Brave saga of Rani Ahilyabai comes alive

After the hugely successful exhibitions on Aurangzeb, which raised the hackles of communalists and their political mentors, and Shivaji, FACT-India has put together a fascinating exhibition on Rani Ahilyabai, the warrior queen of Indore. The show was inaugurated by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Pune on Wednesday.

India has had many female rulers, warrior women and poet queens, but Ahilyabai Holkar commands tremendous admiration for her accomplishments during her 30-year-long reign. She was noted for her piety, for her administrative ability, for her keen interest in all her people and for an extraordinary amount of building at holy sites all over the country. Visitors to Varanasi know of the golden domed temple of Vishwanath, Lord of the World, in the heart of the city.

Ahilyabai, though a queen, led a simple life as can be seen by the recount of her daily routine: She rose an hour before daybreak to say her prayers. Then she had scriptures read to her, distributed alms and gave food to a number of poor people. Her breakfast, as indeed all her meals, was vegetarian. After breakfast, she prayed again, and then took a short rest. From two to six she was in her durbar; after religious exercises and a light meal, she again attended to business from nine to eleven. She did not neglect the defence of her motherland and employed a French officer to train four battalions of her army, so as to resist the march of the English troops in Gujarat in 1780.

Her life was marked by prayer, abstinence and work, with religious fasts, festivals and public emergencies affording the only change in this routine. Her devotion was to Shiv, although she respected all religions. “Shri Shankara” appeared on all royal proclamations along with her signature. In spite of all that is known about the warrior queen and all that she has left behind —timeless testimonies to her imagination and beneficence — she has not been given the recognition that she rightfully deserves.

He was the only son. She was a widow…She had multiple options other than death – disowning him, banning him from the state’s boundaries, putting him in prison etc etc…and no one would have said anything. He was a prince after all. Yet she chose the path of “Dharma” – doing what she believed was the right thing to do.

One story which will always have an everlasting impression in my heart since my childhood and more so now after being a mother – is that of her following her Raj Dharma as the ruler of the land. I don’t have any ready references to cite. But it is said that Ahilya Bai’s son had fallen in a wrong company and had committed some crime. The case was presented to her and she was to pass the final verdict. She ordered her beloved son’s head to be crushed under an elephant’s leg right in front of the general public at Rajbada.

This was when the dynasty rule was the way of life and no one ever questioned. Today, when we all are so aware, knowledgeable, keep questioning about the Dynasty rules etc.. being an offspring of a person in power, having a “good” criminal record and no one can stop you from being the king and parental love and affection is unconditionally there to fight the odds, if any.

But, one advantage of studying in Maharashtra school board is that you learn all about the marathas and their allies – the Holkars of indore, the Gaikwads of baroda, the Rajputs of Jaipur and Mewar, the Scindias of Gwalior, the Bhosles of Nagpur and even Tipu, who could not decide which way to jump.

And, the Maratha Confederacy, was in a way the harbringer of the Indian Republic.