princely state · Indian princely states

Guler State

1405 CE – 1813 CE (approx.) · capital Haripur

An offshoot of the Katoch kingdom of Kangra whose small court at Haripur nurtured the painters Pandit Seu, Manaku and Nainsukh, founders of later Pahari painting.

Origins

Tradition holds that around 1405 Hari Chand, heir to Kangra State, fell into a well while hunting and was presumed dead; his brother took the throne, and on his rescue Hari Chand founded a new state with its capital at Haripur, in the Guler area.

Rule and society

Guler was a small state, but its Rajas, especially Govardhan Chand in the mid-18th century, patronised a family of painters led by Pandit Seu and his sons Manaku and Nainsukh. Their naturalistic style, known as Guler painting, shaped the later Kangra school. The state was often dominated by Kangra and by Mughal governors in the plains.

Decline and legacy

Ranjit Singh annexed Guler to the Sikh Empire in 1813, leaving the family a jagir, which the British confirmed after 1846. The area is now in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Guler State. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guler-state
MLA
“Guler State.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guler-state. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Guler State.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guler-state.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Guler State’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guler-state (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