Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum is situated at the south of Mau Sahania village, over Chhatarpur-Nowgaon highway, in the Chhatarpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The museum was established in the year 1955 in the Palace of Maharaja Chhatrasal. Maharaja Chhatrasal was a famous Bundela warrior who revolted against a great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He gained power when the downfall of the Mughal Dynasty began. He also owns the credit of forming an independent kingdom named Bundelkhand. The territory of Maharaja Chhatrasal spanned over a large area without any oppositions. Communal harmony was quite evident in that era and people belonging to different religions participated in the religious functions of each other. Poets and scholars were greatly admired and encouraged during the rule of Maharaja Chhatrasal. The Palace which houses the museum was also built by him. The museum consists of eight galleries.
In the first two galleries copper plates, inscriptions, Shivalinga, Sati Pillars and idols having beautiful inscriptions belonging to Kalachuri and Gupta kings have been placed. Another gallery of the museum, also termed as the Jain Gallery, has on display a number of art specimens collected from different Jain centres of the Vindhya region. The prominent idols among these artefacts include Sarvatobhadrika, Rishabhnath, Chakreshwari and Gomedh Ambika. Other galleries of the museum are Shakti and Shaiva galleries. These galleries also host some very significant sculptures such as Gajasurvadh, Ekmukhlinga and Nandikeshwar. Different forms of Goddesses with Tantrik overtones are also displayed in the museum which represents the art of Chandella and Kalchuri era. The idol of Suryaputra Revanta, belonging to Kalchuri Period, is another prominent feature of Maharaja Chhatrasal Museum.
In the Painting Gallery of the museum, various painting depicting rulers of Charkhari, Rewa and Panna, scenes from Ramakatha and Shrikrishna Leela have been displayed. Eight huge concave-convex mirrors are placed in the Amusement Gallery. These mirrors are highly popular owing to their property of distorting the images and rendering them comical appearances. The Arms Gallery houses weapons of former states of Rewa, Chhatarpur, Charkhari and Panna which belong to 16th to 18th century AD. The weapons exhibited in the museum include bows and arrows, swords and shields, grenades, cannons etc. The sword of Raiman Daua, the commander-in-chief of Chhatrasal and the canon of Adil Sher Shah are the most prestigious artefacts of the museum.
