Baji Prabhu Deshpande
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Baji Prabhu Deshpande ( 1615–1660) was a commander of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder 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 ...
. Baji Prabhu is linked with an important rear guard battle enabling Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's escape from Panhala fort; he was the hero who sacrificed his life for Swarajya.


Early life

Baji Prabhu was 15 years older than Shivaji Maharaj, which indicates he was born around 1615. He was born in a Marathi Prabhu(Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu) family.Earlier he worked under Krishnaji Bandal of Rohida near
Bhor Bhor () is a town and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Bhor is located at . It has an average elevation of 588 metres (1929 feet). Demographics India census, Bhor had a populati ...
. After Shivaji Maharaj defeated Krishnaji at Rohida and captured the fort and many commanders along with Bajiprabhu joined Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.


Battle of Pavan Khind

After defeating Afzal Khan and the rout of the Bijapuri army 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 ...
, chatrapati Shivaji maharaj continued to push deep into Bijapuri territory. Within a few days, the
Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
s captured
Panhala Panhala (Pronunciation: ənʱaːɭa is a city and a Hill station Municipal Council (3177 feet above sea level) 18 km northwest of Kolhapur, in Kolhapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Panhala is the smallest city in Maharash ...
fort (near the city of
Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...
). Meanwhile, another Maratha force, led by
Netaji Palkar Netaji Palkar (1620–1681) was a ''Sardar Senapati'' or ''Sarnaubat'' ( Commander-in-Chief) under Chhatrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire. Family history Netaji Palkar was born in a small village, called Chouk in Khalapur, Maharash ...
, pushed straight on towards Bijapur. Bijapur repulsed this attack, forcing Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj, some of his commanders and soldiers to retreat to Panhala fort. The Bijapuri force was led by Siddhi Johar, an Abyssinian general. Discovering Shivaji Maharaj's location, Johar laid siege to
Panhala Panhala (Pronunciation: ənʱaːɭa is a city and a Hill station Municipal Council (3177 feet above sea level) 18 km northwest of Kolhapur, in Kolhapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Panhala is the smallest city in Maharash ...
. Netaji Palkar made repeated attempts to break the Bijapuri siege from outside, but these failed. Finally, a risky plan was put into action: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Baji Prabhu Deshpande with a select band of troops would attempt to break through the siege at the night, and make for
Vishalgad Vishalgad (also called Vishalgarh, Khelna or Khilna) was a jagir during the Maratha Empire and then later part of the Deccan States Agency of the British Raj. It was governed by Deshastha Brahmins, who were feudatories of Kolhapur State. Fort ...
. In order to deceive the Bijapuri forces, to avoid a chase if they found out that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had broken the siege, Shiva Kashid a barber by profession, who had an uncanny physical resemblance to Shivaji Maharaj, volunteered to dress like the king and let himself be captured. On a stormy full moon's night (night of Guru Pournima, Ashadh Paurnima) 600 men led by Baji Prabhu and Shivaji Maharaj, broke through the siege. They were pursued by the Bijapuri force. As planned, Shiva Kashid allowed himself to be captured and taken back to the Bijapuri camp, guessing that he would be put to death once the charade was discovered. This 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 Maharaj and half of the Maratha force pushed for Vishalgadh, while Baji Prabhu, his brother Phulaji and the remaining ''Bandal Sena'' of a few hundred men blocked the pass and fought against 10000 Bijapuri soldiers in the ''Ghodkhind Pass'' for more than 18 hours. Tradition and myth, describe feats of bravery shown by the Marathas during this rear-guard action. Baji Prabhu used a weapon called "Dand Patta". Through the battle, Baji Prabhu, though apparently heavily injured, continued fighting, inspiring his men to fight on until Shivaji Maharaj's safe journey to Vishalgadh was signaled by the firing of three cannon volleys. It should be mentioned that when Shivaji Maharaj approached Vishalgad with 300 men, the fort was already under siege by Bijapuri sardars named Suryarao Surve and Jaswantrao Dalvi. Shivaji Maharaj with his 300 men had to defeat Surve to reach the fort. The Ghodkhind pass was subsequently named ''Pavan Khind'' ("Holy Pass") by Shivaji Maharaj, in honor of the sacrifice of Baji Prabhu and his troops.


