Ahilyabai Holkar - SAMUNDRAGYAAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Marking the 298th birth anniversary of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar, Maharashtra Chief Minister announced to rename Ahmednagar after her as Ahilyanagar.

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Located in the Western region of Maharashtra, Ahmednagar has been a part of some prominent kingdoms, starting from 240 BC.
In the Medieval period, the region was ruled over by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, the Western Chalukyas, and then the Delhi Sultanate.
In 1486, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah assumed the position of the Bahmani Sultanate’s prime minister.
- He successfully defeated the king of the Bahmani kingdom, who tried to dislodge him from power, in 1490.
- Four years later, he laid the foundation of a city close to where he had defeated the army, on the left bank of Sina river.
- This city was named after him: Ahmednagar.

Ahilyabai Holkar

Ahilyabai was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde.
After her husband’s death (Khande Rao Holkar) in the Battle of Kumbher against the king of Bharatpur in 1754, Ahilyabai took control of Malwa.
In 1780, she had the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi rebuilt, nearly a century after Mughal king Aurangzeb ordered its destruction.
Apart from holy sites like Badrinath, Dwarka, Omkareshwari, Gaya, and Rameswaram, Holkar also supported the construction of resting lodges for travellers, and of public ghats.