Place · Holkar capital · India
Indore
Also known as Indore City, Indur
The commercial and cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh at Indore on the Khan river in central MP. The city was founded in 1715 as the capital of the Holkar Maratha dynasty under Malhar Rao Holkar (ruled 1721-1766), expanded by Ahilyabai Holkar (1725-1795, who ruled 1767-1795) into a major Deccan city, and continued as the Holkar princely state capital until 1948. Ahilyabai Holkar's building programme (Kashi Vishwanath restoration, Somnath, Gaya and over 100 pan-Indian temple reconstructions, bathing ghats and dharamsalas) made her the pre-eminent 18-century Hindu patron. Indore hosts the Rajwada palace (1766), the Lalbagh Palace (1886), the Indian Institute of Management Indore (1996) and the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (2009). The city has been ranked India's cleanest for 7 consecutive years in Swachh Survekshan (2017-2023).
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Patron dynasty
- Holkar Maratha · Indian Union
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 22.720, 75.858
Connections (1)
- PatronageUjjain / Avantikā
Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore (ruled 1767-1795) was the most prolific 18-century Hindu patron, rebuilding over 100 temples across the subcontinent including the Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga at Ujjain (c.1770 reconstruction), the Kashi Vishvanath at Varanasi (1780), the Somnath (1783) and the Vishnupada temple at Gaya (1787). Her Indore-based patronage network reached from Dwarka to Rameswaram and included dharamsalas, bathing ghats and pilgrim-service infrastructure. The modern pilgrimage geography of North India preserves much of her 18-century reconstruction programme.
Sources
Standard reference; district gazetteer and Wikipedia.
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