| “ | Does anyone else want to doubt this "old fool"? That was your first lesson: Manners! | „ |
| ~ Pradhan after knocking out two of the heirs with his ring. |
| “ | You only knew half of the plan you fool! There is no "we", and there never was a "we". Only I will take Mahishmati! | „ |
| ~ Pradhan while killing the Barbarian leader. |
| “ | Don't worry Kattappa, as much as I'd like to put you back in your place now is not the time for you to die. I will keep you alive for now, long enough to watch Mahishmati burn! | „ |
| ~ Pradhan poisoning Kattappa. |
Pradhan Guru is one of the main antagonists of the Baahubali franchise, being a main antagonist in the animated series Baahubali: The Lost Legends.
Pradhan is the royal teacher of combat appointed by Sivagami to set the princes and royal heirs of Mahishmati to an honorable path, and take on the challenges encountered by royalty when running a kingdom. However it's revealed that he's actually a traitor plotting to destroy it.
He was voiced by Vinod Kulkarni.
Appearance[]
Pradhan is an elderly warrior with dark skin and white facial hair as well as well as from the side of his head. He also wears white and gold robes and a golden ring resembling a snake, a symbol of the Pradhan lineage.
Personality[]
Pradhan Guru's defining trait is his extensive level of cunning and manipulation, to the point that he is able to exploit the emotions and goals of the characters into doing his bidding, a most notable is by forcing Baahubali to win the tournament and go after Yamagni during the Barbarian attack in pursuit of his feelings. His knowledge in understanding behaviors and political concepts are key in his effort to overrule the royals of Mahishmati. However the kind and forgiving mind of Baahubali and other honorable figures and their diplomatic resolutions usually get in his way. However he doesn't hesitate to take his plans into his own hands by killing his enemies himself.
Pradhan also has a philosophy that life is like a game that needs to be challenged and played, as if people and places are things to play with. He should come out as a victor while the losers die. He treats life like an experiment and enjoys it when people suffer in the process of it.
Biography[]
Past[]
When Pradhan was a young, he was an unnamed prince who was abducted from his mother by a mysterious combat master, the first/previous Pradhan Guru. The Pradhan Gurus are a cult like lineage dedicated to punishing royal families for their arrogance or crimes committed in their duties. The previous Pradhan groomed him as a personal slave and had a hatred towards royalty, wanting to weaponize the prince into an asset for his cause. The first Pradhan takes his servant to Mahishmati when king Somadeva ruled, and asks him for water in his court. Somadeva offers more service but the first Pradhan leaves angrily. He tells the prince that Somadeva was arrogant and that members of royalty are spoiled and need to submit before gurus because they are superior because of their teachings. The old Pradhan continues to groom the prince to his cause, to erase royalty. When the prince became educated and strong enough he turns on his master, killing him and declaring himself the new Pradhan Guru. Pradhan sets out to improve his fighting by learning from Chandalini, the combat teacher who would later train Kattappa. Chandalini's teachings make Pradhan tremendously more powerful, and it's revealed he is only there to take advantage of her poisonous mushrooms. Chandalini busts him and states that she knew Pradhan was a deceiver and fights him. Using the Pradhan's ancestral technique he shatters Chandalini's sword but is driven out before he can take the mushroom, swearing to return one day and using it to fullfill his life's purpose, destroying Mahishmati.
Season 1[]
At an unknown point, Pradhan met Bhallaladeva and Bijjaladeva and had agreed to work with them to rule Mahishmati, however Pradhan has his own agenda to destroy it. Since the beginning of his arrival to the kingdom he has studied the behaviors of the characters and the kingdom's tactical methods, developing as a parasite in the host of a kingdom to overrule it. Pradhan is hired by Sivagami to train the princes and royal chosen heirs of Mahishmati to properly embrace and take their positions seriously, and Pradhan puts them to rigorous through rigorous physical tests which only Baahubali and Bhalla manage to get through. He continues to train the heirs in political topics and statecraft, all however is a ruse as it's discovered that he is secretly conspiring to rule Mahishmati, somehow by getting Bhalla crowned king. The heir Rakshiti catches Bhalla ruthlessly killing his friend Avinash out of bottled rage for keeping his hatred towards Baahubali compressed. Rakshiti explains to Pradhan, who stabs him in the back with a sword. Pradhan has displayed a talent at manipulating emotions and tricking characters in order to instigate conflict and learn about what makes and breaks them.
