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| Art by TL Jeffcoat |
This deadly weapon, which is frowned
upon as an assassin’s tool, was designed to mimic the claws of a tiger, which
is what the name Bagh Nakha translates into. Fitted into the palm of a hand, it
could be easily concealed until it’s time to strike. The Maratha Emporer,
Shivaji, was supposedly one of the first to use it to thwart his assassination,
and disembowel the general who had attempted to strike him down during a
negotiation.
The crossbar could be made from
anything, such as wood, metal, or even a glove. Four curved blades were fixed to
stick out from the palm. In older designs, the spikes were fastened to a bar
and holes were cut in the bar to fit the fingers through, but eventually it
evolved into a ring on either end for the pinky and pointer fingers. At a
glance, the unsuspecting victim might believe the assassin was wearing a couple
of rings.
