[3] The ruler of Rewa ruled from Bandhavgarh during the founding reign of Raja Vyaghra Dev, who was a direct descendant of Gujarati warrior king Vir Dhawal.

However, Lord Irwin criticized the lagging of state in terms of development and he spoke of Rewa's need to end its aloofness with the world and it was still adjudged among the most backward areas of the country by V.P.

Rewa later merged with the Union of India and became part of Vindhya Pradesh, which was formed by the merger of the former princely states of the Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand agencies.

[citation needed] In February 2007, an extensive book on the history of Rewa, Baghelkhand, or the Tigers' Lair by Dr D.E.U Baker, was published by Oxford University Press.

Holding the rank of Sardar in the Maharaja of Rewa's service, Thakur Ranmat Singh became increasingly discontented with British interference, particularly by the Resident Political Agent, Willoughby Osborne.

Although Osborne escaped, the rebels continued their struggle, engaging in multiple battles across areas like Nagod, Bhilsain, Chitrakoot, Nowgong, and Keoti.

[8] This betrayal by the Rewa state highlights the complexities and internal conflicts during the 1857 Rebellion, where loyalty and resistance often intertwined in the fight against colonial rule.

Vyaghra Deo, a brother of a ruler of Gujarat, is said to have made his way into northern India around the middle of the 13th century and gained the fort of Marpha, 29 km (18 mi) north-east of Kalinjar.

His son Karandeo, married a Kalchuri (Haihaya) princess of Mandla, and received in dowry the fort of Bandhogarh which, until its destruction in 1597 by Akbar, was the Baghel capital.

In 1298, Ulugh Khan, acting under orders of the sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, drove the last Vaghela ruler of Gujarat from his country and this is believed to have caused a considerable migration of Baghels to Bandhogarh.