Present day Rajasthan was home to some of the fiercest and most powerful princely states of India. One such state was the Princely state of Sirohi. Let’s take a quick look at the history of Sirohi state.

The Name

As per one of the theories, Sirohi word was derived from “Siranwa” hills which are situated on the western slope of the territory. Sirohi is an amalgamation of two words “Sir” and “Rohi” which means head and desert, respectively.  Another theory states that the name comes from the word “Sword” as Deora Chauhans were known for their bravery and swords. Some experts also believe that Sirohi kings were descendants of Prithvi Raj Chauhan.

Origins

In 1311 AD, an offshoot of the Chauhan rulers at Jalor named Lumba captured Abu from the Parmar King. He was the first king of Sirohi territory. During this time, Chandravati was the capital of this territory and Lumba continued to rule until 1320 A.D. The Chiefs of Shirohi belonged to the Deora Rajputs or Deora clan of Chauhans. Rao Shiv Bhan or Rao Sobha Ji was the sixth ruler after Rao Deoraj who founded Shivpuri on the eastern side of Siranwa hill in 1405. The remains of this old town are still present in this place.  Shreshthmal was the son of Rao Sobha Ji. He founded Sirohi State on the western side of Siranwa Hills. This was a very significant event in Sirohi history. Shreshthmal also started building Sirohi Fort in 1425. The Fort served as the capital of Sirohi state for several years. Sirohi was the only Rajputana state which never accepted the suzerainty of Mughals, Rathores and Maratha.  They were willing to sacrifice their lives to maintain their dignity and independence.

Major defeats

Rana Kumbha of Mewar captured Abu, Vasanthgarh and regions near Pindwara when Rao Sahashmall was the king of Sirohi state.  In 1452, Rana Kumbha took up the work of renovating a castle in Vasanthgarh, a tank and a temple at Kumbhaswami.  Rao Lakha was the next king after Sahashmall. He tried to take help from the king of Gujarat named Qutubuddin and recapture Abu.  However, Lakha failed in this attempt. Princely state of Sirohi became a part of British India in 1823.

Post-independence

After India’s independence in 1947, the Government of India and Minor ruler of Sirohi State signed an agreement after which Bombay Government started ruling the state from 5^th January under the first administrator Prema Bhai Patel.  Bombay Government continued stateto rule till 25^th January 1950, after which Sirohi became a part of Rajasthan state.