Ahilyabai Holkar (1725-1795) was the **Maratha queen of Indore** (Malwa) — **one of the great enlightened rulers of pre-British India**. Widowed at 29, she ruled for 30 years, **personally administering justice from her palace, rebuilding hundreds of Hindu temples destroyed by Mughal iconoclasm** (including the Kashi Vishwanath at Varanasi and the Somnath), supporting trade and arts. **Among the most revered female rulers in Indian memory** — called the "Philosopher Queen."
**Honored on Indian currency and stamps**, and the patroness of the Indore Holkar Stadium.
Ahilyabai reduces to four — the number of philosopher-queen.