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{{Short description|Queen of Baroda State (1880–1885)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort = yes
| name = Maharani Chimnabai I
| image = A full-length portrait of the Princess Srimant Lakshmibai (1864 - 1885) of Tanjore.jpg
| caption = Full-length portrait as Princess Srimant Lakshmibai
| succession = [[Maharani]] of [[Baroda State|Baroda]]
| reign = 1880–1885
| coronation =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]]|1880}}
| issue = {{plainlist|* Bajubai (1881–1883)
* Putlabai (1882–1885)
* Fatehsingh Rao (1883–1908)}}
| house = [[Gaekwad]]
| father = Shrimant Sardar Haibat Rao Sahib Chavan Mohite
| mother = Nagamma Bai Sahib Mohite
| birth_date = {{birth date text|1864}}
| birth_place = [[Tanjore]]
| birth_name = Lakshmibai Mohite
| death_date = {{death date and age|1885|05|07|1864|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Baroda State|Baroda]]
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
}}
[[Maharani]] '''Chimnabai I''' (1864{{dash}}7 May 1885) was a queen and the first wife of [[Maharaja]] [[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]] of the [[princely state]] of [[Baroda State|Baroda]] (now in [[Gujarat]]), [[British India]]. Several memorials were built by Sayajirao following her early death.

==Biography==
Chimnabai was born Lakshmibai in a [[Maratha (caste)|Maratha]] family to her parents Shrimant [[Sardar]] Haibat Rao Sahib [[Chavan]] [[Mohite (clan)|Mohite]] and Nagamma Bai Sahib Mohite in 1864. Her father was Amirrao of [[Thanjavur|Tanjore]] and known as Daji Sahib. Her mother was a daughter of Sri Abaji Rao Ghatge, Serjirao, of Tanjore. Lakshmibai, along with her two sisters, were adopted by princess [[Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai|Vijaya Mohana]] (1845–1885) who was the daughter of [[Shivaji of Thanjavur|Sivaji]], the last Maharaja of Tanjore. There is not much details about her life. She was educated at the Tanjore Fort. She had training in Sadir Attam dance and she played [[veena]]. As a dowry, a Sadir Attam dance troupe was sent with her to Baroda which introduced the dance form there.<ref name="Hirschfeld Jeetendra">{{cite web |last1=Hirschfeld |first1=Jeetendra |date=27 September 2011 |title=Life & Times of the Tanjore Princess: Vijaya Mohana (1845–1885) |url=https://www.academia.edu/93204952 |access-date=25 June 2023 |publisher=Sathir Dance Art Trust, Amsterdam-Chennai |pages=1–2, 4 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720140848/https://www.academia.edu/93204952 |url-status=live }}</ref>

She changed her name to Chimnabai I when she married Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda State on 6 January 1880.<ref name="Gujarat Samachar">{{cite news |title=મહારાણી લક્ષ્મીબાઈના નામે ભવ્ય લક્ષ્મી વિલાસ પેલેસનું નિર્માણ |trans-title=Construction of grand Lakshmi Vilas Palace in the name of Maharani Lakshmibai |url=https://www.gujaratsamachar.com/news/madhya-gujarat/maharaja-sayajirao-built-palace-from-his-wifes-name |access-date=22 June 2023 |newspaper=Gujarat Samachar |date=14 February 2019 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622174845/https://www.gujaratsamachar.com/news/madhya-gujarat/maharaja-sayajirao-built-palace-from-his-wifes-name |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Hirschfeld Jeetendra" /> They had two daughters and a son. Both of their daughters; Bajubai (1881–1883) and Putlabai (1882–1885); died at an early age.<ref name="HoV Sayajirao Gaekwad ">{{cite web |title=Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad 3 |url=https://historyofvadodara.in/maharaja-sayajirao-gaekwad-3/ |website=History of Vadodara |date=January 2005 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624051951/https://historyofvadodara.in/maharaja-sayajirao-gaekwad-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The foundation stone of the present royal residence of the [[Gaekwad]] family was laid by Sayajirao and Chimnabai. The palace is named [[Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara|Lakshmi Vilas Palace]] after her birth name Lakshmi.<ref name="Gujarat Samachar"/><ref name="Priya Maholay-Jaradi">{{cite book |last1=Maholay-Jaradi |first1=Priya |title=Fashioning a National Art: Baroda's Royal Collection and Art Institutions (1875–1924) |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199466849 |page=271}}</ref>

