Sakharam Bapu Bokil (also referred as ''Sakharam Bapu'', ''Sakharam Hari Bokil'' or ''Sakharam Bhau''), born Sakharam Bhagwant Bokil, was an influential minister, a diplomat and statesman of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

during the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

administration in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Before joining

administration of

, Sakharam was

Kulkarni Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title g ...

of Hivare. In

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, there were three and half great men-or wise

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

s. The three and a half wise men were popularly known as Devā, Sekhyā, Yitthe and Nānā. Devā stood for Devāśipant, Sakhyā for Sakhārām Băpu Bokil, Vitthal for Vithal Sundar at the Court of the Nizām and Nānā for the famous

Nana Phadnis Nana Fadnavis (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːna pʰəɖɳəʋiːs, fəɖ- also Phadnavis and Furnuwees and abbreviated as Phadnis) (February 12, 1742 – March 13, 1800), born Balaji Janardan Bhanu, was an influential minister and sta ...

. Vitthal Sundar was with the Nizam and died in the famous battle of Rakshasbhuvan on 10 August 1763. Devajipant Chorghade of Narkhed and the other two and half wise men were in

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

and

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

. Sakharam Bapu Bokil was one full wise man while

was a half wise man. he was a kulkarni of Hivre village given as prize to his ancestor Pantaji Gopinath. He was a clerk with Mahadji Purandare. He died at Raigadh.

Early life

Sakharam Bapu was born into

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Br ...

family. He is descendend from Pantoji Gopinath, who had helped Shivaji to defeat Afzal Khan at

Pratapgad Pratapgad is a mountain fort located in Satara district, in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra.The fort is situated 24 kilometres from the Mahabaleshwar hill station. The fort is now a popular tourist destination. The fort's historical ...

. Sakaram Bapu is the son of Somnath Raoji, who was Dabir and foreign minister of

and the incharge of the Berar conquests, who also served in the Konkan wars. Sakaram Bapu was the favourite commander and friend of Raghunathrao Peshwa.

References

18th-century Indian people Peshwa dynasty {{India-bio-stub