About Devi Ahilyabai Holkar:
- Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar (31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795) was the Holkar Queen of the Maratha Malwa kingdom, India.
- Under her rule Malwa enjoyed relative peace, prosperity, and stability, and her capital, Maheshwar, was turned into an oasis of literary, musical, artistic, and industrial pursuits.
- Military contribution
- She was military-trained under her father-in-law Malhar Rao Holkar and personally led armies into battle.
- She appointed Tukojirao Holkaras the Chief of Army.
- Administration
- She held daily public audiencesto help redress the problems of the common man.
- She earned a reputation for administering justice fairlyduring her rule, without partiality or partisanship. Ex: She sentenced her only son, found guilty of a capital offense, to death by being crushed by an elephant.
- She also made some landmark decisions during her reign, including the removal of traditional law confiscating the property of childless widows.
- Promotion of craft: She established a textile industry in Maheshwar, which today is very famous for its Maheshwari sarees.
- Cultural contribution
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- She welcomed stalwarts such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Ananta Gandhi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram into her capital.
- She was a great pioneer and builder of Hindu temples.
- She built hundreds of temples and Dharmashalas throughout India.
- Her most notable contribution was the renovation and repair of the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in 1780.
- She passed away on August 13, 1795, at the age of seventy.
- Titles: John Keay, the British historian, gave the queen the title of ‘The Philosopher Queen’.
