The Rajnandgaon was originally named Nandgram. The Rajnandgaon state was ruled by Somvanshis, Kalchuris and Marathas. The palaces in the town of Rajnandgaon reveal their own tale of the rulers, their society and culture, and the splendid traditions of those times. Rajnandgaon is a major road and rail junction. The city was ruled by a dynasty of Hindu caretakers (mahants) with titles "Vaishnav" and Gond rajas (chiefs). Succession was by adoption. Its foundation is traced to a religious celibate, who came from the Punjab towards the end of the 18th century. From the founder it passed through a succession of chosen disciples until 1879, when the British government recognized the ruler as an hereditary chief and afterwards conferred upon his son the title of Raja Bahadur. First ruler [Ghasi Das], was recognized as a feudal chief by the British government in 1865 and was granted a sanad, or right of adoption. Later the British conferred the title of raja to the ruling mahant. One member of the Rajnandgaon royal family, Mr. Kamleshwar Das, who was educated at the Rajkumar College, Raipur and Cambridge University, England served at the U.N.O. and was a prominent Human rights activist in 1960's. Rajnandgaon was the capital of the former Raj Nandgaon princely state, which merged with Durg district. The last ruler of Raj Nandgaon, Mahant Digvijay Das, gave his palace for opening a college that was later named after him as Digvijay Mahavidyalaya
