MaharaniTulsi Bai Holkar (c. 1788 – 20 December 1817) was a queen of Indore by marriage to MaharajaYashwant Rao Holkar, and regent of theIndore State for her stepsonMalhar Rao Holkar II between November 1811 and 20 December 1817.
She was a daughter of Ajiba, a priest of the Mahanubhav sect (महानुभाव पंथ). She became one of the consorts of Yashwant Rao Holkar. Her spouse became king in 1806.
Tulsi Bai did not have any children. After the death ofYashwantrao Holkar in 1811, Tulsi bai becameregent for 4 year oldMalhar Rao Holkar II, son of Yashwantrao from another of his wife.
When she was on the way to joinBaji Rao Peshwa to fight against the British, GeneralJohn Malcolm arrived nearMahidpur and started negotiations. Tulsi Bai was in favor of British terms, but some Generals of her army refused. Tulsi Bai was not much in command of the army.[1] Tension escalated and in the morning of 20 December 1817, her own soldiers beheaded her on the banks of theShipra River near Mahidpur, and her body was thrown in the river.[2][3]
Buckland, C.E. (1906). "Indore, Jaswant Rao Holkar Maharaja of".Dictionary of Indian Biography. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Lim. p. 216. — husband; "Indore, Malhar Rao Holkar, Maharaja of".Dictionary of Indian Biography. 1906. p. 216. — adopted son