Maharaja

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The word Mahārāja (also spelled maharajah) is Sanskrit for "great king" or "high king" (a karmadharaya from mahānt "great" and rājan "king"). Due to Sanskrit's major influence on the vocabulary of most languages in India, the term 'maharaja' is common to many modern languages, such as Bengali, Hindi, Gujrati, etc. Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). The female equivalent to Maharaja is Maharani (or Maharanee), a title used either by the wife of a Mahārāja or, in the few states where that was allowed, by a woman ruling in her own right. The term Maharaj denotes separate noble and religious offices, although the fact that in Hindi the suffix 'a' in Maharaja is silent makes the two titles homonyms.

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[edit] Indian subcontinent

[edit] Maharaja as a ruler's title

On the eve of independence in 1947, India (including present day Pakistan) contained more than 600 princely states (see that article for context), each with its own ruler, often styled Raja or Thakur (if the ruler were Hindu) or Nawab (if he was Muslim); there was a host of less current titles as well.

The British directly ruled 2/3rd of India, 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 "king" (as in Jammu and Kashmir), 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 mean emperor in contemporary Indian usage.

The title of Maharaja was not as common before the gradual British colonization 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 in World War I or World War II. Two Rajas who became Maharajas in the twentieth century were the Maharaja of Cochin and the legendary Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.

  • Variations of this title include the following, each combining Maha- "great" with an alternative form of Raja 'king', so all meaning 'Great King': Maharana (as in Udaipur), Maharawal (as in Dungarpur/Jaisalmer), Maharawat (Pratapgarh), Maharao (as in Kotah, Bundi), and Maharaol (as in Baria).
  • "Maharajah" has taken on new spellings due to time change and migration. It has even been shortened to "Mahraj",and "Maraj" but the most common is, if course, "Maharajah" and "Maharaj."
  • Despite its literal meaning, unlike many other titles meaning Great King, neither Maharaja nor Rajadhiraja ('King of Kings'), nor even its equivalent amongst Maharajas, 'Maharajadhiraja', ever reached the standing required for imperial rank, as each was soon the object of title inflation. In stead, the only Hindu title that is commonly rendered as Emperor is Samraat, a personal distinction achieved by a few rulers (mainly conquerors) of ancient dynasties such as the Maurya and Gupta, and the first hereditary imperial title over India would be the Muslim Padshah (originally Sultan of Delhi) of the Mughal dynasty.

[edit] Salute states in present India

The gun salutes enjoyed by the princely states that acceded to the Dominion of India on 14th of August 1947, included more maharajas than any other title, and in most of the classes, though predominantly in the higher ones:

Hereditary salutes of 21-guns:

  • H.H. the Maharaja (title of most major Hindu princes) of Mysore
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir
  • H.H. the Maharaja Gaekwar (in certain states it became customary to add a unique word to the princely title, not indicating a rank but rather the dynasty or its past) of Baroda
  • H.H. the Maharaja Scindia (similar) of Gwalior

Hereditary salutes of 19-guns (21-guns local): H.H. the Maharaja Holkar (as above) of Indore

Hereditary salutes of 19-guns:

Hereditary salutes of 17-guns (19-guns personal): only H.H. the Maharaja of Kotah

Hereditary salutes of 17-guns (19-guns local):

Hereditary salutes of 17-guns:

  • H.H. the Maharaja of Cochin
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Karauli
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Rewa
  • H.H the Maharajdhiraj of Xyhon (India's First Christian Name Given To A Hindu Ruling Kingdom , Independent country spread in a campus of 300 acres in India , it was registerd by the government of India on 17-01-2007 , it has its king called as Czar , the countries population is 200 people it is situated on Nepal Border in Tapovan)

Hereditary salutes of 15-guns (17-guns personal): only H.H. the Maharaja Rana of Dholpur

Hereditary salutes of 15-guns (17-guns local): only H.H. the Maharaja of Alwar

Hereditary salutes of 15-guns:

  • H.H. the Maharaja of Datia
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Dewas Senior
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Dewas Junior
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Dhar
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Idar
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Jaisalmer
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Kishangarh
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Orchha
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Sikkim (in the Himalaya; remained independent at India's independence, later annexed unilaterally)

