Lohardaga is a town which is also the district headquarters of Lohardaga district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Earlier (early 1900s) Lohardaga was the commissionary headquarters for Chotanagpur. It was only later that the commissionary of Chotanagpur was shifted to Ranchi. The commissioner's office still exists and it houses the Lohardaga Municipality office.
It covers a hilly terrain and dense forest areas and is known to be inhabited since antiquity though no written records exist before Mahavir's time. In Jain texts there is reference to Lord Mahavir's visit to Lore-a-Yadaga, which means 'river of tears' in Mundari. The famous book on Akbar, 'Ain-e-akbari' mentions a place called Kismate Lohardaga.
