Bahirji Naik
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Bahirji Naik, (original name Bhairavnath Jadhav), was a 17th century Maratha spy and head of intelligence department in the army of
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
. Bahirji was honoured with title of "Naik" () by King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj due to his great work. As king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Chief of Intelligence, he was very successful in his methods. His tomb is currently situated on Bhupalgad (Banurgad) in
Khanapur Khanapur known as Khanapura is a panchayat town in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. It is about 26 km from Belagavi, the administrative capital of the district. The Khanapur Municipal Council governs the town. Khanapur is the headquar ...
taluka of
Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...
district. He was born in the village of Shingave Naik,
Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...
. Not much is or was known about the early life of Bahirji, except that his expeditions and adventures as a spy in king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army greatly contributed to the success of the Maratha Empire.


Role during wars

It is said that when a knight from
Adil Shah Ali-qoli Khan (), commonly known by his regnal title Adel Shah (also spelled Adil; , "the Just King") was the second shah of Afsharid Iran, ruling from 1747 to 1748. He was the nephew and successor of Nader Shah (), the founder of the Afsharid d ...
, Afzal Khan, started his journey towards the
Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
in order to capture it, Bahirji poisoned the lead flag-bearing elephants. This led to the enemy abandoning the quest. (The death of a flag-bearing elephant was considered a bad omen.) In Umbar Khind, a mountain pass near
Lonavala Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...
, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ambushed and defeated the 20,000-strong army of Colonel Kartalab Khan, a well-known military officer of Shahiste Khan, in the Battle of Umberkhind. This victory is attributed to Bahirji's intelligence collection. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured valuable military equipment and accepted the deserters from Khan's army into his own.


Role during covert operations

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj made a surprise attack on Shahiste Khan in Khan's military camp at Pune under the cover of darkness to kill Khan and thus demoralize his army. Khan survived this daring attack but lost three fingers. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj escaped to Sinhagad, while drawing Khan's army into a wild chase to a mountain pass in Katraj. Khan did not die, but he and his army were thoroughly demoralized by the campaign. Within three days of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s successful strike, Khan left Pune.


Role during invasions

Bahirji was a key person in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's many surprise victories and escapes. Despite having a smaller army, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj attacked Surat,
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
's financial capital, twice, once in 1664 and later in 1670, and carried away much of its wealth as recompense for the costs incurred and pain suffered by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's citizens during the years of occupation by Aurangzeb's army. None of the ordinary citizens of Surat were attacked or looted. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj escaped from Aurangzeb's jail in Agra, even though the jail itself was surrounded by a 1,000-strong army under an able commander, and subsequently traveled 700 miles through Aurangzeb's kingdom to complete his escape. In a second expedition to Surat, Colonel Ikhlas Khan chased Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army to Kanchan Bari (near Nasik), where they engaged in open battle. Khan was unable to maintain the advantage of surprise and lost; Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj captured valuable military equipment from Khan due to his victory in the six-hour battle.


In popular culture

* Bahirji Naik, Marathi language film released in 1943 * The first episode of the 2014 Indian
Epic TV Epic TV is an Indian television channel that airs action, drama, comedy and narrative non-fiction and fictional programming with a focus on Indian history, folklore and epic genre. Launched by IN10 Media Network on 19 November 2014, a compan ...
anthology television series about India's legendary spies, ''
Adrishya ''Adrishya'' () is a non-fiction Indian Hindi-language television series that aired on Epic TV. The show is based on real-life stories of Indian spies. The show premiered on 21 November 2014 and aired thirteen episodes. Show summary ''Adrishya ...
'', is about Naik. * His character was significantly depicted in Nitin Desai's serial ''
Raja Shivchatrapati ''Raja Shivchhatrapati'' is an Indian Marathi language historical drama television series based on Shivaji, Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Kingdom which aired on Star Pravah. The serial was re-telecast in April 2020 during the COVID-19 ...
,'' it was aired on ''
Star Pravah Star Pravah is an Indian Marathi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecasts family dramas, comedies, reality shows and films. History ...
.'' * In the Marathi language film ''
Farzand ''Farzand'' is a 2018 Indian Marathi-language historical drama War film, War film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Anirban Sarkar under the banner of Swami Samarth Creations LLP. The film was co-produced by Sandip Jadhav, Mahesh Jaur ...
'', the role of Bahirji Naik was played by
Prasad Oak Prasad Prabhakar Oak (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ɾəsaːd̪ oːk born 17 February 1975) is an actor. He has received several awards including two Filmfare Awards Marathi and a National Film Award. In 2007, he participated in ...
* In ''
Fatteshikast ''Fatteshikast'' () is a 2019 Indian Marathi-language historical drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced under the banner of Almonds Creations Ajay Arekar and Anirudh Arekar in association with AA Films. The film stars Chinmay M ...
'', the role of Bahirji was played by Harish Dudhade. *In Marathi film '' Pawankhind'', the role of Bahirji Naik was played by Harish Dudhade. * In film ''
Sher Shivraj ''Sher Shivraj'' is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language historical action drama film directed by Digpal Lanjekar and produced by Chinmay Mandlekar, Digpal Lanjekar, Nitin Keni, Pradyot Pendharkar and Anil Warkhade. The film based on the life of Ma ...
'', the role of Bahirji Naik was played by its director Digpal Lanjekar


See also

* Ravindra Kaushik *
Ajit Doval Ajit Kumar Doval, Kirti Chakra, KC (born 20 January 1945) is an Indian bureaucrat and spymaster, who is currently serving as the National Security Advisor of India since 2014. A retired Indian Police Service officer of the Kerala cadre, he had p ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naik, Bahirji 17th-century Indian people 17th-century spies Year of birth missing Year of death missing Indian spies People from the Maratha Empire