Story of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar

(Written by Kavya Pandey, 7th Grader from Shivaji Shakha, GA, SE Sambhag)

Today we are here to remember one of the greatest women leaders in our history. Not only historians from Bharat have noticed her courage, sacrifices, and governance, yet many people from different countries have admired her leadership skills and sense of justice. A famous Scottish poet named Joanna Bailie wrote a great poem in 1849 on the incredible role model we still admire to this day. I am quoting a few lines from the poem here.

“For thirty years her reign of peace,

The land in blessing did increase;

And she was blessed by every tongue,

By stern and gentle, old and young.

Yea, even the children at their mother’s feet

Are taught such homely rhyming to repeat

In latter days from Brahma came,

To rule our land, a noble Dame,

Kind was her heart and bright her fame,

And Ahilya was her honored name.”

Let us  learn more about Devi Ahilyabai Holkar today.  People often called her Lokmata which means mother of the world. May 31, 2025 (born in 1725) was the 300th birthday of Devi Ahilyabai. She was born in the village of Chandi, Maharashtra, present day Ahilyanagar  (formerly Ahmednagar) to Sushilabai Shinde and Mankoji Shinde. Ahmednagar was honored with the name Ahilyanagar by the Maharashtra government in 2023.

Ahilyadevi was born into a Dhangar family, which is a herding caste, and Mankoji Shindi, the father of Devi Ahilyabai, was the Patil or the chief of the village. He taught her how to read  and write, even though it was uncommon for women to be educated at that time.

The journey of Devi Ahilyabai starts when Malhar Rao Holkar, the chief in general of the Malwa region under Peshwa Bajirao I, visited Chandi before going to Pune. He saw how Devi Ahilyabai was praying devotionally in Kashi Vishwanath temple, and was impressed by her loyalty to god.

After seeing all of this, Malhar Rao Holkar told his son, Khande Rao Holkar, to marry Devi Ahilyabai. Though Khanderao had a fiery nature, he respected and cared for his wife Ahilyabai. She helped him become less stubborn by patiently teaching him about leadership and responsibility. To inspire him, she told him stories from ancient Indian epics, which encouraged him to do his duties with honesty and dedication.

Just around the time when the couple got married, Malhar Rao became the founder of the Holkar dynasty. He first started out in a shepherd family. However, he used to work under   Sardar Bhojrarao Bargal, who was a cavalry leader. Cavalry are soldiers who fight on horses. Malhar Rao Holkar fought many wars like the “Battle of Delhi” and “Battle of Bhopal.” The extraordinary skills of Malhar Rao were noticed by Peshwa Bajirao I. Afterwards he was chosen as the commander of the maratha empire in 1734. Later onwards Peshwa Bajirao I gave Malhar Rao the Malwa region to spread the maratha empire, and this is when he started the Holkar dynasty. As a supportive father-in-law , Malhar Rao Holkar engaged Devi Ahilyabai in the matters of the kingdom. He taught her all about military strategies and governance. He encouraged Devi Ahilyabai and built up her leadership skills. Gautama Bai Holkar, the mother-in-law of Devi Ahilyabai, is widely known for teaching her the proper principals, administration, accounts, and politics. She taught her good values and showed her the right path.

The same year in 1754, Khanderao and Malhar Rao went to the Battle of Kumher, in which Khanderao was killed by a cannonball. Devi Ahilyabai was so devastated that she decided to take sati. Sati is when a woman sacrifices herself when her husband dies. Peeple begged her not to take sati, but she said, “He pledged to accompany me for a long time. Now he has left midway. Hence, it is proper for me to commit Sati”. However, Malhar Rao stopped and told her that “Daughter, my son left me whom I raised with a hope that he would support me in my old age. Now, will you also leave me, an old man, alone to be drowned in the fathomless ocean? Will you also leave me without any support? Still, if you don’t want to change your mind, let me die first.” After hearing this, Devi Ahilyabai decided not to take sati and chose to live.

Gautama Bai passed away on September 29, 1761, leaving Ahilyabai without the mother-in-law she always looked up to. Malhar Rao again started training her, and she kept up with her dedication and didn’t give up, even with so much loss. But after a few years, on May 20, 1766, he also passed away. On August 23 1766, Male Rao Holkar, Devi Ahilyabai’s son, started ruling Indore when he was 21 years old. He only ruled for 6 months and then sadly died on April 5 1767 due to a disease. Now Devi Ahilyabai became very lonely, she had to rule the Malwa region. She had to rule Indore and show everybody her skills.

