Princely state
Mandi
| Seat | mandi |
|---|---|
| Capital | Bhiuli → Mandi (1526) |
| Dynasty | Sena |
| Group | Punjab Hill States |
| Founder | Bahu Sen (line); Ajbar Sen founded Mandi town |
| Founded | 1526 (town); the line separates from Suket in the 11th century |
| Merged | 15 April 1948 |
Mandi and Suket are two branches of the same Sena house — Suket the elder, Mandi the younger. Ajbar Sen moved the seat across the Beas and founded Mandi town in 1526, the same year as the first battle of Panipat, which makes the date easy to hold.
Sidh Sen (1684–1727) is the ruler to remember: he extended Mandi at the expense of his neighbours, was reputed a tantric of great power, and received Guru Gobind Singh at his court. The Mandi–Suket rivalry was so entrenched that the two states were still disputing when they were merged into a single district in 1948.
- Mandi is called Choti Kashi for its concentration of stone shikhara temples — Bhootnath, Trilokinath, Panchvaktra, Ardhanarishwar.
- Mandi Shivratri is an international fair; the deities of the district assemble before Madho Rai.
- The Mandi Conspiracy of 1914–15 linked the Ghadar party to Mandi and Suket.
- The Shanan hydel project at Jogindernagar (1932) was among the earliest in India, built under Raja Joginder Sen with Col. B. C. Batty.