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Trigarta Kingdom

Trigarta was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Mahabharata mentions two different Trigarta kingdoms, one in the west close to the Sivi Kingdom and the other north to the Kuru Kingdom. Modern Kangra district is one of the ancient town in North TrigartaIndia, extending westward to the Punjab area. These Trigarta kings were allies of Duryodhana and enemies ofPandavas and Viratas. Their capital was named Prasthala. They attacked the Virata Kingdom aided by the Kurus to steal cattle from there. The Pandavas living there in anonymity helped the Viratas to resist the combined forces of Trigartas and Kurus. Trigarta kings fought the Kurukshetra War and were killed by Arjuna,after a ruthless and bloody conflict. Arjuna also annihilated anAkshouhini (a large military unit) of Trigarta warriors called the Samsaptakas. These warriors had vowed to either die or kill Arjuna as part of a larger plan by Duryodhana to capture Yudhishthiraalive. The Katoch Dynasty has been attributed to have ruled this area and the above story from the Mahabharata is recorded in their history. Maharaja Susharma Chand had fought against Arjuna. His son built the Kangra Fort.
Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal PradeshIndiaDharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district.

The Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh is situated in the Western Himalayas between 31°2 to 32°5 N and 75° to 77°45 E. The district has a geographical area of 5,739 km. which constitutes 10.31% of the geographical area of the State. According to 2001 census, the total population of the district was 1,339,030, which is the highest in the state (22.50% of the population). The altitude of the district ranges from 427 to 6401m above mean sea level, with the lowest being in the plains areas bordering Gurdaspur district of Punjab in the west and Una and Hamirpur districts of H.P to the south while the highest being amidst the Dhauladhar mountain range which forms the border with Chamba and Kullu districts. The district has considerable diversity in its soils, physiography, land use patterns and cropping systems. On the basis of these, the district has further been divided into five sub-regions i.e. Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar, Kangra ShiwalikKangra Valley and Beas Basin.
The Beas is one of the major rivers of this district, and contributes to the fertility of the land here. The district is bounded by the Himachal Pradesh district of Chamba and Lahaul valley of the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north, Kullu to the east, Mandi to the south-east, andHamirpur and Una to the south. The district shares a border with the states of Punjab to the west. Due to the hilly terrain, not very much of the land is cultivated. The region is covered with uniform patches of barren land, as well as small forests.There is a reasonably good network of roads across the district.
Dharamshala, the district headquarters, is also the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, headed by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Jwalamukhi, also known as Jwala ji, is famous for its ancient temple of the goddess of the same name, and features holy flames that run onnatural gas. Other important temples include Brajeshwari Devi templeChamunda Devi templeChintpurni templeBhagsunag Temple in McLeodGanj, Mahakal and Baijnath's Shiva temple in Baijnath. There are also important Buddhist temples in DharamshalaSidhbari and the Bir Tibetan Colony in Bir. Historical villages of Pragpur and Garli are also located here.
Masroor Temple (also known as the 'Ajanta Ellora of Himachal Pradesh') is the only rock-cut temple in north India[citation needed], believed to be built by the Pandavas during their exile period.
The Kangra Fort was built by the royal Rajput family of Kangra (the Katoch dynasty), which traces its origins to the ancient Trigarta Kingdom, mentioned in the Mahabharata epic. It is the largest fort in the Himalayas and probably the oldest dated fort in India.
The fort of Kangra was taken by the Mahmud of Ghazni in AD 1009. In 1337, it was captured by Muhammad bin Tughluq and again in 1351 by his successor, Firuz Shah Tughluq. But it was not completely subdued until 1622, when after a siege of fourteen months, it was conquered by the MughalEmperor Jahangir who garrisoned it with his troops and appointed a Governor to keep the turbulent hill chiefs in check.
In the second half of 18th Century, following the decline of Mughal power, Raja Sansar Chand-II succeeded in recovering the ancient fort of his ancestors, in 1789. But by carrying his ambitions too far he came in conflict with the neighboring hill chiefs, the Gurkhas.In 1804, crossing the Gadwall finally in 1805 the Gorkha army conquered Kangda valley across the Sutlej River after continuous fighting for three years. Till 1809 Gorkha Army conquered Kangda Fort. Subsequently in 1809 the Gorkha army was defeated and they had to retreat across Sutlej River. Concurrently as British East India Company was also in their expansion spree of colonization advanced up to Nepal’s the then border. Finally, with Maharaja of PunjabRanjit Singh was the conquerer of Kangra Fort in 1809. It remained in the hands of the Sikhs till 1846 when it was made over to the British Government, along with the surrounding hills.

A British garrison occupied the fort until it was heavily damaged in an earthquake in the year 1905.