Last month a new series started on Sony live . Its name is punyashlok Ahilya bai.
Its based on the character of Ahilya bai who reigned for about 30 years as a queen of Malwa.
The series has become a daily watch for our whole family. My mother ,me ,my husband and my little one doesn’t want to miss a single episode of it . We even wait for each other and make sure that we watch it all together.
The promos of the show were very appealing, they attracted us like a 🧲 magnet and we started waiting for it to start.
And now it has become a necessary part of our home. It is showing the life story of Ahilya bai .The girl and the father in law has done full justice to the character.
She was born in the village of chondi in jamkhed , Ahmednagar . Her father ( Mankoji Rai shinde) was the patil of her village and supported her at that time and made her to read and write when reading and writing of women was not even thought of . Her father made her the power to think , make choices and give opinion which we all parents should give to our children.
She raised her voice against the evil practice of making girls shave their head after getting widow. And why womens can’t dress , eat good and go outside after they are left alone at that tender age left a big question in her mind !
She was a woman full of kindness, empathy, compassion and love for others ❤
She doesn’t belong to a royal family but her entry into the Holkar family was nothing short of a twist of fate. Her father in law Malhar Rao Holkar spotted her doing prayers to Lord Shiva while he was going to Pune. Her friends being scared ran when they heard the footsteps of horses but Ahilya stayed there holding the lord shiva . He was an acclaimed subedar of the territory of MALWA .He was immensely moved by the courage and her act of kindness that he supported her in many ways when whole village was against her in raising the voice against the evil practices.
Moved by her deeds and character, he decided to ask her hand in marriage for his son Khande Rao Holkar ,and she was married at the tender age of 8 ; which usually happens at that time .
She became widow after 12 years of her marriage . She was just 20 at the time when she became widow. Grief stricken, she wanted to sacrifice herself by committing sati .( A practice prevalent in ancient years where women used to sacrifice their lives after the death of their husband). But it was her father in law who supported her and stopped her for doing that misdeed ,infact he trained her in administrative and military matters.
As a result, after the death of her father in law and her son ,she became the queen of Malwa . She reigned for almost 30 years.
She spread the message of Dharma and flourished industrialization , turned Malwa into a prosperous land by building ghats and forts .The infrastructure of Malwa was changed by the so many efforts of the queen.
She never observed purdah and was accessible to each and everyone’s complaint who needed her. The administrative and historian John Malcom wrote about her abilities after 40 years of her death :
“Her first principle of government appears to have been moderate assessment, and an almost sacred respect for the native rights of village officers and proprietors of land. She heard every complaint in person; and although she continually referred cases to courts of equity and arbitration, and to her ministers for settlement, she was always accessible. So strong was her sense of duty on all points connected with the distribution of justice, that she is represented as not only patient but unwearied in the investigation of the most insignificant cases, when appeals were made to her decision.”
She followed all religions, but her love and devotion for lord shiva was so much which appeared on all royal proclamations along with her signature.
I am really moved and inspired by her character. I do suggest all to see the series along with family, especially make the children watch it .As Bandura says ,children learn a lot by observation .
