Amarendra Baahubali

**Amarendra Baahubali** (pronounced: AH-ma-REN-dra BAA-hoo-BUH-lee) is the main protagonist of the Baahubali film duology. He is named after character from Jain myth and stories. He is a prince of Mahishmati and son of king Vikramadeva**,** husband of Devasena**,** father of Mahendra**,** cousin/adoptive brother of Bhallaladeva**,** nephew/adoptive son of Sivagami**.** He is a noble, courageous, humble, and compassionate warrior who cares greatly about everyone around him and is popular among the kingdom. He has defended his kingdom from the forces of darkness time and again and is trained in academics and martial arts alongside his brother. In The Conclusion**,** he is ousted from the kingdom for killing **Sethupati** in the royal court and is framed for assassination by Bhalla and Bijjaladeva, leading to his close friend and uncle figure **Kattappa** being forced and positioned to execute him.

He portrayed by Prabhas in the movies.

## History and Role

### After Rise of Sivagami

Amarendra Baahubali is the son of king Vikramadeva and Akhila (Shivagami's foster sister). Vikramadeva inherited the kingdom after Somadeva's time and died in battle. His wife died giving birth to Baahubali so he is raised by Sivagami alongside her own son Bhallaladeva. They train in academics and military to become noble princes, and Baahubali doesn't hesitate to lay down his life to serve his people and kingdom. He is a bold and compassionate individual and has proven to be a skilled warrior who can take multiple enemy soldiers by himself with improvised fighting style.

### **Battle of the Bold**

Baahubali and Bhallaladeva are to participate in a form of the **Tournament of Champions** to prove themselves noble warriors. They are put up against foreign warriors and hike up snowy mountains in search of the nest. After fighting off thieves, Baahubali finds that they're being followed by some kind of spy. He realizes the spy is a woman. He and Bhalla bypass traps set by the other competitors as well as a pack of Blood Wolves. Baahubali manages to reach a bird sanctuary run by an elderly lady who saves them, and is told to make a choice of taking one of the few Ratnapakshi eggs left. The eggs hatch and Baahubali takes a piece of it, and he and Bhalla venture home.

### **The Lost Legends**

In the series, Baahubali works with Bhalla to help bring peace to Mahishmati and fight their enemies, but unknown to him Bhalla attempts to kill him many times.

In season one, Baahubali, Bhalla, and the heirs of the kingdom are placed in training by Pradhan Guru. He falls for the princess of Rudragni, Yamagni, and becomes enemies with her brother Varah who is secretly controlled by Pradhan and Bhalla. The heirs Avinash, Rakshit, and Ravi (who worked for Pradhan) are killed and in the tournament of champions Baahubali saves Yamangi from Barbarians who are being led by Pradhan.

In season two, Baahubali searches for a cure for Kattappa's illness which Pradhan put him in. He journeys to Jwalarajyam and meets Pralad and Sujatha, the former is killed. He and Yamagni recover a yellow ash antidote and cure Kattappa, forcing Pradhan to flee. Baahubali and Bhalla join together to fight Pradhan when he attacks Mahishmati and Kattappa kills him.

In season three, a fake heir Dharmaraj forces Baahubali and Bhalla out of the kingodm, so the two attempt to find proof of Dharmaraj's true nature. They befriend emperor Zorover of Bharigaza who tells them about how Dharmaraj tried to rebel against him. When Dharmaraj ruins Mahishmati and Varah threatens war, Baahubali and Bhalla return to defeat and imprison him, and Yamagni kills Varah. Zorover also destroys Rudragni's army.

In season four, Baahubali is kidnapped in a trap set by Kalpana Devi but manages to escape, and he and Bhalla try to find allies as she topples kingdoms left and right. Bhalla kills Aakansh, Baahubali's friend and their fellow gurukul student in order to appease Paramhans, who is later killed by Kalpana. In the climax, Baahubali, Bhalla, and Sivagami are assisted by Ayesha and Sujatha and eventually kill Kalpana, with Bhalla preserving his deed.

