Bagh nakh
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A bagh nakh (alt. Bag'hnak, Nahar-nuk, Waghnakh, Wagnuk, Wahar-nuk Hindi for "tiger claw") is an Indian hand-to-hand weapon designed to fit over the knuckles or concealed under and against the palm. Usually made of metal, it traditionally consists of four or five curved blades affixed to a crossbar or glove, and is designed to slash through skin and muscle, mimicking wounds inflicted by a wild animal. The bagh nakh is similar to brass knuckles or neko-te.
The weapon was developed in India, primarily for self-defence. Although there are conflicting reports of the time period in which they appeared. The first well-known usage of the weapon was by the first Maratha Emperor Shivaji. He used a variation of the bagh nakh (the Bich'hwa bag'hnak) to defeat Afzal Khan, a Bijapur Sardar.
[edit] Variant construction
Several variations of the bagh nakh exist, including one in which the single crossbar is replaced by two plates hinged together; with an additional loop and claw for the thumb. The earliest bagh nakh did not utilize loops for the fingers, rather round holes were punched through the central plate. Many bagh nahk also incorporated a spike or blade on one end of the crossbar (see Bich'hwa bag'hnak).
[edit] In popular culture
- In Vampire: The Masquerade, a roleplaying game by White Wolf, the Bagh Nakh is one of the favoured weapons of the Assamite clan, where it is said, erroneously, that the weapon originated amongst the Thugee cult.
- Weapons similar to the bagh nakh are often featured in video games, including the Final Fantasy and Street Fighter series, RuneScape, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Age of empires 3, Shining Soul 2, Seiken Densetsu 3, Dynasty Warriors, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, and Star Ocean: The Second Story.
- The character Ken Hidaka in the anime Weiss Kreuz uses a pair of bagh nakh as his primary weapon.
