Maharaja
Maharaja is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India and medieval south India, the title denoted a king.
The form "Maharaj" indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Marathi the suffix -a is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" has been used by kings since Vedic times and also in the second century by the Indo-Greek rulers and then later by the Indo-Scythians, and also the Kushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by sovereign princes and vassal princes, and the title "Maharajadhiraja" was used by sovereign kings. Eventually, during the Mughal and British eras,Maharaja too came to be used by princes, though it was used by sovereign kings as well, such as the King of Maratha.
Etymology
The word Maharaja originates in Sanskrit and is a compound karmadhāraya term from mahānt- "great" and rājan "ruler, king"). It has the Latin cognates magnus "great" and rex "king". Due to Sanskrit's major influence on the vocabulary of most languages in Greater India and Southeast Asia, the term Maharaja is common to many modern Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. The Sanskrit title Maharaja was originally used only for rulers who ruled a considerably large region with minor tributary rulers under them. Since medieval times, the title was used by monarchs of lesser states claiming descent from ancient maharajas.Indian subcontinent
[Raja] as a ruler's title
On the eve of independence in 1947, the Indian Empire contained more than 600 princely states, each with its own native ruler, often styled Raja or Rana or Thakur or Nawab, with a host of less current titles as well.The British directly ruled two-thirds of the Indian subcontinent; the rest was under indirect rule by the above-mentioned princes under the considerable influence of British representatives, such as Residents, at their courts.
The word Maharaja may be understood simply to mean "ruler" or "king", in spite of its literal translation as "great king". This was because only a handful of the states were truly powerful and wealthy enough for their rulers to be considered 'great' monarchs; the remaining were minor princely states, sometimes little more than towns or groups of villages. The word, however, can also mean emperor in contemporary Indian usage.
The title of Maharaja was not as common before the gradual British colonisation of India, upon and after which many rajas and otherwise styled Hindu rulers were elevated to Maharajas, regardless of the fact that scores of these new Maharajas ruled small states, sometimes for some reason unrelated to the eminence of the state, for example, support to the British in Afghanistan, World War I or World War II. The Maharaja of Punjab in the 19th century was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He earned this title by keeping the Britishers beyond the Sutlej and even crushed the Afghan Empire. Maharajas in the twentieth century were the Maharaja of Cochin and Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Apart from princely states, rulers of some large and extended zamindaris were also awarded the title of Maharaja. The rulers of Jeypore, Darbhanga, Vizianagaram, Parlakhemundi Gidhaur were a few zamindars who were titled Maharaja for their cordiality and contribution to the British Raj.
- Variations of this title include the following, each combining Maha- "great" with an alternative form of Raja 'king', so all meaning 'Great King': Maharana, Maharaj Rana, Maharawal, Maharawat, Maharao and Maharaol.
- Maharajah has taken on new spellings due to the time change and migration. It has even been shortened to Mahraj and Maraj but the most common is Maharajah and Maharaj.
- Despite its literal meaning, unlike many other titles meaning Great King, neither Maharaja nor Rajadhiraja, nor its equivalent amongst Maharajas, 'Maharajadhiraja', ever reached the standing required for imperial rank, as each was soon the object of title inflation. Instead, the Indian title which is commonly rendered as Emperor is Samrat or Samraj, a personal distinction achieved only by the Mauryans and the Vakataka ruler Pravarasena I. Muslim equivalent of emperor would be Padshah, notably applied to the Mughal dynasty, the paramount power until the British established their raj.
; Maharajas |
Compound and dynastic ruler titles
- Dharma-maharaja was the devout title of the rulers of the Ganga dynasty.
Many of these elaborate explicitly on the title Maharaja, in the following descending order:
- Maharajadhiraja Bahadur : a title of honour, one degree higher than Maharajadhiraja.
- Maharajadhiraja : one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja Bahadur.
- Sawai Maharaja Bahadur: a title of honour, one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja.
- Sawai Maharaja: a title of honour one degree higher than Maharaja Bahadur; as granted to the Rajas of Ajaygarh.
- Maharaja Bahadur: a title of honour, one degree higher than Maharaja.
File:Prithvi Narayan Shah 1960.png|thumb|Sri Panch Bada Mahārājādhirāja Prithvi Narayan Shah Dev of Nepal.
File:Palden Thondup Namgyal.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal of Sikkim
Furthermore, there were various compound titles simply including other princely styles, such as:
- Maharaja Chatrapati in Satara, the paramount state of the Maratha Confederacy
- H.H. the Maharaj Rana of Jhalawar
- Maharaja-i-Rajgan: great prince amongst princes
- Maharaja Sena Sahib Subah of Nagpur, another Maratha state
- Maharaj Babu: A Rajput title similar to Maharaja. Used by the ruling Chiefs of Hazari Estate, Dohazari of South Chittagong.
- For details concerning various titles containing sahib, see there
Chakravarti
is a Sanskrit term for "emperor". The meaning of chakravarti is "he, whose wheels are moving" which symbolises that the leader who is a war hero, who commands over vast land and sea, the one who rules the people with dedication. In the Mahabharata, the Chakravarti Bharat is known to have ruled the entire sub-continent of India brought golden age to his empire. He is called as chakravarti. The wife of a Chakravartin or a female Chakravartin is called a Chakaravartini.Yuvaraja
means the crown prince of the kingdom or empire. He is granted with certain powers and responsibilities so that he can be prepared to take over as the Maharaja. His wife is called Yuvarani.Rajakumara
Rajakumara is the son of a king who is not the heir apparent. He is conferred with certain duties or powers per the king's wishes. The daughter of a king who is not the heir apparent is called Rajakumari.Maharani
Maharani usually denotes the wife of a Maharaja or in rare cases, in some states where it was customary, a woman ruling without a husband.''''''Rajamata
In cases where a child king is crowned, the mother of the king takes charge of the kingdom and acts as a regent. Until the young king is of the age, the Rajmata administers the kingdom. Famous examples include Rajamata Shetu Lakshmi Bai of Travancore dynasty, Gowri Lakshmi Bai, Maharaji Rudrama Devi of Kakatiya dynasty. When the king is present, the Rajamata being the mother of the king, might be given ceremonial roles. A famous Rajamata who functioned with the king is Rajamata Jijabai of the Maratha Kingdom, accompanying the Chhatrapati.Noble and honorary use
Like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars.- One Raja of Lambagraon, a Jagir who served in the colonial army was granted personally the non-hereditary title of Maharaja of Kangra-Lambagraon and a personal 11-guns salute, so neither honour passed on to his son and heir.
- In the major, Muslim realm of Hyderabad and Berar, there was a system of ennobling titles for the Nizam's courtiers, conferring a specific rank without any state of their own, not unlike peerage titles without an actual fief in the UK, the highest titles for Hindu nobles being Maharaja Bahadur and Maharaja, above Vant, Raja Rai-i-Rayan Bahadur, Raja Rai Bahadur, Raja Bahadur, Raja and Rai; for their Muslim counterparts there were alternative titles, the highest being Jah and Umara; e.g. the Diwan Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad, held such a Maharaja-title.
Derived style for princes of the blood
Nepal
The Gorkha Kings of Nepal used the title of Mahārājādhirāja which was "King of Great Kings", a title of honour, a degree higher than Mahārājā.Rana Prime ministers of Nepal used the title of Shree Teen Maharaja while the Gorkha Kings used Shree Panch Maharajadhiraja.