Ahalya Baee/Notes

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See in the first volume of Sir John Malcom’s Central India, p. 159.—“He (the son of Ahalya Baee) had had slain in a jealous fury an embroiderer, who, he believed, had formed an intimacy with a female servant of his family. The innocence of the man was established, and remorse for the crime brought on so severe a paroxysm of madness in Mallee Row, as to alarm all for his life. It is a confirmed belief with many of the natives of India, that departed spirits have, on some occasions, the power of seizing upon and destroying the living. It was rumoured that the embroiderer was a man with supernatural power; that he warned Mallee Row not to slay him, or he would take horrible vengeance; and the ravings of the latter were imputed to the person he had murdered, and who, according to their preposterous belief, now haunted him in the form of a Jin or Demon. Ahalya Baee, satisfied of this fact, used to sit days and nights by the bed of her afflicted son, holding communion, as she thought, with the spirit that possessed him, and who spoke to her through his organs. She shed tears in abundance, and passed whole hours in prayer. In the hope of soothing the Demon, she offered to build a temple to the deceased, and to settle an estate upon his family if he would only leave her son. But all was in vain; a voice still seemed to answer, “He slew me innocent, and I will have his life.” Such is the popular tale of the death of Mallee Row; an event that only merits notice as connected with the history of Ahalya Baee, whom it compelled to come forward to save the ruin of the interests of the family she represented, and to exhibit, in the person of a female, that combined talent, virtue, and energy, which made her, while she lived, a blessing to the country over which she ruled, and has associated her memory with every plan of improvement and just government in the province of Malwa.

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See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 160.—“The daughter of Ahalya Baee had been married into another family, and could therefore, according to Hindoo usage, have no claim to participate in the administration of Holkar sovereignty. Under these circumstances, Gunghadur Jeswunt, the Brahmin Minister of the late Mulhar Row, strongly recommended that some child (distantly related to the family) should be adopted to succeed Mallee Row; a plan which would have secured his authority as minister. This proposition was combined with the offer of a large separate provision for Ahalya Baee, whose abilities were admitted, but her sex objected to as a disqualification for the conducting of public affairs. Gunghadur, at the same time, proposed to give a considerable sum to Ragobah Duda, in the event of his agreeing to the arrangement and promoting its execution. This venal chief gave a ready assent to the measure; and his concurrence was considered by the minister so conclusive, that he waited upon Ahalya Baee; completely assured that, if other motives failed, a despair of successful resistance would compel her to acquiesce: but he soon discovered his error. He was told at once, by this high-minded woman, that his plan was disgraceful to the house of Holkar, and should never have her consent.” * * * “The heirs of Mulhar Row, she said, were extinct on the death of her son, and she had, as wife and mother of the two last representatives of the family, the exclusive privilege of selecting the successor; and that just claim she was resolved at all hazards to maintain. It is probable that Ahalya Baee had not only also consulted with her own principal adherents, but with the Mahratta military chiefs who were in Malwa when these events occurred. Her whole conduct, however, at this crisis of her fortune and of the Holkar government, showed that her resolution had been seriously taken, and would be firmly maintained. On hearing that Ragobah was making preparations to compel her, she sent him a message not to make war on a woman, from which he might incur disgrace, but could never derive honour. She added, to give effect to this remonstrance, every preparation for hostilities. The troops of Holkar evinced enthusiasm in her cause, and she made a politic display of her determination to lead them to combat in person, by directing four bows, with quivers full of arrows, to be fitted to the corners of the howdah, or seat, of her favourite elephant.” ​ See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 163.—“She selected for the commander of her army, and to fulfil those duties which as a female she could not perform, Tuckajee Holkar, a chief of the same tribe, but no way related to Mulhar Row. Tuckajee was highly esteemed as a soldier by that chief, and commanded the Pagah or household troops; and, before he had reached his present power, had established a character, which he maintained through life, of a plain unaffected Mahratta soldier.” * * * * “The divided authority established in the Holkar state from the day of Tuckajee’s elevation had a character which, judging from common rules, was not likely to admit of its subsisting a week; but it remained for above thirty years, undisturbed by jealousy or ambition. This is to be ascribed to the virtue and moderation of the parties, to their respect for each other, and to their having distinct, and, generally speaking, distant spheres of action.” * * * * “He was more than obedient: he was dutiful, and all his actions were directed to please and conciliate the princess, to whom he was solely indebted for his high station. He constantly called her mother; but, as she was much younger than him, this relation was not engraved upon his seal. On that he was styled, by her command, ‘Tuckajee, the son of Mulhar Row Holkar.’ ” After various details of the regulation of their united government, Sir John proceeds thus:—“It appears, from what has been related, that Ahalya Baee was the actual head of the government; and Tuckajee, gratified by his high station and her complete confidence, continued, during her life, to exercise no duties beyond those of commander-in-chief of the army and the collector of the revenues that his vicinity enabled him to realise with more convenience than any other agent of her administration. The servants of the Holkar government, who filled offices at the period, speak all the same language; and, with every disposition to praise Tuckajee, strengthened by his grandson being on the throne, they never go higher in their eulogium than to say, that he fulfilled all the expectations of Ahalya Baee, and was to the last hour of his existence attentive, faithful, and obedient.” ​ See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 175.—“It is not common with the Hindus (unless in those provinces where they have learnt the degrading usage from their Mahomedan conquerors) to confine females, or to compel them to wear veils. The Mahrattas of rank (even the Brahmins) have, with few exceptions, rejected the custom, which is not prescribed by any of their religious institutions. Ahalya Baee, therefore, offended no prejudice when she took upon herself the direct management of affairs; and sat every day, for a considerable period, in open Durbar, transacting business. Her first principle of government appears to have been moderate assessment, and an almost sacred respect for the native rightsof village officers and proprietors of land. She heard every complaint in person; and, although she continually referred causes to courts of equity and arbitration, and to her ministers for settlement, she was always accessible; and 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 causes, when appeals were made to her decision.” ​ See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 186.—“The correspondence of Ahalya Baee extended to the most remote parts of India. It was generally carried on through Brahmins, who were the agents of her pious munificence, which was as unexampled as it was unbounded. When the treasures of Holkar came into her possession, she is stated to have appropriated them, by the performance of a religious ceremony (common with Hindus), to the purposes of charity and good works. She built several forts; and at that of Jauns constructed a road, with great labour and cost, over the Vindhyaranga, where it is almost perpendicular. She expended considerable sums in religious edifices at Mhysir, and built many temples, Dhurmsullas (or places of rest for travellers), and wells throughout the Holkar possessions in Malwa. But her munificence was not limited to her own territories; at all the principal places of Hindu pilgrimage, including as far east and west as Juggernath in Cuttack, &c., and as far north as Redumath, among the snowy mountains of Himalaya, and south as Rumeserm, she built holy edifices, maintained establishments, and sent annual sums to be distributed in charity.” * * * * “In addition to this charity, she occasionally bestowed presents; and nothing added more to her fame in the southern regions of the peninsula, than the constant supply of Ganges’ water which she was in the habit of sending to wash the sacred images of the different temples. Extensive and pious donations probably proceeded from a sincere belief in her religion, and a desire to promote her own and her country’s welfare by propitiating the favour of the deities she worshipped; but we find in many of her observances and institutions a spirit of charity which had the truest character of wisdom and benevolence. She daily fed the poor; and on particular festivals gave entertainments to the lowest classes. During the hot months of the year, persons were stationed on the roads to supply travellers with water; and at the commencement of the cold season she gave clothes to great numbers of her dependants and infirm people. Her feelings of general humanity were often carried to an extraordinary excess. The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the river shared in her compassion; portions of food were allotted to them; and the peasant near Mhysir used in hot days to see his yoke of oxen stopped during their labour to be refreshed with water, brought by the servants of Ahalya Baee; while fields she had purchased were covered with flocks of birds that had been justly, as Ahalya Baee used to observe, driven by cultivators from destroying the grain on which the latter depended for their own sustenance.”—“We may smile at such universal sympathy, * * * * and wasted the treasures of the state in the erection and maintenance of edifices in distant lands; but it was well asked by an intelligent Brahmin, to whom this remark was addressed, ‘Whether Ahalya Baee, by spending double the sum on an army that she did in charity and good works, could have preserved her country for above thirty years in a state of profound peace, while she rendered her subjects happy and herself adored? No person (he added) doubts the sincerity of her piety; but, if she had merely possessed worldly wisdom, she could have devised no means so admirably calculated to effect the object.’ ” ​ See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 192.—“She was very cheerful, and seldom in anger; but, when provoked by wickedness or crime, the most esteemed of her attendants trembled to approach her.” Sir John adds, in a note to the above passage: “Baramut Dada, the venerable manager of Mhysir, who was for many years one of her favourite servants, assured me that when really in anger, which was of rare occurrence, her countenance struck terror into the minds of the boldest.” ​ See the account given by Sir John Malcom of the many feuds and petty wars of rapine and pillage, so unceasingly carried on with one another, previous to his details regarding the house of Holkar and Ahalya Baee. See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 190.