the second. Crest: A flame proper between wings erect or. Supporters: Elephants. Motto: "Shri Rajna Dharya no Rashtarbho Pakshepya" (Lord of Dhar state) and "Sansthan kile Dhar" (The state of the fort of Dhar). Lambrequins: Or and sable.

STYLES AND TITLES:
The ruling prince: Maharaja Shrimant (personal name) Rao (personal numeral) Puar Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Dhar, with the style of His Highness.
The consort of the ruling prince: Shrimant Akhand Soubhagyavati Maharni (personal name) Raje Sahib Puar, Maharani of Dhar, with the style of Her Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Shrimant Yuvraj (personal name) Raje Sahib Puar.
The younger sons of the ruling prince: Shrimant Maharajkumar (personal name) Raje Sahib Puar.
The daughters of the ruling prince: Shrimant Akhand Soubhagyavati Maharajkumari (personal name) Raje Sahib Puar.

ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
None known.

RULES OF SUCCESSION:
Male primogeniture, with the right of adoption by the recognised head of the family on the failure of natural male heirs.

SOURCES:
C.U. Aitchison. A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries. Vols. IV and V Containing The Treaties, &c., Relating to the Central India Agency. Part I-Central India and the Mediatized Chiefs & Part II-Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. Revised and continued up to the 1st June 1906 By the Authority of the Foreign Department. Superintendent Government Printing, India. Calcutta, 1909.
Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited, London, 1900-1959.
John Dickinson, FRAS. Dhar not Restored; in spite of the House of Commons, and of Public Opinion. P.S. King, London, 1864.
Captain C.E. Luard, MA, IA (compiler). Western States (Malwa) Gazetteer, Volume V. The Central India State Gazetteer Series, Byculla, Bombay, 1908.
Major C. Eckford Luard, IA, MA (compiler). Chiefs and Leading Families in Central India. Government of India, Calcutta, 1916.
Major-General Sir John Malcolm, GCB, KLS. A Memoir of Central India, including Malwa, and adjoining provinces, with the history, and copious illustrations of the past and present condition of the country. Third edition. Parbury, Allen & Co, London, 1832.
Manohar Malgonkar, The Puars of Dewas Senior. Orient Longmans Limited, Bombay, 1963.
East India (Dhar): Return to and Address of the Honourable House of Commons, dated 11 February 1861, for Copies or Extracts of all Correspondence relating to the Restoration of Dhar, not included in former returns. Parliamentary Accounts & Papers: East India – Native Government and Princes. Session 5 February – 6 August 1861. Vol XLVI.
Rulers, Leading Families and Officials in the States of Central India, Fifth Edition. Manager of Publications, Delhi, 1935.

DHAR 2	DHAR 3	DEWAS SENIOR
DEWAS JUNIOR	MAIN

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