Mahup, disinherited by his father, took refuge with his mother's family, the Chauhans of Bagar[3] and made himself lord of that country at the expense of the Bhil chiefs.

[citation needed] The town of Dungarpur, the capital of the state, was founded near the end of the 14th century by Rawal Bir Singh, the sixth descendant of Sawant Singh of Mewar, who named it after Dungaria, an independent Bhil chieftain who was assassinated.

After the death of Rawal Udai Singh of Bagar at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, where he fought alongside Rana Sanga against Babar, his territories were divided into the states of Dungarpur and Banswara.

[4] Successively under Mughal, Maratha and British Raj control by treaty in 1818, it remained a 15-gun salute state.

The last princely ruler of Dungarpur was Rai-i-Rayan Maharawal Shri Lakshman Singh Bahadur (1918–1989), who was awarded the KCSI (1935) and GCIE (1947), and after independence became a Member of the Rajya Sabha twice, in 1952 and 1958, and later a member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1962 and 1989.