हिंदीOn this day

Battle of Ujjain (1801)

VictorHolkars of IndoreYashwantrao Holkar
1801vs
Army of Daulatrao ScindiaJohn Hessing’s brigades

In the feud between the two great houses of Malwa, Yashwantrao Holkar fell on Scindia’s capital at Ujjain and beat the brigades sent to defend it.

Date: July 1801Where: Ujjain, Malwa, Madhya PradeshType: Battle
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Ujjain (1801).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-ujjain-1801/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Ujjain (1801). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-ujjain-1801/

Result

Yashwantrao routed Scindia’s brigades and took a heavy ransom from Ujjain, Scindia’s capital.

01Holkar against Scindia

After Tukoji Holkar died in 1797, Daulatrao Scindia meddled in the Holkar succession and had Yashwantrao’s brother Malharrao killed. Yashwantrao, an illegitimate son with no army but his own sword, gathered Pindari and Bhil horsemen and Pathan soldiers and set out for revenge. In the summer of 1801, while Scindia was still in the Deccan, he struck at Ujjain, the city of Mahakal on the Shipra that Mahadji had made the seat of his house.

02Ujjain pays

Scindia’s brigades under the Dutch-born officer John Hessing came out to meet him and were broken, losing their guns. Yashwantrao entered the city, levied a large sum from its people and spared the town. Malcolm notes he did not sack it. The victory brought fresh soldiers flocking to Yashwantrao’s camp. Scindia’s reply came within months: his general Sarje Rao Ghatge marched on Indore.

Scindias (Shinde) of Gwalior
Dynasty · 1731–1948 CEScindias (Shinde) of GwaliorRanoji Shinde rose as a commander under Bajirao I and was given northern Malwa. His son Mahadji, who survived Panipat, became the master of Delhi and the most powerful Indian ruler of the 1780s; the house later ruled Gwalior until 1948.Read →
Why it matters

The Holkar–Scindia war split the Maratha confederacy just as the Company was preparing to deal with it.

People 1

Yashwantrao HolkarRuler
3 Dec 1776 – 28 Oct 1811

Yashwantrao Holkar

Holkar ruler who fought the Company alone

Places near the battlefield 8

Chintaman Ganesh Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Chintaman Ganesh Temple, Ujjain

Ujjain’s largest Ganesh temple, across the Shipra at Jawasiya, where three self-manifest Ganesh murtis sit side by side. Ujjain holds that Shri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana worshipped here in their exile.

Harsiddhi Mata, UjjainRebuilt
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Harsiddhi Mata, Ujjain

The Devi temple of Ujjain, between the Mahakaleshwar temple and the Rudra Sagar, counted by tradition among the Shakti Peethas. She is remembered as the kuldevi of Raja Vikramaditya.

Mahakaleshwar, UjjainRebuilt
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain

The Jyotirlinga of Avantika, one of the seven moksha-giving cities, where Shiva is worshipped as Mahakal, Lord of Time and Death. The only Jyotirlinga facing south, and the only one bathed in ash at the dawn aarti.

Gopal Mandir (Dwarkadhish), UjjainStanding
Company rule and the war of 1857

Gopal Mandir (Dwarkadhish), Ujjain

The second largest temple of Ujjain, a marble Maratha temple in the middle of the bazaar built by a Scindia queen. On Vaikuntha Chaturdashi Mahakal comes here at midnight to hand the world back to Hari.

Garhkalika Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Garhkalika Temple, Ujjain

Ujjayinyam Mahakali: many identify the Mahakali of the eighteen Shakti Peethas with Garhkalika, on the old fort mound of Avantika. Ujjain remembers it as the Devi who gave Kalidasa his speech.

Mangalnath Temple, UjjainStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Mangalnath Temple, Ujjain

A Shiva temple on a rise above the Shipra, held to be the birthplace of Mangal, the planet Mars. People with Mangal dosha in their horoscope come here for the bhat puja.

Kal Bhairav Temple, UjjainRebuilt
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Kal Bhairav Temple, Ujjain

The temple of Kal Bhairav at Bhairavgarh on the Shipra, the guardian of Mahakal’s city, to whom liquor is offered and accepted. No pilgrimage to Ujjain is complete without his darshan.

Tekri Temples of Chamunda and Tulja Bhavani, DewasStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Tekri Temples of Chamunda and Tulja Bhavani, Dewas

Two sister Devis sit side by side on the little hill, the tekri, in the middle of Dewas: Tulja Bhavani, the elder, and Chamunda, the younger. The town is held to take its name from the Devi’s dwelling, Devi-vasini.