Ahilyabai Holkar: The Queen Who Built And Restored Hindu Temples Including Kashi Vishwanath

For Hindus, the role played by Ahilyabai, the Holkar Queen of the Maratha Malwa kingdom, is very important. She was responsible for building and restoring Hindu temples that had been destroyed.

A devout follower of Shiva, all the royal proclamations by her had “Shri Shankara” written on them, along with her signature. Most of the prominent pilgrimage sites have some sort of contribution by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar.

Her biggest contribution is that she restored and rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, in 1780. It was earlier plundered by the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb. During the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project in Varanasi, even Prime Minister Modi mentioned Rani Ahilyabai.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had it crowned with a golden ‘shikhar’ at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The Ahilyabai Ghat in Varanasi has been named after the queen.
The Gupta inscription of 5th century mentions that Manikarnika Ghat. It was in 1791, that Ahilyabai Holkar rebuilt the entire ghat.
The Vishnupad temple on the banks of the Falgu river, was rebuilt by Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, in 1787.

An old Somnath temple, located near the Somnath Jyotirlinga that was also destroyed, was restored by her.