History of Satna District is part of the history of BaghelKhand,of which a large part was ruled by state of Rewa while small part was ruled by feudatory chiefs,holding their states under British rulers.
Satna got its name from Sutna or Satna river flowing in its vicinity. The river is originated from a beautiful spot at Sarang Ashram ( Sutikshna Ashram) situated near sarangpur village of Panna district.Previously railway station was named as sutna and town was known as Raghurajnagar. gradually the town also became Satna. A long history is associated with this place. In Ramayana Era, Lord Rama stayed in the region of Chitrakoot; half of it is in the outskirts of Satna, shared with Uttar Pradesh, which contains the rest.
It was previously a British station, the headquarters of the political agent for Baghelkhand. Political agent office was established in Satna in 1872 and abolished in 1931. Col. D.W.K. Barr prepared a plan for Satna town in 1882-88 and Sir Donald Robertson constructed roads ponds etc. in the town in 1888-94.Nearby, at Bharhut, there are the remains of a 2nd century BCBuddhiststupa, first discovered in 1873 by renowned archaeologist Alexander Cunningham. However, most of the excavated remnants were sent to the Indian Museum.
The early books Budhist, the Mahabharat ,connects this place with rulers of the Haihaya,Kalchuri or Chedi clan