Hereditary salutes of 13-guns (15-guns personal and local):

Hereditary salutes of 13-guns (15-guns local):

Hereditary salutes of 13-guns:

  • H.H. the Maharaja of Cooch Behar
  • H.H. the Maharaja Raj Sahib of Dhrangadhra-Halvad
  • H.H. the Maharaj Rana of Jhalawar
  • H.H. the Maharaja Rana Sahib of Porbandar
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Rajpipla
  • H.H. the Maharaja of Tripura

Hereditary salutes of 11-guns:

Hereditary salutes of 9-guns:

[edit] Compound and dynastic ruler titles

  • Dharma-maharaja was the devout title (compare Rajadharma) of the rulers of the Ganga dynasty

In the Mughal empire it was quite common to award to various princes (hereditary or not) a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocollary rank. Many of these (see also above) elaborate explicitly on the title Maharaja, in the following descending order:

  • Maharajadhiraja Bahadur (or Maharajadhiraj Bahadur): Great prince over princes, a title of honour, one degree higher than Maharajadhiraja.
  • Maharajadhiraja (or Maharajadhiraj): Great prince over princes, a title of honour, one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja Bahadur.
  • Sawai Maharaja Bahadur: a title of honour, one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja. (the term bahadur, originally 'brave' in Mongolian, was often used for 'one degree' higher', and 'sawai' is 'one and a quarter higher', i.e. just a step above bahadur)
  • Sawai Maharaja: a title of honour one degree higher than Maharaja Bahadur.
  • Maharaja Bahadur: a title of honour, one degree higher than Maharaja.

Furthermore there were various compound titles simply including other princely styles, such as :

Certain Hindu dynasties even came to use a unique style, including a term which as such is not of princely rank, e.g. Maharaja Gaikwar of Baroda, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, Maharaja Holkar of Indore, three of the very highest ranking ruling houses

[edit] Nobiliary and Honorary use

Like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars

  • In the major, Muslim realm of Hyderabad & Berar, there was a system of ennobling titles for the Nizam's court retainers, conferring a specific rank without any (e)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 (the lowest) Rai; for their Muslim counterparts there were alternative titles, the highest being Jah and Umara. E.g the Diwan (Prime Minister) Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad, held such a Maharaja-title.

[edit] Derived style for princes of the blood

Maharaj Kumar (or Maharajkumar) means son of a Maharaja; the female equivalent is Maharaj Kumari (Maharajkumari): daughter of a Maharaja.

[edit] Malay world

[edit] Indonesia

As many Indonesian states started out when the archipelago was still predominantly Hindu (Bali still is) or Buddhist, some have been ruled by a Maharaja, such as Srivijaya and Kutai Karta Negara (until that kingdom converted to Islam in 1565, when the Muslim title of Sultan was adopted). Traditional titles remain in use for the other members of this dynasty, such as Pangeran Ratu for the heir.

[edit] Malaysia

In Malaysia, Maharaja (which means emperor in Malay) was the title of the Monarch of the peninsular state of Johor from 1873 to 1885. The Muslim title Sultan, considered of higher rank, was adopted later and is in current usage.

[edit] Compound titles

The word can also be part of titles used by Malay nobility

  • Maharaja Lela was the title of the ruler of the State of Naning (founded 1641) till it was annexed by the UK to Malacca in 1832

Most famous was Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Mutahir of Malacca (executed 1509) and Datuk Maharaja Lela Pandak Endut of Perak (executed 1876).

The palace marshal of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (federal elective Paramount ruler) of modern Malaysia is called Datuk Maharaja Lela Penghulu Istana Negara.

[edit] Indonesia

[edit] Aceh

Maharaja was also part of the titles of the Aceh nobility. In the past the title of Maharaja is given to leader of the unreigning noble family and the Prime Minister Maharaja Mangkubumi. The last Prime Minister of Aceh who was installed to be the Maharaja Mangkubumi, Habib Abdurrahman el Zahir, also acted as the foreign affairs minister of Aceh but was deposed and exiled to Jeddah by Netherlands in October 1878.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources and references

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