Maharani Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

Tulsi Bai Holkar (20December 1817) was a queen of Indore by marriage to Maharaja

Yashwant Rao Holkar Yashwant Rao Holkar (1776–1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar was an Indian ruler, statesman and commander belonging to the Holkar clan of the Maratha Empire. He was the Raja of Indore State as part of the Maratha Empire. A gifted military ...

, and regent of the Indore State for her

Malhar Rao Holkar II Shrimant Subhedar Male Rao Holkar Male Rao Holkar was Heir apparent to his grand father Malhar Rao Holkar since death of his father Khanderao Holkar in 1754 in Battle of Kumbher. He had a younger sister named Muktabai Life Since the age of 8 ...

between November 1811 and 20 December 1817.

Biography

She was a daughter of Ajiba, a priest of the Mahanubhav sect (महानुभाव पंथ). She became one of the consorts of Yashwant Rao Holkar. Her spouse became king in 1806. Tulsi Bai did not have any children. After the death of

Yashwantrao Holkar Yashwant Rao Holkar (1776–1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar was an Indian ruler, statesman and commander belonging to the House of Holkar, Holkar clan of the Maratha Empire. He was the Raja of Indore State as part of the Maratha Empire. A ...

in 1811, Tulsi bai became

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for 4 year old

, son of Yashwantrao from another of his wife. When she was on the way to join Baji Rao Peshwa to fight against the British, General

John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of G ...

arrived near Mahidpur and started negotiations. Tulsi Bai was in favor of British terms, but some Generals of her army refused. Tulsi Bai was not much in command of the army.
War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1817
' Tension escalated and in the morning of 20 December 1817, her own soldiers beheaded her on the banks of the

Shipra River Shipra (from Sanskrit Kshipra) is a river in Madhya Pradesh state of Central India. The river rises in the North of Dhar district and flows north across the Malwa Plateau to join the Chambal River at the MP-Rajasthan boundary in Mandsaur dis ...

near Mahidpur, and her body was thrown in the river. — husband; } — adopted son

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holkar 1780s births 1817 deaths Holkar 19th-century women regents 19th-century regents 19th-century Indian women