Holkar Dynasty, Marāṭhā dynastyMaratha rulers of Indore in
India. The family, of peasant origin and of shepherd caste, was
said to have migrated from the Mathurā district Mathura region
to the Deccan village of Hol, or Hal, the name of which, coupled
with kar (“inhabitant of”), became the family surname.  The
dynasty’s founder, Malhār Rāo Malhar Rao Holkar, rose from
peasant origins by his own ability. In 1724 Bājī Rāo Baji Rao I,
the peshwa (prime minister) of the Marāṭhā Maratha state, gave
him command of 500 horses, and he soon became the peshwa’s
peshwa’s chief general in MālwaMalwa, with headquarters at
Maheshwar and Indore. At his death (1766) he was the virtual
ruler of MālwaMalwa. From 1767 to 1794 his son’s widow, Ahalyā
BāīAhalya Bai, ruled the state with great skill and
understanding. Indore was an island of peace and prosperity in a
sea of violence, and her rule became proverbial for justice and
wisdom. Tukōjī Tukoji Holkar, a distant relative whom she had
appointed as commander of her forces, suc