Princely state
Guler
| Seat | guler |
|---|---|
| Capital | Haripur-Guler |
| Dynasty | Katoch (a branch of Kangra) |
| Group | Punjab Hill States |
| Founder | Hari Chand |
| Founded | 1405 |
| Merged | Lapsed to the British, 1846 |
A Katoch offshoot founded in 1405 by Hari Chand, whose founding story — presumed dead in a hunting accident, he emerged to find his brother enthroned and founded Haripur-Guler instead — is a standard one-liner.
Guler's importance is entirely artistic. Under Raja Govardhan Chand the family workshop of Pandit Seu and his sons Manaku and Nainsukh transformed the bold, hot Basohli manner into the soft, naturalistic Guler style — the 'pre-Kangra' phase from which the Kangra school grew in the 1780s.
- The Guler–Kangra line of descent is the single most examined fact in HP art history: Basohli → Guler → Kangra.
- Nainsukh worked for Balwant Singh of Jasrota; Manaku is associated with the Gita Govinda series of 1730.