Baji Prabhu Deshpande
Baji Prabhu Deshpande
Born/Date of Birthday: est. 1615
Place of Birth: Shind (Parde), Bhor, Pune district, (Maharashtra) India
Died: 13 July 1660, Pavan Khind at Vishalgad (Kolhapur district, Maharashtra)
Baji Prabhu Deshpande (c.1615–1660) was a commander of Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji I, the founder of the Maratha empire. The legend of Baji Prabhu is linked with an important rear guard battle enabling Shivaji's escape from Panhala fort; he was the hero who sacrificed his life for his king .
Early life
Baji Prabhu was 15 years older than Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which indicates he was born around 1615. He was born in a Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu family. Earlier he worked under Krishnaji Bandal of Rohida near Bhor. After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeated krishnaji at Rohida and captured the fort and many commanders along with Bajiprabhu joined Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Battle of Pavan Khind
After defeating Afzal Khan and the rout of the Bijapuri army at Pratapgad, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj continued to push deep into Bijapuri territory. Within a few days, the Marathas captured Panhala fort (near the city of Kolhapur). Meanwhile, another Maratha force, led by Netaji Palkar, 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 Maharaj's location, Johar laid siege to Panhala. Netaji Palkar made repeated attempts to break the Bijapuri siege from outside, but these failed.
Finally, a very audacious and high-risk plan was hatched and 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. 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 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) a band of 600 select men, led by Baji Prabhu and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, broke through the siege. They were hotly pursued by the Bijapuri force. As planned, Shiva Kashid 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. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and half of the Maratha force pushed for Vishalgadh, while Baji Prabhu, his brother Phulaji and the remaining Bandal Sena of about 300 men blocked the pass and fought against 10000 Bijapuri soldiers in the Ghodkhind Pass for more than 18 hours.
Tradition and legend describe feats of valour displayed by the Marathas during this rear-guard action. Baji Prabhu had mastered the art of using a weapon called "Dand Patta". Through the entire battle, Baji Prabhu, even though grievously injured, continued fighting, inspiring his men to fight on until Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's safe journey to Vishalgadh was signaled by the firing of three cannon volleys. It should be mentioned that when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj approached Vishalgad with 300 men, the fort was already under siege by Bijapuri sardars named Suryarao Surve and Jaswantrao Dalvi. Chhatrapati 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, in honor of the sacrifice of Baji Prabhu and his troops.
Descendants
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, Jalgaon, and Pune for encouraging education. He participated in the Quit India Movement 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. 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 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 on the warrior was made by Baburao Painter 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 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 portrayed Baji Prabhu in 2021 series Jai Bhawani Jai Shivaji aired on Star Pravah.
- A Marathi-language film, Pawankhind, directed by Digpal Lanjekar and starring Ajay Purkar as Baji Prabhu Deshpande, was released on 18 February 2022.
