Lord Bijjaladeva (pronounced: BIJ-uhl-ah-DAYV) is a villanous main character in the Baahubali franchise. He is the husband of Rajmatha Sivagami, father of Bhallaladeva, and uncle of Amarendra Baahubali. He was smart and cunning, but being handicapped left him feeling inferior. He was always resentful towards his brother as he got to rule the kingdom of Mahishmati instead of them. He also had ill feelings towards his nephew, Amarendra, and encouraged Bhallaladeva to turn on him to seize the throne for himself.
In Tamil, his name is Pingaladevan (PIN-guh-luh-DEV-uhn).
History and Role[]
Early Life[]
He is the firstborn son of King Somadeva. He was born with a disability that his left arm is deformed. He was furious that his brother Vikramdeva got the throne instead of him since he was disabled. This led to great turmoil within, leading to him helping his son Bhalladeva get throne over Bahubali, Vikramdeva son and his hated nephew.
Battle of the Bold[]
Bijjaladeva makes the suggestion for the tournament to search for the egg of the Ratnapakshi. He secretly lends a sample egg to Bhalla in case he needs the victory. He wanted his son to be victorious in everything he does, and thus put a lot of efforts in providing him with anything that he wants
The Lost Legends[]
The Legend Begins[]
Bijjaladeva is angered upon being excluded from the sacred lake's ritual and leaves. He pulls a young Bhalla aside as he was racing Baahubali and tells him to observe the ritual. He also expresses disappointment in Bhalla when he doesn't risk his life to save Sivagami from the crocodile, making his son ignore him. He leaves the lake criticizing Baahubali for nearly throwing his life away. As with many members of the court years later, he is impressed and intimidated with Pradhan Guru's skill. He also expresses disappointment with his son for cheering Baahubali on in the court, but his son tells his friend Avinash about how his father was refused the throne because the people feared his will and power before he drowns Avinash to death.
After Mahendra Bahubali is crowned king, he is present and is allowed to take part in the coronation. Since Mahendra is inexperienced and his wife and mother are prone to starting conflicts, Bijjaldeva probably is his most senior advisor.
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Personality[]
Bijjaladeva has always been emotionally unstable, he had a very short temperament. He also had tough time controlling his anger and a and selfishness towards arrogant and selfish towards everyone with the exception of his son Bhallaladeva. It's more than likely that his deformed hand was the cause of his hatred and bitterness and it was for his attitude that he was denied the kingdom. He hates that his father Somadeva gave the throne to Vikramdeva, his weak and idiotic brother who ended up dying shortly after becoming king. He knew that Bhalladeva had more right to the throne since he was older than Bahubali, so he came up with a simple proposition to Sivigami to make Bhalladeva king, but she instead decided to pit him against Bahubali. He knew that pitting them against each other would leave the kingdom without an heir. His greed for kingdom was so large that he encouraged and helped his son to take over the throne. He did not care who was hurt in their path. He planted seeds of jealousy and hate in his sons towards his cousin. He always fulflled all his son's wishes furthering his greed and need for power. Bijjaladeva was trying to achieve what he himself could not do, by living vicariously through his strong and able son. He took great pride in his son.
Trivia[]
- His character is inspired by Shakuni from the Mahabharata, and he also shares a lot of characteristics with Dhridirashtra.
- Despite being a main and reoccurring character, his roles are largely in the background particularly in the Lost Legends. He is very rarely mentioned by name, only once in the first movie and in the first season of the series.