Descendants

The village Parhar bk, situated in Hirdas mawal was a part of 'watan' of Vir Bajiprabhu Deshpande. The descendants of Vir Bajiprabhu Deshpande still live there. The other branch of decendants live in Malwadi, taluka Bhor. They have been continuing the glorious heritage of their great ancestors.Late Mr Vishnu Narayan Deshpande, 10 th decendant and former Sarapanch of Parhar bk, was a great freedom fighter. His wife late Mrs Latika Deshpande was relative of the great author Mr Ram Ganesh Gadkari. The family has relationship with the family of Mr. Rango Bapuji Gupte. Mr. Vishnu Deshpande had four sons and four daughters. His son Mr Dilip Deshpande champions the cause of dam affected displaced people and their rehabilitation. Farming is their family business. The whole family does social work and is aware of the great legacy handed down by previous generations.. One of Baji Prabhu's descendant, Ramchandra Kashinath Deshpande, was an Indian freedom fighter against the British rule, educationalist and social activist who worked in
Dhule Dhule is a city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule is the regional headquarters of MIDC, RTO, and MTDC. The city is mainly kn ...
,
Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. Jalgaon is colloquially known as the “''Banana City of India ...
, and Pune for encouraging education. He participated in the
Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...
during the British rule and was imprisoned for 19 months in the Kolhapur Central Jail. He was felicitated after Independence by the then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
. For his social work he was given the title of ‘Special Executive Magistrate’ by the Maharashtra government in 1989. Also, recently his daughter, ''Priya Anant Raje'', has filed a court case in Bombay High Court against the Maharashtra government because the land allotted to Ramchandra Kashinath Deshpande had been categorised as 'forest land' and was being used as a cremation ground.


In popular culture

*In 1909,
Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...
composed an English poem titled
Baji Prabhou
', describing his heroic sacrifice at the battle at the Panhala Fort. * ''Baji Prabhu Deshpande'', an Indian
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
on the warrior was made by
Baburao Painter Baburao Krishnarao Mestry, popularly known as Baburao Painter (3 June 1890 – 16 January 1954) was an Indian filmmaker and artist. He was a man of many talents with proficiency in painting, sculpture, film production, photography, and mechanic ...
in 1929. Another silent film, ''Veer Baji'', released in the same year and was produced by Omkar Films. * Indian independence activist and politician
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalis ...
wrote a Ballad on Baji Prabhu but it was banned by the colonial British government. This ban was lifted on May 24th, 1946. *
Ajinkya Deo Ajinkya Deo is an Indian actor in Marathi language, Marathi films and is the son of veteran Marathi actor Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo. He is elder brother of Hindi film director Abhinay Deo. ''Vasudev Balawant Phadke'' was the latest Marathi film ...
portrayed Baji Prabhu in 2021 series ''Jai Bhawani Jai Shivaji'' aired on
Star Pravah Star Pravah is an Indian Marathi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It was launched on 24 November 2008. Its programming consists ...
. * A Marathi-language film, ''
Pawankhind ''Pawankhind'' is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language historical action drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced under the banner of Almonds Creations in association with A A Films. The film based on the life of Maratha warrior, Baji ...
'', directed by Digpal Lanjekar and starring Ajay Purkar as Baji Prabhu Deshpande, was released on 18 February 2022. * ''
Har Har Mahadev ''Har Har Mahadev'' is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language epic historical action drama film written and directed by Abhijeet Deshpande and produced by Zee Studios along with Sunil Phadtare under the banner of Shree Ganesh Marketing And Films. I ...
'', a film directed by Abhijit Deshpande, starring
Sharad Kelkar Sharad Kelkar (born 7 October 1976) is an Indian film actor and voice artist from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He works primarly in Hindi films, Marathi films. Kelkar has appeared as lead in television serials for brief period of time, now he do web se ...
as Baji Prabhu Deshpande and produced by Zee Studios released 25 October 2022 in 5 language (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, along with Marathi).


See also

*
Tanaji Malusare Tanaji Malusare was a warrior and commander of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. A local poet Tulsidas, wrote a powada describing Tanaji's heroics and sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad, which has since made him a popular figure in Indian ...
, another ''
Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...
'' known for his bravery at Battle of Kondhana (1670). *
Netaji Palkar Netaji Palkar (1620–1681) was a ''Sardar Senapati'' or ''Sarnaubat'' ( Commander-in-Chief) under Chhatrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire. Family history Netaji Palkar was born in a small village, called Chouk in Khalapur, Maharash ...
, Sardar Senapati (Commander-in-Chief) of Shivaji .


References


External links


A history of the Maratha people p.168-171

Full text of "Ethnographical notes on Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, Baji Prabhu People from Maharashtra People of the Maratha Empire Indian military leaders 1615 births 1660 deaths