12-26-2005, 09:42 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ahalyabai Holkar (1725-1790)
Ahalyabai is fondly remembered as a noble, saintly and courageous woman. She ruled the kingdom of Indore, which was part of the wider Maratha Empire, for several decades. Her rule is remembered as a golden age in Indoreâs history.
Her father, Mankoji Shinde, was a farmer. She was brought up to be a living exemplar of the spirit of Sanatana Dharma. Once, the Maharaja of Indore saw her offering Puja in a temple, with deep devotion. He straightaway thought that she would be an ideal wife for his son, Khanderav. The marriage duly took place.
She won the hearts of all at the Royal Palace of Indore, through her sincere service and care. She was trained in statecraft, and accompanied the men to war on many occasions. At that time, the Maratha Empire was at the peak of its might. The Maratha Empire was the last great Hindu Empire, and was founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji (1627-1680). There were frequent battles and skirmishes, both against foreigners as well as internal feuds. In one such battle in 1754, Ahalyabaiâs husband was killed. The aged Malharrav Holkar was shattered at the death of his son. He summoned Ahalyabai, who he had deep affection for, and said, âYou are now my son. I wish that you look after my kingdom.â
On taking control of the administration of Indore, she declared, âThis kingdom belongs to Shankar (Shiva). On behalf of Shankar I will do my duty to manage the affairs for the benefit of the people.â She lived a very simple life. She didnât live in the palace, instead preferring to live on the banks of the River Narmada, at the pilgrimage site called âMaheshwarâ. Very few rulers in history have demonstrated such a lifestyle in which they renounce comforts but carry on their job well.
In 1766 the kingdom passed to Ahalyabaiâs son. He is remembered as being an unworthy ruler â addicted to vice and at times cruel. At any rate he soon passed away and once again Ahalyabai resumed control of the kingdomâs affairs. Soon the kingdom was becoming very prosperous. This attracted jealousy of many. The supreme ruler of the Empire, Peshwa Raghoba, at the instigation of one of Ahalyabaiâs own ministers, set out to confiscate the excess wealth. Ahalyabai pointed out to him that under the agreements that existed the wealth was supposed to be for the well being of her subjects and for charitable purposes. The Peshwa was infuriated that she defied his request, and threatened military action. She challenged him to come and meet her on the battlefield. She gathered a small force, which included many women and set out to fight. She sent the message to him âNow I will show you how weak I am. If I lose fighting against men I will have lost nothing. But if you lose against women then you will be in the soup! And remember, that is exactly what will happen.â
The Peshwa had a change of heart. He said, âYou have misunderstood. I do not come to fight, but to mourn Maaleravâs death.â He ended up staying as Ahalyabaiâs guest for a month. He was thoroughly impressed by the prowess with which she ruled the kingdom. For example, she had greatly reduced crime and theft, by encouraging poor people to get involved in trade and farming. She employed Bhil tribals to be the protectors of travellers, a job that they were paid handsomely for provided it was performed well. She spent the stateâs wealth on repairing and construction of roads, wells, dharamshalas (resthouses) and mandirs. She even contributed to projects outside her dominion, particularly the restoration of ancient shrines that had been destroyed by Islamic invaders. Two famous examples were the Vishnupad Mandir in Gaya and the Somnath Mandir in Gujarat. Every day she distributed food and clothes to the poor and the holy men and women. She would personally see anybody who wished to lodge complaints, whether they were poor peasants or rich merchants. Her success in administration stands out in contrast to most of the other Hindu rulers of the time. The leaders of the Empire of which she was part were involved in many feuds, and were not discharging their duties fully. Their policies did not promote prosperity and upliftment of the people.
Ahalyabaiâs humble nature was outstanding. She once flung a book full of her praises, compiled by a court poet, into a river. The reason that she did not want to receive all these eloquent praises was that they run the risk of making the recipient arrogant. She just wanted to discharge her duties. She always dressed in simple white and never wore elaborate jewellery. Thus she lived, up until the age of 70 where she passed away in Rameshwar. Ahalyabaiâs life shines brightly in the firmament of history, for ruling her kingdom with piety and selflessness; sincerely devoting herself to her subjects while keeping God at the forefront. Her life will be an inspiration for future generations of Hindus.
