According to historical records, in the late 1500s, significant Mughal figures set up camp in this “char bagh,” featuring a remarkable 36-pillared pavilion at its center. This pavilion included an underground chamber that provided shelter for women during the summer, surrounded by a water-filled moat on all four sides. Later, as the Maratha army advanced toward Delhi, the Jadhav family took control of this natural water reservoir. Sardar Deorao Bhausaheb Jadhav and his son Sardar Krishnarao Deorao Jadhav used this garden as a summer retreat, with the women’s quarters in Deo Bagh and the men’s quarters in Jai Vihar, the current family residence. The garden complex includes magnificent family temples, an elephant stable (‘hathi khana’), stables, and cenotaphs. During the British resistance, significant meetings of the Gwalior State, particularly when the brave Rani of Jhansi fought from the nearby fort rampart, were held here. Since India’s independence, this has been the residence of Sardar Deorao Krishnarao Jadhav, his son Sardar Dhananjayrao Deorao Jadhav, and his wife, the Ranisaheba, since 1954, when they moved from their ancestral Lakshmi Vilas Rajwada due to increasing urban noise.

The Neemrana group undertook the restoration and preservation of this historic site. Deo Bagh opened to visitors in early April 2012, featuring 15 rooms distributed across 5 wings, all facing a Nau Bagh, a garden divided into nine sections, each named to reflect the Jadhav family’s historical ties.