—“An event occurred in the latter years of Ahalya Baee of too interesting and afflicting a nature to be passed over in silence. The melancholy death of her only son, Malee Row, has been noticed. She had besides one daughter, Muchta Baee, who was married, and had one son, who, after reaching manhood, died at Mhysir. Twelve months afterwards his father died, and Muchta Baee declared, immediately, her intention to burn with the corpse of her husband. No efforts (short of coercion) that a mother and a sovereign could use were untried by the virtuous Ahalya Baee to dissuade her daughter from the fatal resolution. She humbled herself to the dust before her, and entreated her, as she revered her God, not to leave her desolate and alone upon the earth. Muchta Baee, although affectionate, was calm and resolved. ‘You are old, mother,’ (she said) ‘and a few years will end your pious life. My only child and husband are gone, and when you follow, life, I feel, will be insupportable, but the opportunity of terminating it with honour will then have passed.’ Ahalya Baee, when she found all dissuasion unavailing, determined to witness the last dreadful scene. She walked in the procession, and stood near the pile, where she was supported by two Brahmins, who held her arms. Although obviously suffering great agony of mind, she remained tolerably firm till the first blaze of the flame made her lose all self-command; and while her shrieks increased the noise made by the exulting shouts of the immense multitude that stood around, she was seen to gnaw in anguish those hands she could not liberate from the persons by whom she was held. After some convulsive efforts, she so far recovered as to join in the ceremony of bathing in the Nerbudda, when the bodies were consumed. She then retired to her palace, where, for three days, having taken hardly any sustenance, she remained so absorbed in grief that she never uttered a word. When recovered from this state, she seemed to find consolation in building a beautiful monument to the memory of those she lamented.” ​terminating it with honour will then have passed.’ Ahalya Baee, when she found all dissuasion unavailing, determined to witness the last dreadful scene. She walked in the procession, and stood near the pile, where she was supported by two Brahmins, who held her arms. Although obviously suffering great agony of mind, she remained tolerably firm till the first blaze of the flame made her lose all self-command; and while her shrieks increased the noise made by the exulting shouts of the immense multitude that stood around, she was seen to gnaw in anguish those hands she could not liberate from the persons by whom she was held. After some convulsive efforts, she so far recovered as to join in the ceremony of bathing in the Nerbudda, when the bodies were consumed. She then retired to her palace, where, for three days, having taken hardly any sustenance, she remained so absorbed in grief that she never uttered a word. When recovered from this state, she seemed to find consolation in building a beautiful monument to the memory of those she lamented.” See Sir J. Malcom’s Central India, p. 192.—“Ahalya Baee died at the age of sixty, worn out with care and fatigue; and, according to some, she hastened her death by a too strict observance of the numerous fasts prescribed by her religion. She was of a middle stature, and very thin. Though at no period of her life handsome, her complexion, which was dark olive, was clear; and her countenance is described as having been, to the last hour of her existence, agreeable, and expressive of that goodness which marked every action of her life” * * * * “The mind of this extraordinary woman had been more cultivated than is usual with Hindus: she could read and understand the Puranas, or sacred books, which were her favourite study. She is represented as having been singularly quick and clear in the transaction of public business. Her husband was killed before she was twenty years of age, and to that misfortune were added the vice and insanity of her son. These afflictions made a strong impression on her mind. After her husband’s death, she never wore coloured clothes nor any jewels except a small necklace; and, indeed, remained amid every temptation unchanged in her habits and character. Flattery even appears to have been lost on Ahalya Baee. A Brahmin wrote a book in her praise, which she heard read with patience; but, after observing ‘she was a weak sinful woman, and not deserving such fine encomiums,’ she directed it to be thrown into the Nerbudda, and took no further notice of the author. The facts that have been stated of Ahalya Baee rest on grounds that admit of no scepticism. It is, however, an extraordinary picture:—a female without vanity; a bigot without intolerance; a mind, imbued with the deepest superstition, yet receiving no impressions except what promoted the happiness of those under its influence; a being exercising, in the most active and able manner, despotic power, not merely with sincere humility, but under the severest moral restraint that a strict conscience could impose on human action. And all this, combined with the greatest indulgence for the weakness and faults of others. Such, at least, is the account which the natives of Mulwa give of Ahalya Baee: with them her name is sainted, and she is styled an Avatar, or incarnation of the Divinity. In the most sober view that can be taken of her character, she certainly appears, within her limited sphere, to have been one of the purest and most exemplary rulers that ever existed; and she affords a striking example of the practical benefit a mind may receive from performing worldly duties under a deep sense of responsibility to its Creator.” ​

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