She died on 7 May 1885 of pregnancy related complications.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taleyarkhan |first1=Dinshah Ardeshir |title=Selections from My Recent Notes on the Indian Empire |year=1886 |publisher=Times of India Steam Press |pages=395–397 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fYMcAAAAMAAJ |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=fYMcAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> After the birth of Fatehsingh Rao (b.1883), she died due to pregnancy related complications.<ref name="Sethi">{{cite book |last1=Sethi |first1=Anirudh |title=Royal Fakshily of Baroda: Gaekwad's |date=4 October 2019 |publisher=Notion Press |pages=140 |isbn=9781645879794 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E5uzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT5 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720140848/https://books.google.com/books?id=E5uzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gujarat Samachar"/> According to ''Hirschfeld J.'', she died from [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Hirschfeld Jeetendra"/>

==Memorials==
{{quote box
| bgcolor = #CCDDFF
| align = left
| width = 26em
| quote = "I wish to commemorate the virtues of Her Late Highness and the admiration I entertained for her-the mild, charitable, amiable woman, the devoted mother and loving wife."
| source = —Words by [[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]] as he laid the foundation stone for ‘The Maharani Chimnabai Market’ in memory of his queen.<ref name="HoV Nyay Mandir"/>
}}
[[File:Raopura Tower Vadodara.jpg|thumb|Clock tower at [[Raopura]] area of [[Vadodara]] named as [[Chimnabai Clock Tower]]]]
Sayajirao Gaekwad III built the clock tower at [[Raopura]] area of [[Vadodara]] and named it as [[Chimnabai Clock Tower]] (1896) in her memory.{{sfn|Gazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II|p=465}}<ref name="ToI 2017-05-24">{{cite news |last1=Rupera |first1=Prashant |title=Raopura tower to start chiming again |newspaper=The Times of India |date=24 May 2017 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/raopura-tower-to-start-chiming-again/articleshow/58814361.cms |access-date=21 June 2023 |archive-date=21 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621163855/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/raopura-tower-to-start-chiming-again/articleshow/58814361.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chimnabai Tower, Baroda – 1895 |url=https://www.rarebooksocietyofindia.org/postDetail.php?id=196174216674_10150207889496675 |website=rarebooksocietyofindia |access-date=21 June 2023 |archive-date=21 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621163856/https://www.rarebooksocietyofindia.org/postDetail.php?id=196174216674_10150207889496675 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HoV Clock Tower">{{cite web |title=Clock Tower |url=https://historyofvadodara.in/raopura-tower/ |website=History of Vadodara |date=25 August 2009 |access-date=21 June 2023 |archive-date=21 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621170144/https://historyofvadodara.in/raopura-tower/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A vegetable market near [[Sursagar Lake]] was built and named 'The Maharani Chimnabai Market', which was later used as a town hall. The building was then converted in an imperial court named [[Nyay Mandir|Maharani Chimnabai Nyay Mandir]].{{sfn|Gazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II|p=349}}<ref name="HoV Nyay Mandir">{{cite web |title=Nyay Mandir |url=https://historyofvadodara.in/nyay-mandir/ |website=History of Vadodara |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624071645/https://historyofvadodara.in/nyay-mandir/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Souvenir |date=1999 |publisher=Reception Committee, All India Library Conference, the University of California |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XpKAQAAIAAJ&q=Chimnabai |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720140850/https://books.google.com/books?id=-XpKAQAAIAAJ&q=Chimnabai |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=District Court Vadodara, Gujarat ઇતિહાસ |url=https://vadodara.dcourts.gov.in/gu/about-department/%E0%AA%9C%E0%AA%BF%E0%AA%B2%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%B2%E0%AA%BE-%E0%AA%A8%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%AF%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%AF%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%B2%E0%AA%AF-%E0%AA%B5%E0%AA%BF%E0%AA%B6%E0%AB%87/ |website=vadodara.dcourts.gov.in |access-date=25 June 2023 |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625112911/https://vadodara.dcourts.gov.in/gu/about-department/%E0%AA%9C%E0%AA%BF%E0%AA%B2%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%B2%E0%AA%BE-%E0%AA%A8%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%AF%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%AF%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%B2%E0%AA%AF-%E0%AA%B5%E0%AA%BF%E0%AA%B6%E0%AB%87/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A white marble statue of the queen is placed in the main room of the Nyay Mandir.{{sfn|Gazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II|p=467}}<ref name="Divya Bhaskar">{{cite news |last1=Nishant |first1=Dave |title=મહારાણી ચિમણાબાઇની મૂર્તિ માટે 17 વર્ષથી રાજવી પરિવારનો સંઘર્ષ |trans-title=The royal family's struggle for 17 years for the statue of Maharani Chimnabai |url=https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/local/gujarat/vadodara/news/royal-family-struggle-for-17-years-for-maharani-chimanabai-idol-131422856.html |newspaper=Divya Bhaskar |access-date=24 June 2023 |date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=23 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623200115/https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/local/gujarat/vadodara/news/royal-family-struggle-for-17-years-for-maharani-chimanabai-idol-131422856.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Chimnabai had died due to pregnancy-related complications, a hospital was built in 1885 in Baroda by Sayajirao for the well-being and safe delivery of other women of the state. The hospital was named Dufferin Hospital as it was inaugurated by [[Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava|Lord Dufferin]], the then governor of the [[Bombay Presidency]]. At present, the hospital is known as Sir Sayajirao General Hospital.<ref>{{cite news |title=એસએસજી હોસ્પિટલમાં વિકાસના નામે હેરિટેજનો વિનાશ – ૧૦૦ વર્ષ જુની અને સયાજીરાવે બનાવેલી હેરિટેજ ઇમારતને તોડવા સામે ભારે વિરોધ |trans-title=Destruction of heritage in the name of development at SSG Hospital – Massive protest against demolition of 100-year-old heritage building built by Sayajirao |url=https://www.gujaratsamachar.com/news/gujarat/vadodara-government-civil-hospital-ssg-going-to-destroy-100-year-old-heritage-building#google_vignette |newspaper=Gujarat Samachar |access-date=25 June 2023 |date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625112909/https://www.gujaratsamachar.com/news/gujarat/vadodara-government-civil-hospital-ssg-going-to-destroy-100-year-old-heritage-building#google_vignette |url-status=live }}</ref>

