He had a fortress at Garh Kundar and took advantage of the politically unstable environment of the time to make territorial gains.

[5] Both Bharatichand and Madhukar had to deal with attacks, organised under the Afghan Islam Shah Suri (r. 1545–53) and the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605).

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.

[6] During the rule of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, his vassal, Vir Singh Deo, was ruler of the Orchha area.

[7] His reign ended in either 1626[8] or 1627 and it was during this period that Orchha reached its zenith in both political power and architectural splendour.

)[9] 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.

[10] It was the oldest and highest in rank of all the Bundela states,[8] with a 15-gun salute, and its maharajas bore the hereditary title First of the Prince of Bundelkhand.

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