In season five, Baahubali, Bhalla, Kattappa, Sujatha, and Ayesha travel to Japan to return the Hachiman katana and get tangled up in the war between Torra and Ukami. Bhalla attempts to ally with Ukami to take over Mahishmati but fails, and Ukami and Torra both die fighting each other with Torra's son Shinji ascending to the throne. When the princes return they work to fight crime in Mahishmati and encounter an underground cult, Kattappa's adopted daughter Mahima, and two princesses who try to expose Bhalla for killing Aakanksh. In the climax, the samurai Yoshido finds himself without purpose and blames Baahubali for causing the deaths of both warlords. He and a small army invade Mahishmati and take Sivagami hostage. Baahublai fights Yoshido in a duel and the latter commits suicide in defeat. Even after the fight is resolved however, Baahubali is suddenly ambushed and finds himself in a forest, having lost his memory.

### **Baahubali: The Beginning**

Amarendra Baahubali's father, Vikramadeva was elected to be king, much to his elder brother, Bijjaladeva's disappiontment. Bijjaladeva thinks it's because of his disabilities. Vikramadeva dies, leaving the throne empty and his wife dies while giving birth to Amarendra. Bijjaladeva's wife Queen mother Sivagami, takes charge of running the kingdom with Kattappa's assistance until a new king is elected. Amarendra Baahubali and Bhallala Deva are brought up together, trained in all areas including arts, science, disguise, politics, and warfare, but both of them have different approaches towards kingship. Amarendra Baahubali is gracious to everyone but Bhallala Deva is violent and achieves his goals by any means possible.

It is revealed that Mahismathi is about to be attacked by an army of savages, called Kalakeyas. Queen Sivagami sees this as an opportunity to find out who among her two sons should be future king of Mahismati. Bijjala Deva, Bhalla Deva's father proposes that who eve kills the Kalakeya leader will be the future king and the chief minister agrees with him. Sivagami nevertheless, says that it is printhe ces' duty to protect and defend their country and orders that Mahismatis war resources be distributed fairly among her two sons. Bijjala Deva uses his guile to make sure Bhalladeva gets the maximum war resources.

The Kalakeyas are given an opportunity to change their minds and walk away with their lives. The Kalakeya king, Inokshi rejects their offer and insults Queen Sivagami. An enraged Sivagami says she wants the Kalakeya king brought to her alive so that she can feed him to the vultures. When it seems that Mahishmati would end up being defeated, Amarendra inspires his soldiers to fight back and they end up crushing the enemy. While Amarendra defeated the king of Kalakeya and was about to obey the words of Sivagami by chopping his limbs, Bhalla Deva swings his weapon from a distance and kills the Kalakeya king. Despite Bhalla Deva being the one to kill the Kalakeya king, Sivagami announces Amarendra Baahubali as the new emperor because of his courage and leadership exhibited in the war and also because of the fact that he shielded and protected his own countrymen throughout the war.

After the flashback, when asked about Amarendra's current whereabouts, a tearful Kattappa reveals that Amarendra is dead and that he is the one who killed Amarendra.

### **Baahubali 2: The Conclusion**

Kattappa continues to narrate how he ended up killing Amarendra Baahubali.

After vanquishing the Kalakeyas, Amarendra Baahubali is declared as the future king of Mahishmati and Bhallaladeva declared as the commander-in-chief. Before the coronation, *Rajamatha* Sivagami begins to look for a bride for Amarendra. She instructs Amarendra and Kattappa to tour the kingdom to understand its current state and its people.

Amarendra falls in love with Devasena, a princess of the Kuntala kingdom (7.5 *yojanas* in the North from Mahishmati) and the sister of the king of Kuntala. Bhallaladeva learns of Amarendra's attempts to woo Devasena and hatches a plot to drive a wedge between Amarendra and Sivagami by asking for Devasena's hand in marriage for himself. Sivagami, unaware that Amarendra is in love with Devasena, promises Devasena's hand in marriage to Bhallaladeva.

