Mandi State was a princely state within the Union of India from 1950 to 1956 with Bilaspur as its capital. The state of Mandi (the name means 'market' in Hindi), which includes two towns and 3,625 villages, was in the Himalayan range, bordering to the west, north, and east on the British Punjabi district of Kangra; to the south, on Suket; and to the southwest, on Bilaspur.