For reasons unknown, Pradhan is seen destroying the Urn of Struukal, and is later seen to be a commander of the Barbarian tribe assaulting Mahishmati. They steal poisonous mushrooms from the cave of Kattappa's teacher Chandalini to cause chaos at the Tournament of Champions, allowing the gladiators to team up. Baahubali also runs to save princess Yamagni, in a plot to portray him as negligent. In the battle he also poisons Kattappa, putting him into a coma. But not before Kattappa hints at treacherous activity in Mahishmati.
Season 2[]
Pradhan takes initiative to make sure that Kattappa doesn't wake up from his coma and is revealed to have several spies and contacts on his pay. He is also shown to blackmail Yamagni knowing she tried to kill her brother. He brands Yamagni to join his cause. He sends Barbarians to lay siege to the pacifistic kingdom of Jwalarajyam which Baahubali helps the people of defend, at the cost of losing prince Prahlad. In addition he hires a group of bandits and jester named Nagrajan to kill Baahubali when he journeys for the yellow ash flower, but they all end up killed by Baahubali and Yamagni.
Yamagni decides that she can no longer go against Baahubali and decides to cure Kattappa with the yellow ash medicine. When Pradhan realizes he's compromised and Kattappa wakes up he turns on Baahubali and Bhalla, but Kattappa imprisons him. However when Bhalla tries to threaten him in the dungeon Pradhan breaks out of his chains with ease and uses an escape tunnel he dug to get out of the kingdom.
Pradhan returns weeks later, disguising himself as a servant to infiltrate Mahishmati. He sits in the council room with the guards, Kattappa, and Sivagami surrounding him. But he reveals that he has agents in Mahishmati and Barbarians setting different parts of the kingdom on fire. Pradhan taunts Sivagami and tells him that he'd be happy to spare them if Sivagami bows before him or kills Kattappa. Baahubali and Bhalla find the civilians in panic but motivate them to stand strong to save the kingdom. The Barbaric Hulk appears and fights Baahubali and Bhalla, revealing himself a distraction to Pradhan's plot. They find out Pradhan poisoned Mahishmati's dam to drown the kingdom, but Sivagami challenged Pradhan to a riddle game to stall him. Pradhan loses the game and as per the deal he flees Mahishmati as the princes and the motivated civilians close the dam. Pradhan abducts a prince as he leaves, but he's ambushed in the woods by Kattappa, who slashes Pradhan's belly and saves the prince as the old master bleeds out.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Statecraft- Pradhan prides himself in having wisdom regarding political and monarchial knowledge and believes it is an extensive game of competition to be played
- Combat and superhuman strength- Despite his older age, Pradhan is one of the most dangerous combatants and strongest characters in Baahubali. He is agile and can take on several men even while surrounded with little effort, and has marksmanship and accurate blows with both fists and weapons. He also displays a remarkable ability to shatter swords with a clap of his hands, including the signature steel blades of Mahishmati. Pradhan has also broken out of his dungeon chains with ease and punches Bhalla's mace.
Trivia[]
- Pradhan Guru is not the character's real name, it is actually a long line of enslaved warrior generals dedicated to regicide. The reason isn't known, but the lineage was started by a warrior who was wronged by royalty and wants to punish all of them for it.
- Pradhan Guru can be described as a nemesis to Kattappa. He has upstaged him as the royal teacher, and Kattappa has consistently been skeptical about Pradhan's true nature. He has also been put in a coma by Pradhan to silence him when he finds the truth, and him awakening is the reason Pradhan escapes to carry his plot to another day. Kattappa also ends up killing him in revenge for Chandalini.
- Pradhan is possibly loosely inspired by Shakuni and has a very similar personality, including his emotional manipulation and passion for gaming and battle strategy.
- Even if Pradhan survived after Season 2, he likely would have still died by old age as if Baahubali 2.