The historic town of Narwar, in Shivpuri district, lies to the east of River Kalisindh, which surrounds the famous fort of Narwar. Situated atop a hillock, the Narwar Fort is spread over 8 sq km on a steep scarp of Vindhya mountain range. It also houses a palace that has been built in a true Rajput style with fluted columns, flat ceilings and multifold arches.

The town was known as Nalapura after Raja Nala of Naisadha until the 12th century as has been documented in a poem, Naishadha Charita, penned by Shriharsha. Raja Nala’s love for Damyanti, the princess of Vidarbha kingdom finds mention in the epic of Mahabharata. In fact, when Raja Nala left his beloved wife in the Narwar forests, Damyanti managed to save herself from the wild animals and reached Chanderi. The Narwarias of Chambal Valley, said to be the founders and rulers of Gwalior till it was taken over in the 12th century by Parihara Rajputs, occupied a medieval fortress here. The Yajvapala dynasty, in the 13th century, named Narwar as its capital. It was in Narwar that Mughal emperor Akbar’s courtier, Abul Fazl, was killed by Vir Singh Bundela, later the ruler of Orchha.