Jasrota, in the Sivalik Hills of the Western Himalayas, was the capital of the Jasrotia Rajputs. It was founded by Jas Dev, a ruler of the Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir, who gave it to his brother, Karan. While the fortified town is now derelict, there remains an active village bearing the same name on its outskirts. Jasrota is in Kathua district and it is just 16 km from Kathua city.

Jasrota was one of ten states founded by members of the Jammu ruling family. They were all tributaries to the Raja of Jammu. It was probably the first of those to be established, although its origin is disputed. Some sources say that it was founded by Raja Jas Dev of Jammu (c. 1020–1053) and given to his brother, Karan Dev. Others say that Karan Dev was a son of Bhujdev, a ruler of Jammu, and that the state came into existence in either the 12th or early 13th century, when Karan Dev’s military prowess enabled him to win over the jagirdars and landlords of the area; in this latter interpretation, Jas Dev was Karan Dev’s nephew. There is agreement that Karan Dev was the founder of the ruling Jasrotia family.

The first written record of Jasrota is probably that found in the Ma’asir-ul-Umara.The state was bifurcated following a dispute between the twin sons of Kailesh Dev, who had been ruling in 1320. Pratap Dev and Sangram Dev both sought to succeed their father but it was impossible to prove which brother was the older. Eventually, the rulers of neighbouring hill states negotiated a settlement, leading the lands being divided and Sangram becoming the first ruler of the new state of Lakhanpur in 1350.

In 1594–94, the then ruler of Jasrota, Bhivu Dev,[a] used his army comprising over 100,000 men and 10,000 horse to ally in a rebellion involving some other hill states against the Mughal emperor Akbar. The revolt is referred to in the Ma’asir-ul-Umara and Akbarnama but the history of Jasrota in the following years, up until the arrival of Sikh forces in the region, is obscure. It appears to have taken little part in the various regional upheavals of the 17th and 18th centuries and the recorded genealogy of the ruling family is incomplete.

Ajab or Ajib Dev was ruler of Jasrota between 1790 and 1800. He arranged the construction of Jasmergarh Fort (near to the present-day town of Hiranagar, then on the border of his territories) in order better to protect Jasrota from Sikh incursions.