Jalore district or the erstwhile Jabalipur obtained its name from the sacred groove of Mahirishi Jabali. The District Head Quarter known is known as Jalore. As per the history of Jalore district, the Prathihara King Naresh Nagbhatt II expanded the ambit of his state from Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal. Songara Chauhans who were ready to die for their nation and it is their pride that made Jalore their Capital by fighting it out. The three main towns Jalore, Bhinmal and Sanchore were ruled by Prathihar, Parmar, Chalukya, Chauhan, Pathan Mughal and Rathore dynasties.
Before independence Jalore district was a part of Jodhpur province (Marwar). Administratively it was divided into three Parganas of Hukumats- Jalore Jaswantpura and Sanchore. History was written on 30th March 1949 when Rajasthan came into force and it was then Jodhpur province was incorporated into it and consequently Jalore had become a part of Jodhpur province. When various districts were made Jalore also made its presence felt on the scene and it was made into the district present day.
With the passage of time the name of mountain Kanchangiri and Swarngiri were also frequently used as names of Jalore. It is clear from Kuvalyamana of Udhyothan suri that in 8th Century A.D. it was a prosperous town. At that time Prathihar King Vatsa Raja was the ruler. Towards the end of 12th Century A.D. Parmars ruled the region. Historians believe that the Jalore Fort was built by Parmar rulers. At that time from Abut to Umarkot all landmass was ruled by the Parmar dynasty rulers: Chandan, Devraj, Aparajit, Vijjal, Dhasavarsh and Vishal had ascended the throne.
After A.D. 1164 Kumarpal rules here. Nadol king Arhan`s youngest son Kirtipal had started Chauhan tradition in Jalore. Samar Singh ascended after Kirtipal. After him Uday Singh like his father also captured Nadol and Mandore from Mohammedans. Thereafter Chargi Dev and Samant Singh became rulers upon whose valiant son, great poet, Padmanabhan had written an epic named "Kanhad Prabandh". In this epic there is fantastic elaboration of war between Kanhad Dev kings and Ala-ud-din Khilji.
Fort at mountain Swarngiri provided name to the lineage of Chauhan`s as Songara Chauhan. According to a general belief the place derived its name for the heavy presence of Jal tree here. Rathore king, Rao Maldev, ruled the Fort of Jalore in 15th Century. During Akbar`s rule Abdul Rahim Khan Khana took it infinitely from Gazni Khan. Emperor Jahangir built the walls of the fort. After the death of Aurangzeb it permanently became a part of Jodhpur.
It is said with relation to Viram and Firoza that the Mughal Emperor had invited Viram for a game of "Veniti" with `Panju Wrestler.` After defeating the wrestler Princess Firoza fell in love with Viram and she had sent proposal of marriage, which Viram had rejected. Getting angry with this Mughal Emperor surrounded the whole Jalore with his soldiers. Hundreds of Rajput braves had laid down their lives for their country, religion and pride also brave women have put themselves alive into fire to save their respect.
In South West of Rajasthan Jalore District is located in the peripheries of sky high Swarngiri fort forming a fish shape and having a vast expanse of around 10640 sq. km. According to historical beliefs it was called as `Drumkulya` the northern part of southern Ocean. Being frightened from the `fire bow` of Lord Rama the sea had accepted to build a bridge on it and then he had fired this infallible bow leaving desirous landmass of Jalore. During Dwapara age this landmass was known as `Maru Dhanwa` consequently Marudhar and Marwar being the acceptable changes in name.
