Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (died 1795)

Ahilyabai Holkar, also spelled Ahalya Bai, was the Rajamata and later the ruling queen of Indore within the Maratha Empire. She established Maheshwar as the seat of the Holkar Dynasty. A beloved figure of Indian history, she is renowned for good governance, social welfare, and humanitarian work along with religious, educational, and cultural advancements. She contributed to the growth of Indian architecture through the commission of various temples, Ghats, and Dharmshalas. Ahilyabai's Matha, or charitable endowments, spread across India. She is remembered as a Sadhvi, or holy woman,

The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former.