Sivagami sends an emissary to the kingdom of Kuntala, who delivers the marriage proposal in a patronizing way. An insulted Devasena rejects the proposal with a scathing reply. Sivagami is enraged to hear Devasena's response and sends an order to Amarendra that Devasena is to be brought to Mahishmati Kingdom as a captive.

The kingdom of Kuntala is attacked by Pindaris, a dacoit-like army. Amarendra, with the help of Devasena's cousin, Kumara Varma, is able to nullify the attack and save Kuntala. Amarendra reveals who he is, promises Devasena that he will protect her honour no matter wha,t and convinces her to come with him to Mahismati as his future bride.

Upon reaching Mahismati, the misunderstanding comes to light. When Sivagami delivers an ultimatum to Amarendra that he must either chose the throne or Devasena, he chooses Devasena. Bhallaladeva is crowned king and Amarendra is made the new commander-in-chief. During the coronation ceremony, the citizens of Mahishmati clearly display their preference for Amarendra over Bhallaladeva.

At Devasena's baby shower, Bhallaladeva relieves Amarendra of his duties as commander-in-chief so that Amarendra can be with his wife. Devasena immediately speaks out against the King's manipulation and the mute inaction of Sivagami. Due to further clashes, Devasena and Amarendra are banished from the Palace. Amarendra and Devasena live happily among the people. Bhallaladeva notices that to the people, Amarendra is their king, and hatches a plot with his father Bijjaladeva to convince Sivagami that Amarendra is trying to assassinate him. Sivagami, convinced that Bhallaladeva's life is under threat and open action would result in factions and civil war, orders Kattappa to kill Amarendra. Kattappa, bound by his word to serve the Queen, lures Amarendra by feigning he is in trouble, and then stabs him in the back and kills him while fighting Kalakeyas. Before dying, Amarendra learns about Bhalla Deva's true intentions and tells Kattappa to take care of Sivagami.

## Appearance

Amarendra was a tall, muscular man. He has the same medium, curly hair as his son. He had a beard and a moustache. He wore dhotis with a belt that had the Mahishmati symbol on it. He wore gold jewelry on his neck and he wore earrings. The Bindi on his forehead was a half-moon. He wore a white headband with a small crown.

## Personality

Amarendra is gracious and nice towards everyone including slaves. He is ingenious. He is reliable and humble towards everyone. He values loyalty and bravery towards everyone. Unlike Bhallala Deva, he values life and won't harm innocent people. Bijjala mentioned that he is too innocent to realize that Bhallala Deva is evil. He has been a poster boy of women empowerment and gender equality in the whole story. He without a single doubt supports Devasena in all situations. He is showed as the perfect gentleman, ardent lover, and ideal husband.

## Abilities and Skills

### Skills

**Knowledge** - Amarendra has demonstrated extensive skill and knowledge in combat, science, war strategy, and engineering. This has enabled him to take proper, improvised command on the battlefield and oversee the kingdom's issues. He engages in political conversation and sometimes philosophical thought when engaged in diplomatic and other such conflicting issues. He has also pondered the importance of nature and animal life as well as pure equality for residents of the kingdom.

**Honor and nobility** - As previously stated, Baahubali is noted for his compassion and he constantly tries to see the good in everyone. He has been raised learning the importance of duty and dispensing justice, and has earned heavy respect for his family and friends. Sometimes he lets this go, such as in the middle of a fight when he kills enemies indiscriminately and he has spoken against Sivagami on a few occassions. This has also allowed him to become vulnerable to Bhalla's treachery.

### Abilities

**Combat** - Baahubali is one of the most experienced combatants in the franchise, more often he thinks with his sword and doesn't hesitate to eradicate an enemy when he's motivated. He utilizes strategy in battle and swift moves and fighting styles, and his strength to overwhelm the enemy. He has been seen capable of taking on several troops all by himself and has learned different fighting styles from different people, developing his skill over time. In the Lost legends Series, when he and Bhalla are in Japan and end up fighting each other masked on opposing sides, he almost kills Bhalla after a fight and only stops once Bhalla's face is revealed. Even despite being injured and confronted by an army of Kalakeyas he still uses their own weapons against them and slaughters them

**Strength** - Baahubali is one of the characters in the franchise who has superhuman strength, possibly from natural training or since birth. He has most notably destroyed jugganut chariot gates, tossed a chariot, a ball on a rope, and lifted a tree up by a chain. His strength surpasses that of Katappa and is matched by his brother Bhallaladeva. A young Bahubali's strength was inferior to that of Pradhan Guru and Dharamraj, but it is likely that by the time the events of the Bahubali movies take place, he had become as strong as both of them.

## Relationships

### **Family**

#### **Mahendra Baahubali**

**(Son)**

Mahendra is his only son. Mahendra was born on the day he dies. Baahubali and Devasena gave Kattappa the honour of holding Mahendra first.

#### **Avanthika**

**(Daughter-in-law)**

Avanthika is Amarendra's daughter-in-law.

#### **Vikramadeva**

**(Father)**

Vikramadeva is Amarendra's father. He died when Amarendra's mother was 6 months pregnant.

#### Akhila

**(Mother)**

Amarendra Baahubali's mother (Akhila) died while giving birth to him.

#### **Bijjaladeva**

**(Paternal Uncle)**

Bijjaladeva is his paternal uncle. He respected him as his chacha (uncle) and saw his open aggressiveness and cunning as nothing more than mental unstability of Bijjal. However, Bijjaladeva viewed Baahu as an enemy and wanted him dead, since Baahu was the son and the spitting image of Bijjal's brother, Vikramadeva, whom he passionately despised for stealing his throne. He valued Bhalla much more and wanted him to become king at any cost.

#### **Sivagami**

**(Paternal aunt/Adoptive Mother)**

Sivagami raised Amarendra like her own son with Bhallala Deva. Amarendra calls Sivagami mom and shows real affection towards her, unlike Bhallala Deva. It is noted that Sivagami wanted Baahubali to be king as he is nicer. It is seen that he spends more time with her than Bhallala Deva. Bhallala Deva drives a wedge between those two.

Sivagami makes Bhallala Deva king. Sivagami gets mad at Baahubali for choosing Devasena over the throne. Bhallala Deva makes Sivagami believe that Amarendra is trying to assassinate him and Sivagami orders Kattappa to kill him. Before dying, Amarendra learns about Bhalla Deva's true intentions and tells Kattappa to take care of Sivagami. Sivagami learns Bhallala Deva's treachery. Sivagami realizes that she killed Baahubali for no reason and falls at Devasena's feet.

#### **Somadeva**

**(Paternal grandpa)**

Somadeva is his paternal grandfather.

#### **Hemavati**

**(Paternal grandma)**

Hemavati is his paternal grandma.

#### **Bhallaladeva**

**(Cousin)**

Bhallaladeva and Amarendra are cousins, but are brothers through adoption. Bhallaladeva hates Amarendra and views him as an enemy. Bhallaladeva shows fake affection towards him while Amarendra shows real affection towards him. Bhallaladeva tried to kill Amarendra couple of times but failed. Before dying, Amarendra learns the truth of Bhallaladeva. Bhallaladeva chops his corpse into pieces from his anger.

#### **Bhadra**

**(Adopted Nephew)**

Bhallaladeva adopted Bhadra. Since Bhalla is Amarendra Baahubali's cousin, he is his nephew.

### **Friends**

#### **Kattappa**

> "*I also want to desert you, my dear old man.'' -Amarendra Baahubali*
>
>

Amarendra shows kindness and respect towards his uncle Kattappa. In return, Katappa loved him dearly and wanted him to become king. Kattappa got Devasena and Amarendra together by playing along with Amarendra. They both will sacrifice their lives for each other. After Katappa stabs him in the back at the order of Bhalla, Amarendra forgives him before dying and asks him to take care of his mother. When Katappa fails to do that too, he looks for chances to redeem himself all his life and has a deep seated desire to kill Bhalla to avenge Amarendra's death. He protected Kattappa when arrows were shooting at Kattappa and Amarendra got all the arrows shot at his back. He left his wife, who was in labour, to save Kattappa. Kattappa said, "*You may be dead but, you're still in our hearts*."