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Ahalyabai is fondly remembered as a noble, saintly and courageous woman. She ruled the kingdom of Indore, which was part of the wider Maratha Empire, for several decades. Her rule is remembered as a golden age in Indoreâs history.
Her father, Mankoji Shinde, was a farmer. She was brought up to be a living exemplar of the spirit of Sanatana Dharma. Once, the Maharaja of Indore saw her offering Puja in a temple, with deep devotion. He straightaway thought that she would be an ideal wife for his son, Khanderav. The marriage duly took place.
She won the hearts of all at the Royal Palace of Indore, through her sincere service and care. She was trained in statecraft, and accompanied the men to war on many occasions. At that time, the Maratha Empire was at the peak of its might. The Maratha Empire was the last great Hindu Empire, and was founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji (1627-1680). There were frequent battles and skirmishes, both against foreigners as well as internal feuds. In one such battle in 1754, Ahalyabaiâs husband was killed. The aged Malharrav Holkar was shattered at the death of his son. He summoned Ahalyabai, who he had deep affection for, and said, âYou are now my son. I wish that you look after my kingdom.â
On taking control of the administration of Indore, she declared, âThis kingdom belongs to Shankar (Shiva). On behalf of Shankar I will do my duty to manage the affairs for the benefit of the people.â She lived a very simple life. She didnât live in the palace, instead preferring to live on the banks of the River Narmada, at the pilgrimage site called âMaheshwarâ. Very few rulers in history have demonstrated such a lifestyle in which they renounce comforts but carry on their job well.
In 1766 the kingdom passed to Ahalyabaiâs son. He is remembered as being an unworthy ruler â addicted to vice and at times cruel. At any rate he soon passed away and once again Ahalyabai resumed control of the kingdomâs affairs. Soon the kingdom was becoming very prosperous. This attracted jealousy of many. The supreme ruler of the Empire, Peshwa Raghoba, at the instigation of one of Ahalyabaiâs own ministers, set out to confiscate the excess wealth. Ahalyabai pointed out to him that under the agreements that existed the wealth was supposed to be for the well being of her subjects and for charitable purposes. The Peshwa was infuriated that she defied his request, and threatened military action. She challenged him to come and meet her on the battlefield. She gathered a small force, which included many women and set out to fight. She sent the message to him âNow I will show you how weak I am. If I lose fighting against men I will have lost nothing. But if you lose against women then you will be in the soup! And remember, that is exactly what will happen.â
The Peshwa had a change of heart. He said, âYou have misunderstood. I do not come to fight, but to mourn Maaleravâs death.â He ended up staying as Ahalyabaiâs guest for a month. He was thoroughly impressed by the prowess with which she ruled the kingdom. For example, she had greatly reduced crime and theft, by encouraging poor people to get involved in trade and farming. She employed Bhil tribals to be the protectors of travellers, a job that they were paid handsomely for provided it was performed well. She spent the stateâs wealth on repairing and construction of roads, wells, dharamshalas (resthouses) and mandirs. She even contributed to projects outside her dominion, particularly the restoration of ancient shrines that had been destroyed by Islamic invaders. Two famous examples were the Vishnupad Mandir in Gaya and the Somnath Mandir in Gujarat. Every day she distributed food and clothes to the poor and the holy men and women. She would personally see anybody who wished to lodge complaints, whether they were poor peasants or rich merchants. Her success in administration stands out in contrast to most of the other Hindu rulers of the time. The leaders of the Empire of which she was part were involved in many feuds, and were not discharging their duties fully. Their policies did not promote prosperity and upliftment of the people.
Ahalyabaiâs humble nature was outstanding. She once flung a book full of her praises, compiled by a court poet, into a river. The reason that she did not want to receive all these eloquent praises was that they run the risk of making the recipient arrogant. She just wanted to discharge her duties. She always dressed in simple white and never wore elaborate jewellery. Thus she lived, up until the age of 70 where she passed away in Rameshwar. Ahalyabaiâs life shines brightly in the firmament of history, for ruling her kingdom with piety and selflessness; sincerely devoting herself to her subjects while keeping God at the forefront. Her life will be an inspiration for future generations of Hindus.
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