The name of Kharagpur derived from the name of old Shiva temple called ‘Khargeswar’ located at Kharagpur. The Temple was established by King Kharag Singh Pal and was named after him. The place of Kharagpur has mythological importance too. As depicted in Mahabharata, this area was ruled by the Demon King Hiramba. Pancha Pandavas spent a part of their repatriation years here. Bhim had fallen in love with Hirimba, sister of Hiramba. This annoyed Hiramba who clashed with Bhim. It was believed that Hiramba was killed by Bhim at the same place where Khargeswar Temple is located.
Historically, Kharagpur was a part of the Hijli Kingdom and ruled by Hindu Oriya rulers as a feudatory under Gajapati Kings of Orissa. Historians claim that in the 16th century, Kharagpur was still a small village surrounded by dense forests. The village was on high rocky barren land. The only inhabited settlement near Kharagpur was Hijli. Hijli was a small island village on the banks of River Rasulpur in the delta of Bay of Bengal. It developed into a port town in 1687. Hijli was also a Province and was in existence till 1886. It covered parts of Bengal and Orissa. It had important towns like Tamluk, Panskura, Debra along with Kelghai & Haldi rivers on the north, south and east sides bounded by Bay of Bengal and Kharagpur, Keshiary, Dantan and Jaleswar on the west.
Hijli was ruled by Taj Khan who was the disciple of Guru Peer Mackdram Sha Chisti. It was also ruled by Kushan, Gupta and Pal dynasties, and by the Mughals. It is said that Hijli had excellent business and trade centers with judiciary, jail and administrative offices during the reign of Hindu Kings and during the Moghul Raj. Hijli Province was at its peak in 1754 AD and was highly prosperous during this period. The capital of Hijli was in Bahiri up to 1628 A.D. and was shifted to Hijli afterwards.
In the 18th century another port town Khejuri came into existence, primarily set up by the British for
