Gwalior, a native state of central India, the dominions of the Mahratta Maharajah Sindhia (q.v.), consists of several detached districts, with an area of 29,046 sq. m., lying principally between 23° 20' and 26° 52' N. lat., and in 76° 15' to 79° 12' E. long. Lying partly in the basin of the Jumna and partly in that of the Nerbudda, it divides its drainage between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The principal export is opium. At the census of 1881, the first attempted, the population was 3,115,857; in 1891, 3,378,774, mainly Hindus. Though Gwalior is a Mahratta principality, being, in fact, the principal fragment of the great empire of the Peshwa, yet the Mahrattas do not form any considerable proportion of the people, and are said to number only 15,000. The revenue of the state is estimated at £1,200,000; the strength of the army is fixed at 6000 cavalry, 5000 infantry, and 48 guns, and there are nearly 7500 police. Since 1803 the country has been under British protection. In 1843 the British were compelled, on the death of the sovereign, to send an armed force, which, after severe fighting, succeeded in restoring his adopted successor to the throne; and during the troubles of 1857 the young Maharajah remained faithful to the British government, although deserted by his troops.—GUALIOR, the capital, stands 65 miles S. of Agra by railway. Its nucleus is an isolated rock of about 340 feet in height, perpendicular, either naturally or artificially, on all sides; it measures 1½ mile by 300 yards, and its citadel (said to date from the 8th century), whose guns sweep the only approach, is virtually impregnable against any native force. Along the eastern base of this eminence lies the old town of Gwalior, containing little worthy of notice but a beautiful mausoleum of white sandstone; and to the south-west there extends for several miles the new town called Lashkar, where the Maharajah resides. Nearly 4 miles to the north-east is Morar, the British cantonment from 1858 to 1886, when its fine sandstone barracks were handed over, along with the fortress, to Sindhia, and the European headquarters removed to Jhansi.
There are Hindu temples, a Hindu palace, Jain caves, and rock sculptures. Pop. (1891) 104,083.