Dewas Senior was established by Tukoji Rao I Pawar during the Maratha conquest of Central India.

[1] The brothers divided the territory among themselves; their descendants ruled as the senior and junior branches of the family.

After 1841, each branch ruled his own portion as a separate state, though the lands belonging to each were intimately entangled; in Dewas, the capital town, the two sides of the main street were under different administrations and had different arrangements for water supply and lighting.

[2] The Senior branch had an area of 446 sq mi (1,160 km2) and a population of in 62,312 in 1901.

Dewas Junior Darbar (Court) was composed of Jagirdars, Sardars, Istamuradars and Mankaris.