The surface of the country is uneven and hilly, except in the N.E. part, which forms an irregular plain cut up by ravines scooped out by torrents during the periodical rains. The plains of Bundelkhand are intersected by three mountain ranges, the Bindháchal, Panná, and Bander chains, the highest elevation not exceeding 2000 feet above sea-level. Beyond these ranges the country is further diversified by isolated hills rising abruptly from a common level, and presenting from their steep and nearly inaccessible scarps eligible sites for castles and strongholds, whence the mountaineers of Bundelkhand have frequently set at defiance the most powerful of the native states of India. The general slope of the country is towards the north-east, as indicated by the course of the rivers which traverse or bound the territory, and finally discharge themselves into the Jumna.

The principal rivers are the Sindh, Betwá, Ken, Baighin, Paisuní, Tons, Pahuj, Dhasán, Bermá, Urmal, and Chandra-wál. The Sindh, rising near Sironj in Málwa, marks the frontier line of Bundelkhand on the side of Gwalior. Parallel to this river, but more to the eastward, is the course of the Betwá. Still further to the east flows the Ken, followed in succession by the Baighin, Paisuní, and Tons. The Jumna and the Ken are the only two navigable rivers. Notwithstanding the large number of streams, the depression of their channels and height of their banks render them for the most part unsuitable for the purposes of irrigation,—which is conducted by means of jhils and tanks. These artificial lakes are usually formed by throwing embankments across the lower extremities of valleys, and thus arresting and accumulating the waters flowing through them. Some of the tanks are of great capacity: the Barwá Ságar, for instance, is 2½ miles in diameter. Diamonds are found, particularly near the town of Panná, in a range of hills called by the natives Band-Ahil.

The mines of Mahárájpur, Rájpur, Kimerá, and Gadásiá contain the finest diamonds; one dug from the last is reputed to be the largest in the world. It was kept in the fort of Kalinjas among the treasures of Rájá Himmat Bahádur. In the reign of the Emperor Akbar the mines of Panná produced diamonds to the amount of £100,000 annually, and were a considerable source of revenue, but for many years they have not been so profitable.

The tree vegetation consists rather of jungle or copse than forest, abounding in game which is preserved by the native chiefs. There are also within these coverts several varieties of wild animals, such as the tiger, leopard, hyena, Wild boar, nilg á i, and jackal.

British Bundelkhand contains a population of 2,161,495 souls. The total population of Bundelkhand, British and native, has been estimated at 2,260,714. The people represent various races. The Bundelâs,—the race who gave the name to the country,—still maintain their dignity as chieftains, by disdaining to cultivate the soil, although by no means conspicuous for lofty sentiments of honour or morality. An Indian proverb avers that “one native of Bundelkhand commits as much fraud as a hundred Dandis” (weighers of grain, and notorious rogues). About Datiyá and Jhánsi the inhabitants are a stout and handsome race of men, well off and contented.

The prevailing religion in Bundelkhand is Hinduism.

The principal crops are wheat, jo á r, cotton, indigo, sugarcane, a red dye called á ch, various kinds of millets and pulses, and mahu á (Bassia latifolia). Carpets are manufactured at Jhánsí, and paper at Kalpi. Bamboo and Acacia catechu from the jungles form important articles of trade. Principal routes—(1), from Allahábád to Nasirábád through Bándá; (2), from Fathipur to Ságar through Bándá; (3), from Cawnpur to Jabalpur; (4), from Cawnpur to Guná through Kálpí and Jhánsí; (5), from Bándá to Gwalior; and (6) from Agra to Ságar. The Jabalpur line of the East Indian Railway passes through the native states of Bundelkhand. Principal towns,—Kálpí, Bándá, Jhánsi, Datiyá, Urchá, Jalaun, Chhatrapur, Mahobá, and Tehárí. The climate of Bundelkhand is sultry and unhealthy.

History. —Chandra Varma, chief of the Chandel R á jputs, appears to have established the earliest paramount power in Bundelkhand towards the close of the 9th century a.d. Under his dynasty the country attained its greatest splendour in the early part of the 11th century, when its R á j á, whose dominions extended from the Jumna to the Nerbudda, marched at the head of 36,000 horse and 45,000 foot, with 640 elephants, to oppose the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni. In 1183 the Chandel dynasty was overthrown by Pirthwi R á j, the ruler of Ajmir and Delhi, after which the country remained in ruinous anarchy until the close of the 14th century, when the Bundel á s, a spurious offshoot of the Garhw á tribe of Rajputs, established themselves on the right bank of the Jumna. One of these took possession of Urch á by treacherously poisoning its chief. His successor succeeded in further aggrandizing the Bundel á state, but he is represented to have been a notorious plunderer, and his character is further stained by the assassination of the celebrated Abulfazl, the prime minister and historian of Akbar. Jajhar Sinh, the third Bundel á chief, unsuccessfully revolted against the court of Delhi, and his country became incorporated for a short time with the empire. The struggles of the Bundel á s for independence resulted in the withdrawal of the royal troops, and the admission of several petty states as feudatories of the empire on condition of military service. The Bundel á s, under Champat Râi and his son Chhatra Sâl, offered a successful resistance to the proselytizing efforts of Aurungzebe. On the occasion of a Mahometan invasion in 1732, Chhatra Sâl asked and obtained the assistance of the Marhattâ Peshwâ, whom he adopted as his son, giving him a third of his dominions. The Marhattâs gradually extended their influence over Bundelkhand, and in 1792 the Peshwâ was acknowledged as the lord paramount of the country. The Marhattâ {>ower was, however, on the decline; the flight of the Peshwâ from ιis capital to Bassein before the British arms changed the aspect of affairs, and by the treaty concluded between the Peshwâ and the British Government, the districts of Bândâ and Hamirpur were transferred to the latter. Two chiefs then held the ceded districts, Himmat Bahâdur, the leader of the Sanyâsïs, who promoted the views of the British, and Shamsher, who made common cause with the Marhattâs. In September 1803, the united forces of the English and Himmat Bahadur compelled Shamsher to retreat with his army. In 1809 Ajaigarh was besieged by a British force, and again three years later Kalinjâr was besieged and taken aftςr a heavy loss. In 1817, by the treaty of Poonah the British Government acquired from the Peshwâ all his rights, interests, and pretensions, feudal, territorial, or pecuniary, in Bundelkhand. In carrying out the provisions of the treaty, an assurance was given by the British Government that the rights of those interested in the transfer should be scrupulously respected, and the host of petty native principalities in the province is the best proof of the sincerity and good faith with which this clause has been carried out. During the mutiny'of 1857, however, many of the chiefs rose against us, especially the Râni of Jhânsi.