Kutlehar was one of the hill Kingdoms that the region of Punjab lying between the rivers of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej was divided into.The Monarchs of Kutlehar settled in the hills around the tenth century before which they ruled from Bengal and were paid tributes from the rulers of kingdoms stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhyas in the south and from the Eastern coast of India to its Western coast and were great patrons of Buddhism and had the famous monastery of Vikramshila and Otantapura built and patronised the Buddhist writer, Haribhadra and Atisa.
There are many versions of the reason of the arrival of the Pals in the North, some mention that after losing nearly all of the empire the Monarch came on a pilgrimage, whereas some mention the arrival as the younger brother of the King had taken over the Empire therefore the King left for the hills.
Some months after the arrival in the hills, the monarch of the neighboring Kingdom of Kangra suspected that his Kingdom might be attacked, and a battle took place between the Kangra and Kutlehar armies, the Pal King was successful, but the Kangra army attacked again during the night and another battle broke out, in this mayhem taking advantage of the dark, the Raj-Purohit and a select troop of the elite force disappeared into the forests, while the Pal King personally lead the attack but due to the surprise attack the defensive could not stand and the sun rose over the lifeless body of the Pal King, surrounded by the bodies of his army.
Unknown to the Kangra army, just about then the detachment of troops that had left in the dead of the night was stopping to rest, and along the sounds of trotting hoofs and clanking of swords was the sound of a crying baby, who was held tightly by the Raj-Purohit, the infant was the Crown Prince and heir to the Pal King.
Shortly after this the Kangra King contracted leprosy, many treatments were tried but to no avail, then one night the King was told in a dream by the Goddess Durga that he had been punished by her because of his attack on the Pal King, who she said was dear to her and to be cured he must seek out the heir of the slain King and reinstall his property to him.
A search followed and the Crown Prince was found by the Kangra King who married his daughter to him and reinstalled him in Kutlehar, and also gave the area of Nadaun to him and declared that from that day forth the first tilak on the raj-tilak of every successive Kangra King would be applied by the ruler of Kutlehar, it is said that within a few days the Kangra King recovered completely from leprosy.
In the 11th century rose a great monarch, King Jas Pal, who made many changes in the administration of the Kingdom for better management and efficient disposal of problems and divided Kutlehar into administrative provinces, he also created sub provinces managed by ministers who daily informed the Raja via sowars and it is said that he made himself the master of all land between the Satluj and Bias.
Raja Jas Pal had five sons and a daughter, the eldest son succeeded him and the other four Princes and the Princess left for a pilgrimage to the Simla hills. On the way the second Prince conquered and established the State of Bhajji, the third Prince, conquered and established the State of Koti and according to the Gazetteer of the Keonthal State, the other Kutlehar Prince, Junga is said to have changed into a Deota and has a temple in Keonthal, there are 22 other Gods who are considered the Tikkas or sons of God Junga, who seek Junga’s permission before they can celebrate a jag or observe a festival, thus acknowledging Junga as the foremost God, the Kutlehar Princess is said to have manifested into a Goddess and has a temple at Dharech.
From the time of Raja Jas Pal things remained more or less calm, partially due to the fact that the Kutlehar Rajas have, due to their spiritual ways and learning, the Bhrahma-gaddi or an equation made with Lord Bhrahma, the God of learning, this kept most of the neighboring rulers from attacking Kutlehar territory but not always, in the 13th century the Raja of Suket rose to power and conquered many Kingdoms, he came all the way to Kutlehar, where he annexed a strategic hilltop into his Kingdom, and made his boundary with Kutlehar, here again it is said that the Goddess Durga came to the Suket Raja in a dream asking him to retreat from the Kutlehar territory, which he did. There were other invasions that took place but most of the invaders were on their way to Delhi and plundered only the plains and left the hills alone.
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