Tukoji Rao Holkar, the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, became the Subehdar, which means he was the governor in a specific region in the Maratha empire. When the neighboring states saw that a woman was ruling Indore, they started attacking it. Despite the scarcity of resources, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar fought and won all the battles, with her courage and intelligence. One such story is when Gangadhar Rao the dewan of Malhar Rao Holkar, tried to overtake the power. Gangadhar Rao also known as Gangoba Tatya was his top advisor or his right-hand man. He thought that he could easily ask Devi Ahilyabai to adopt him as her son and give him all the administrative power and in return he would support Ahilyabai and manage the kingdom. However, Ahilyadevi strictly refused. She said she doesn’t need any support and it’s now her duty to maintain everything in order. This shows Ahilyabai was strong and smart, choosing to stand alone without seeking help, proving she could protect her kingdom on her own. Furious by her action, Gangadhar Rao secretly joined with Raghunath Rao, the younger son of Peshwa Bajirao l and the uncle of Peshwa Madhav Rao, to form a rebellion against Ahilyabai Holkar. Gangadhar Rao and Raghunath Rao decided to attack Maheshwar, the capital of Malwa , but things didn’t go as planned. 

Devi Ahilyabai already got to know that Raghunath Rao’s army was camping near the banks of the Shipra river, by her spies. She then stabilized and strengthened her military with the help of Tukoji Rao. Because of the sudden betrayal by Gangadhar Rao, she asked her neighboring kingdoms for help. Then the neighboring countries supported Devi Ahilyabai by sending their armies and troops for help. She sent a letter to Peshwa Madhav Rao as well. In that letter she told him all about Raghunath Rao and Gangadhar Rao’s cunning plan and said, “My father-in-law lost his life in your service and my husband too. And It was you who had given me this throne to run the administration of Indore . It’s only and only you who has the power to dethrone me. If some other person comes and tells me to leave this throne then I am not going to leave it.” When Peshwa Madhav Rao got the letter he got angry and asked Rani Ahilyabai to take serious action against Raghunath Rao.

Rani Ahilyabai went to the battlefield with her female soldiers and warned Raghunath Rao. She said, “I have prepared an army of women warriors from my kingdom who are ready to fight till their last breath and getting defeated by this army will be the most humiliating thing for a man.” After hearing this, Raghunath Rao got frightened and said that he was just here to give condolence to Rani Ahilyabai Holkar because of Male Rao’s death. This way she used her strategic skills to save Maheshwar without a war. Gangadhar Rao was arrested for 2 months before he was set back to his former position. However he was released following a compromise which was that he would no longer oppose Rani Ahilyabai’s rule and would prevent external threats to her kingdom. Even in this case she was thinking about her kingdom, not her benefits. 

Like this she ruled efficiently even though with the loss of her family members. She had a lovely daughter named Muktabai, but she became a sati after the death of her husband Yeshwantrao Fanse in 1791. Devi Ahilyabai tried to stop her a lot but she cried out loud and told her mother Ahilyabai “I am now left with nothing . Living without my husband is nothing more than a torture for me. My whole existence was associated with my husband. Now he is not alive then what would I have to do with this life so  , it’s better for me to sati.” Despite her personal losses, Devi Ahilyabai always thought and cared for her kingdom.

Throughout her journey, Ahilyabai built many industries and universities. Devi Ahilyabai Holkar’s justice was fair, fast, and based on strong values. It maintained order while progressing. Devi Ahilyabai also helped repair several temples, with her own money which was 16 crores at that time. Some of those temples were the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Somnath Temple, and Mahakaleshwar Temple. She also built many dharamshalas(almshouses) around the temples. Almshouses are places where devotees could rest and aid during their way to the temples. Ahilyabai Holkar built temples and ghats not only in her region, but also in other places like the Ahilyabai Ghat in Vanarasi. 

Unfortunately, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar passed away on August 13 1795, when she was 70 years old. Tukoji Rao Holkar, the brother-in-law of Devi Ahilyabai, took over the throne, but later gave it to his son, Kashi Rao Holkar.

Devi Ahilyabai’s perseverance through hard times and her dedication is unmatchable. Even until her last breath she took care of her kingdom. “Dharma is the foundation of true leadership. A ruler must serve, not dominate.” This is a  quote said by Devi Ahilyabai Holkar. In this quote we can see that she thought that it was a ruler’s (meaning her) duty to make sure everyone was happy and there were no issues. She always wondered how she could help make the lives of her people better. She also said, “I hold no sword, yet I rule. My people’s trust is my weapon.” All of the love and compassion Ahilyadevi gave to her people is immeasurable. To show gratitude towards Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Holkar there is an airport named after her as “Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport”.in Madhya Pradesh which is about 8 kilometers away from Indore. We are so glad to have an amazing leader like Devi Ahilyabai Holjar. Her hard work not only helped her time, but all the other generations as well.