Vidisha

Vidisha is a city and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town is situated east of the Betwa River , in the fork of the Betwa and Bes rivers, 10 km from Sanchi. The town of Besnagar , 3 km from present-day Vidisha on the west side of the river, became an important trade center in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, under the Sungas, Nagas, Satavahanas, and Guptas, and was mentioned in the Pali scriptures. Besnagar was abandoned in the sixth century. Vidisha was established in the ninth century by Muslims. The Bija Mandal mosque in Vidisha was constructed from the remains of Hindu temples.

Vidisha District

Vidisha District (area 2,742 km²) is bounded by the districts of Ashoknagar to the northeast, Sagar to the east, Raisen to the south, Bhopal to the southwest, and Guna to the northwest.

The district was created in 1904 by joining the tehsils of Vidisha and Basoda , which were then part of Gwalior state. After India's independence in 1947, the former princely state of Gwalior became part of Madhya Bharat state, which was formed in 1948. Vidisha district was enlarged in 1949 by the addition of the small princely state of Kurwai. The district took its present form in 1956, when Madhya Bharat state, Bhopal state, and the tehsil of Sironj, then part of Rajasthan state and previously part of the princely state of Tonk, were both merged into Madhya Pradesh state. Sironj tehsil and the small pargana of Piklone from Bhopal state were merged into Vidisha district.

Vidisha district lies where eastern Malwa region meets western Bundelkhand region. In addition to the town of Vidisha, the district is home to the historic city of Besnagar and the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi.