Indore’s Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar was the hereditary noble queen of the Maratha Empire, in early-modern India. She established Maheshwar (in Madhya Pradesh) as the seat of Holkar Dynasty.
She was responsible into rebuilding temples in Somnath and Varanasi. She has played a very significant role to ensure that Hindu places of worship needs to be maintained and kept sacred.
When the sacred Somnath’s Sankalyeshwara Mahadev, a Jyotirlings was burgled many a times, it was indeed Devi Ahilya who shouldered the responsibility to re-construct and revive the temple. This was disclosed by Yogendra Desai Secretary of Somnath Trust.
He went on to add that Somnath owes a debt of gratitude to Devi Ahilya Bai’ for shielding and revamping the temple.
Reportedly, Yogendra Desai was in Indore escorted by his team of more than 30 people to showcase the gallantry of Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai and accentuate the connect between Somnath and Indore amid the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention.
Notably, the Somnath Temple exhibition was a major attraction among the NRIs and other dignitaries who participated in the PBD convention which had a statue of Devi Ahilya with a ‘Shivling’ in her hand.
Desai further adds the trust’s Chairman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi always reminisces Ahilya for her contribution in guarding the ‘sanatan sanskriti and dharma. The Nation will always remain indebted to her.
We are in Indore merely in a bid to reimburse the debt and offering rich tribute to Indore’s Queen and one among the massive devotees of
“Lord Shiva.”
Meanwhile, as per Kaushal Joshi, PRO Somnath Trust, the sacred Temple was targetted on multiple occasions, but retrieved its glory owing to the Devi Ahilya and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s valuable contribution.
It is a firm belief that the temple was targetted 17 times, however, it was Devi Ahilya who guards the temple re-constructed it in the 18th century. Later, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the temple in 1947 and took the sankalp for rebuilding the new temple,” he said.
Amid briefing in a nutshell, the history of the temple, Joshi revealed that they came to know more about Devi Ahilya in Indore and visited Rajwada.
In the exhibition, the Somnath Trust also made arrangements to telecast the darshan of the temple live while exhibiting the remains of the old temple to display the history of the temple’s devastation and reconstruction.
Dr Anar Mehta , founder of Srishtibharat foundation NGO has come to Indore for 17 th Pravasi Bharatiya diwas, she is also an NRI & had come as Somnath trust representative with the delegation. Somnath trust gallery at the PBD convention is enthralling & was visited by vast Indian diaspora she said . PBD was inaugurated by our Prime minister Narendrabhai modi on 9 th jan , & NRI awards were Fecilated by our President Draupadi murmur on 10 th jan respectively.
