Devi Ahilyabai Holkar: Things to know about on her birth anniversary

Devi Ahilyabai Holkar: In early modern India, Ahilya Bai Holkar served as the Maratha Empire's hereditary noble queen. She made Maheshwar the home of the Holkar Dynasty. Ahilya Bai took over the affairs of Holkar dynasty after the passing of her husband Khande Rao Holkar and father-in-law Malhar Rao Holkar.

Hindu architecture was greatly advanced by Ahilya Bai, who built hundreds of temples and Dharmashalas across India. She is particularly well-known for restoring and rededicating some of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites that the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had desecrated and destroyed a century earlier.

Devi Ahilyabai Holkar: Early life

Ahilya Bai was born in 1725 into a Marathi Hindu family to Mankoji Shinde and Sushila Shinde in the Chaundi village (present-day Ahmednagar district) of Maharashtra, where her father, Mankoji Shinde, a scion of a respectable Dhangar family, served as the Patil. Ahilya's father taught her to read and write even though women weren't allowed to attend school back then.

Malhar Rao Holkar, then the Holkar ruler of Indore, got her married at the age of eight to his son Khanderao. Khanderao lost his life in the 1754 battle in Rajasthan. The fabled Battle of Panipat in 1761 is preceded by the following incidents. Malhar Rao himself died in 1765, and Khanderao's son, who succeeded him as king for a few years while Ahilyabai served as regent, died in 1767. Then, in 1767, Ahilyabai was crowned queen of Indore.

Devi Ahilyabai Holkar: Death

At the age of 70, Ahilyabai passed away on August 13th, 1795. Ahilyabai, a modern times lady, is recognised as the Maratha Empire's golden era. Ahilyabai was replaced by Tukoji Rao Holkar, her commander-in-chief and nephew, who promptly abdicated the throne in 1797 in favour of his son Kashi Rao Holkar.