### **Romance(s)**

#### Yamagni

**(Ex)**

Before formally meeting Devasena, Baahubali was in a relationship with princess Yamagni of **Rudragni**. They talk about their kingdom's beliefs and their mutual desire for a compassionate society in their cities. The two take a liking to each other, which is met with disapproval from Yamagni's arrogant brother Varaah. Baahubali, despite his shock at seeing Yamagni attempt to hurt him becomes understanding and their friendship further grows, especially so after the Barbarian attacks on Yamagni's caravan and the tournament of champions. During Season 2, Sivagami finds out that Pradhan Guru blackmailed Yamagni into servitude and that she tried to keep Baahubali from saving Kattappa. Sivagami angrily orders Yamagni to break up with Baahubali in exchange for sparing him her treachery. She and Baahubali decide to stay friends at best after Yamagni inherits the kingdom after overthrowing Varaah.

#### **Devasena**

**(Wife)**

Baahubali first meets princess Devasena of Kuntala in **Battle of the Bold,** although not knowing her identiy as she was masked. She has appeared as a guardian of the bird sanctuary in the high mountains of Himvashi kingdom and a possible guide to visitors, or a hostile threat to anyone who means harm. She has demonstrated agility and warrior skill for which Baahubali takes admiration to, and the sanctuary's caretaker hints that there's more nobility to him when meets the eye.

In **The Conclusion,** Amarendra fell in love with Devasena when he saw her fighting the bandits. It's unknown how Devasena didn't recognize him but it's possible she didn't remember after all the years. Baahubali admires her fighting skill and pretends to be a simpleton to get closer to her, and is then forced to reveal his identity to fend of the Pindaris. During the battle he teaches Devasena to shoot three arrows from the bow and releases the Kuntala dam to repel the Pindaris. Devasena and Jaya Varma congratulate him but Baahubali recieies an abduction order from Sivagami.

An enraged Devasena hits Amarendra with fire and his protective shield comes out. Amarendra reveals that he is the crown prince of Mahishmati and Devasena falls in love with him. Thinking that Sivagami asked her hand of marriage for Amarendra, she felt guilty for rejecting him. Amarendra promises that he will protect her.

When the misunderstanding comes to light, Sivagami forces Amarendra to choose between the throne or Devasena. He chooses Devasena. At Devasena's baby shower, Bhallaladeva relieves Amarendra of his duties as commander-in-chief so that Amarendra can be with his wife. Devasena immediately speaks out against the King's manipulation and the mute inaction of Sivagami. Due to further clashes, Devasena and Amarendra are banished from the Palace. Amarendra and Devasena live happily among the people.

Devasena learns her husband's death with her baby, Mahendra in her hands. Sivagami falls at Devasena's feet for forgiveness.

## Trivia

* He uses the fake name Shivu to befriend Devasena, the same name Sanga would give to his son Mahendra.
* He uses the same sword wielded by Vikramadeva.
* Baahubali is theorized to be an incarnation or avatar of Lord Shiva, evident by his natural strength and determined personality.
* Baahubali has inspired characteristics of the Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata epic, including Yudhishtra's leadership in battle, Bhima's strength, and Arjuna's warrior skill.
* He has little characteristics with the character he's named after.
* Amarendra Baahubali is one of the known characters in the franchise who have superhuman strength, the others being Bhallaladeva, Mahendra Baahubali, Pradhan Guru, and Dharamraj.
* Baahubali has taken a liking to animals on many occasions, however he has not hesitated to kill them if out of self -defense or if they pose a threat. Oddly enough he didn't seem to have a problem with attacking the boars in Kuntala.
* Baahubali's birth mother is not revealed, however it may be possible that she is of lower class such as a villager. This is hinted by the references Bijjaladeva and Bhalla make to Baahubali being of lower heritage and a further reason for their hate to see him on the throne.

Amarendra Baahubali/Gallery