A lake was constructed by Sayajirao in Kadarpur village near [[Kheralu]]{{sfn|Gazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II|p=339}} in memory of Chimnabai I and named [[Chimnabai Lake]]. The construction was started in 1898 and completed in 1905. It has a water storage capacity of 632 million cubic feet.<ref>{{cite news |title=ચીમનાબાઈ સરોવર બન્યું જળસમૃદ્ધ, ધરોઈની સપાટી ૬૨૧ ફૂટને વટાવી |trans-title=Chimnabai lake became water rich, the level of the lake exceeded 621 feet |url=https://www.sandesh.com/gujarat/chimnabai-lake-became-water-rich-the-level-of-the-lake-exceeded-621-feet |newspaper=Sandesh |access-date=25 June 2023 |date=30 August 2022 |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625114537/https://www.sandesh.com/gujarat/chimnabai-lake-became-water-rich-the-level-of-the-lake-exceeded-621-feet |url-status=live }}</ref>

The girl students who have excelled in medical education at the [[Baroda Medical College]] are honoured with the prize named after Chimnabai I.<ref name="Gujarat Samachar"/>

A white marble statue of Chimnabai I is placed in the [[Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery]].<ref name="Gujarat Samachar"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |title=Gazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II, Administration |date=1923 |publisher=G. H. Desai |location=Baroda |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.94278/page/n481/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=22 June 2023|ref=CITEREFGazetteer of the Baroda State: Volume II}}

{{Vadodara topics}}

[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1885 deaths]]
[[Category:Baroda State]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:Veena players]]
[[Category:People from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:People from Vadodara]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in India]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian royalty]]

Chimnabai I - Revision history

Tjackson at 05:10, 16 January 2026