Belawadi Mallamma known as the brave warrior queen of Belawadi, was from Bailhongal

Bailhongal

Bailhongal is a town in Belgaum district of Karnataka state in southern India. It is also the name of the surrounding taluka....

, Belgaum District

Belgaum district

Belgaum district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters in North Karnataka. By the 2011 Census of India, it had a population of 4778439...

, North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Belvadi Mallamma was the first woman who formed a women's army to fight against the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

s in 17th century.

Biography

She was the daughter of Sode king Madhulinga Nayaka. Belawadi Mallamma fought with the Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj while defending her husband's kingdom.
Her kingdom was very secure and undefeatable. In the battle Shivaji Maharaj's soldier cut the leg of horse on which she was riding and she fell. When she rose and began fighting Shivaji's troops rushed and arrested her. They took her to Shivaji. He praised her and said "I made a mistake Ma..! Kindly forgive me..,I don't want your kingdom", then released her.

She fought enemy troops on horseback, wearing a saree in veeragacche (soldier's tuck - a tight tucking of the front pleats in the back).

Scholar Shesho Srinivas Muthalik recorded the life in the palace of Madhulinga Nayaka in 1704-5 A.D. in the Marathi language.