Baji Prabhu Deshpande

Baji Prabhu Deshpande 2

Baji Prabhu Deshpande (Marathi: बाजी प्रभू देशपांडे) (died 1660) was one of the lieutenants (also known as sardar) of Chattrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire. The legend of Baji Prabhu is intricately linked with the final battle during Shivaji's escape from Fort Panhala, where he played a key role in the final battle. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (960x1280, 288 KB) Photograph of the great Maratha Warrior taken on the Panhala Fort in Maharashtra I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (960x1280, 288 KB) Photograph of the great Maratha Warrior taken on the Panhala Fort in Maharashtra I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x700, 278 KB) nilesh I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x700, 278 KB) nilesh I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... // Events January 1 - Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration. ... Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... Sardar, in some senses also Sirdar (Persian: سردار ) (, IPA ) is a Persian word meaning commander. ... Shivaji Bhonsle, also known as Chatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhonsle (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजी राजे भोसले) was the founder of Maratha empire in western India in 1674. ... Extent of the Maratha Confederacy ca. ... This December 2006 does not cite its references or sources. ...

Following his shocking defeat of Afzal Khan and the rout of the Bijapuri army at Pratapgad, Shivaji continued to push deep into Bijapuri territory. Within a few days, the Marathas captured Panhala (near the city of Kolhapur). Meanwhile another Marathi force, led by Netaji Palkar, pushed straight on towards Bijapur. Bijapur repulsed this attack, however, and Shivaji and a few of his sardars retreated to Panhala. Bijapur is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. ... About Pratapgad Pratapgad is a massive fort located in the Sahyadri mountain range of western Maharashtra, India, 25 kilometres from Mahabaleshwar. ... The Marāthās (Marathi: मराठा)is a term referring to an Indo Aryan group of Hindu warriors hailed mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries AD. The Marathas were known by... Kolhapur   (Marathi:कोल्हापुर) is a city situated in the south west corner of Maharashtra, India. ... Netaji Palkar was the first Sarnaubat (Commander-in-chief) in the army of Shivaji, the legendary king in 17th century India. ...

The Bijapuri force was led by Siddhi Johar, an Abyssinian general. Discovering Shivaji's location, Johar laid siege to Panhala. Netaji Palkar made repeated attempts to break the Bijapuri siege from outside, but these failed. This article needs cleanup. ...

Finally a very audacious and risky plan was decided: Shivaji, Baji Prabhu Deshpande and with a select band of troops would attempt to break through the siege at the night, and make for Vishalgadh. In order to deceive the Bijapuri forces, who would give a chase once they found that Shivaji had broken the siege, Shiva Nhavi, who had an uncanny physical resemblance to Shivaji, volunteered to dress like the king and let himself be captured.

On a stormy new moon's night a band of 300 hundred select men, led by Baji Prabhu and Shivaji, broke through the siege. They were hotly pursued by the Bijapuri force. As planned, Shiva Nhavi allowed himself to be captured and taken back to the Bijapuri camp, fully comprehending that he would be put to death once the charade was discovered. This sacrifice, however gave the fleeing Maratha force some breathing space.

As soon as the Bijapuri force realized their mistake, the chase was on again, led by Siddhi Masood, the son-in-law of Siddhi Johar. Near the pass of Ghodkhind (Horse's Pass), the Marathas made a final stand. Shivaji and half of the Maratha force pushed for Vishalgadh, while Bajiprabhu and the remaining Badal Sena of about 150 men blocked the pass.

Tradition and legend describe feats of valour displayed by the Marathas during this rear guard action. Through the entire battle, Bajiparbhu, even though grievously injured, continued fighting, inspiring his men to fight on until Shivaji's safe journey to Vishalgadh was signaled by the firing of three cannon volleys. A small cannon on a carriage, Bucharest. ...

The Khind (Pass) was subsequently named Pavan Khind (Holy Pass) by Shivaji, in honor of the sacrifice of Baji Prabhu and his troops. Shivaji also gave "manache pahile pan" ("Honor of the Court") to Baji Prabhu's family.

Baji Prabhu Deshpande belonged to the Brahmin Community. A street is named after him in Thane City, India, and a film of his story was made in 1939. A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is the highest caste in Indian caste system within Hindu society. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ...

See also

• Tanaji Malusare - another Maratha sardar known for his valor