Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hailed Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar as personification of dharma, justice, and national duty and credited her with pioneering the revival of India’s Sanatan heritage.
At a ceremony marking her 300th birth anniversary here on Wednesday, the chief minister recalled that during an era marked by foreign invasions and widespread temple destruction, Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar courageously undertook the restoration of sacred sites from Kashi to Rameshwaram. “In doing so, she embodied the Vedic principle ‘Dharma rakṣati rakṣitaḥ’ – dharma protects those who protect it, he said, adding that her legacy should inspire every citizen to contribute to the revival of India’s ancient cultural glory.
Quoting Ahilyabai, he said, “My path is the path of dharma; the path of dharma is the path of justice, and only justice can make us powerful and capable.” Adityanath noted that this credo shaped both her statesmanship and service. The present-day splendour of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, he reminded the gathering, rests on the foundations she laid between 1777 and 1780 with her personal resources—work that Prime Minister Narendra Modi described in 2021 as the forerunner of the modern Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor.
Ahilyabai’s efforts stretched far beyond Kashi. She rebuilt and renovated Kedarnath, Rameshwaram, Somnath, Haridwar, Mahishmati, and numerous other holy sites, while commissioning ghats, wells, and step-wells to ensure pilgrims’ comfort and access to pure water.
Celebrating her as an enduring symbol of Nari Shakti, the chief minister highlighted her dharma-aligned, people-centric administration and trail-blazing work in social justice and women’s empowerment. She promoted the sari industry in Mahishmati to foster women’s self-reliance, encouraged widow remarriage, and moved to end child marriage—measures that remain exemplary today.
Drawing a parallel with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s post-Independence restoration of Somnath, Shri Adityanath said Ahilyabai had sown the same seeds of cultural resurgence centuries earlier. He also invoked Adi Shankaracharya’s four peethas as proof of India’s enduring cultural unity. He noted that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, monumental projects in Kashi, Ayodhya, Ujjain, and Maa Vindhyavasini Dham carry forward this legacy.
“Let us take inspiration from Maharani Ahilyabai’s life and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to restoring India’s timeless splendour and the vitality of Sanatan culture,” he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described the recently-concluded Mahakumbh 2025 in Prayagraj as a remarkable testament to India’s cultural consciousness and administrative excellence. He said this grand confluence is a continuation of the legacy initiated by Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, which continues to inspire the present generation.