 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Maharaja" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Maharaja[a] (also spelledMaharajah orMaharaj;lit. 'great ruler'; feminine:Maharani)[2] is a royal title inIndian subcontinent ofSanskrit origin. Inmodern India andmedieval northern India, the title was equivalent to aprince. However, in lateancient India andmedieval south India, the title denoted aking.[3]
The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") 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 sinceVedic times and also in the second century by theIndo-Greek rulers (such as the kingsApollodotus I andMenander I)[4] and then later by theIndo-Scythians (such as the kingMaues),[5] and also theKushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja".[3] Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used bysovereign princes andvassal princes, and the title "Maharajadhiraja" was used by sovereignkings. Eventually, during theMughal andBritish eras,Maharajadhiraja too came to be used by princes, though it was used by sovereign kings as well, such as the King of Maratha.
The title ranks under the titles ofSamrat,Maharajadhiraja Bahadur,Maharajadhiraja andMaharaja Bahadur, equal toMaharana andMaharao and aboveRaja Bahadur,Raja andRai.
The wordMaharaja originates inSanskrit and is a compoundkarmadhāraya term frommahānt- "great" andrājan "ruler, king"). It has the Latincognatesmagnus "great" andrex "king".[6][7] Due to Sanskrit's major influence on the vocabulary of most languages inGreater India andSoutheast Asia, the term Maharaja is common to many modernIndo-Aryan andDravidian 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 (Hindu) monarchs of lesser states claiming descent fromancient maharajas.
On the eve ofindependence in 1947, theIndian Empire contained more than 600princely states, each with its own native ruler, often styledRaja orRana orThakur (if the ruler wereHindu) orNawab (if he wereMuslim), with a host of less current titles as well.
TheBritish directly ruled two-thirds of theIndian subcontinent; the rest was underindirect rule by the above-mentioned princes under the considerable influence of British representatives, such asResidents, 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 minorprincely 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 manyrajas 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 orWorld 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 ofCochin andMaharaja Jagatjit Singh ofKapurthala. Apart from princely states, rulers of some large and extended zamindaris were also awarded the title of Maharaja. The rulers ofJeypore,Darbhanga,Vizianagaram,ParlakhemundiGidhaur were a few zamindars who were titled Maharaja for their cordiality and contribution to the British Raj.
|
|
|
|
In theMughal Empire it was quite common to award to various princes (hereditary or not) a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocolary rank. The British would, as paramount power do the same.Many of these (see also above) elaborate explicitly on the title Maharaja, in the following descending order:
.png)
.jpg)
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 ofBaroda,Maharaja Shinde (or later anglicised: Scindia) ofGwalior,Maharaja Holkar of Indore, three of the very highest ranking rulingMaratha houses.
Chakravarti is aSanskrit term for "emperor". The meaning of chakravarti is "he, whose wheels (ofchariot) 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, theChakravarti 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 thecrown 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 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 usually denotes the wife of a Maharaja (orMaharana,Maharao, Maharawal) or in rare cases, in some states where it was customary, awoman ruling without a husband.[9]
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, theRajmata (Queen mother) administers the kingdom. Famous examples include Rajamata Shetu Lakshmi Bai of Travancore dynasty, Gowri Lakshmi Bai, Maharaji (later Rajamata) Rudrama Devi of Kakatiya dynasty.[10][11] 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 RajamataJijabai of theMaratha Kingdom, accompanying theChhatrapati (king).[12]
LikeRaja and various other titles,Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such aszamindars.
Maharaj Kumar (orMaharajkumar) means son of a Maharaja or Heir-Apparent; the female equivalent isMaharaj Kumari (Maharajkumari): daughter of a Maharaja.
The GorkhaKings of Nepal (now a republic) used the title ofMahārājādhirāja which was "King of Great Kings", a title of honour, a degree higher than Mahārājā.Rana Prime ministers of Nepal used the title ofShree Teen Maharaja while the Gorkha Kings used Shree Panch Maharajadhiraja.
Duan Xingzhi, the last monarch of theKingdom of Dali, submitted to theMongol Empire, and in return was enfeoffed as Maharaja (摩诃罗嵯) of Dali, continuing to rule the area (but subordinated toYuan princes and Muslim governors of Yunnan), until theMing conquest of Yunnan.[13]
When theIndonesian Archipelago was still predominantly Hindu-Buddhist (circa 3rd century CE until the 15th century CE), all of theIndianised kingdoms which ruled different areas of thearchipelago was ruled by a "Maharaja" or simply referred by the locals as "Raja", such as the first and oldest Hindu kingdom of Indonesia theKutai Martadipura in easternBorneo, theTarumanegara, theSrivijaya, theMajapahit and numerous other kingdoms. Traditional titles remain in use for other members of royalty, such asPangeran Ratu for the heir and other local-Malay titles such as "Paduka Sri". The title "Maharaja" has been used to refer to kings of ancient Indianised kingdoms, such as MaharajaMulavarman king ofKutai Martadipura and MaharajaPurnawarman king ofTarumanegara.
Maharaja was also part of the titles of the nobility in the Sumatran sultanate ofAceh. In the past, the title of Maharaja is given to a 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, who also acted as the foreign affairs minister of Aceh but was deposed and exiled toJeddah by the colonialDutch East Indies authorities in October 1878.
In peninsularMalaysia:
In northernBorneo, the title Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah ofGaya andSandakan was used from 29 December 1877 to 26 August 1881 byBaron von Overbeck (compareWhite Rajah).[14]
The Englishman Capt.James Brooke was declared as Rajah Brooke by theSultan of Brunei for his role in pacifying the Sarawak revolt against the Sultan during the Raffles' stint. The wordRajah derived from the word Maharaja. In 1842, the Sultan of Brunei ceded Sarawak to Rajah Brooke who founded theKingdom of Sarawak and a line of dynastic monarchs known as theWhite Rajahs.
In contemporary Malay usage, the titleMaharaja refers to anemperor, e.g. "Maharaja Jepun" ("Emperor of Japan").
In Seri Malayas of theSrivijaya, under the Srivijaya satellite empire of theMajapahit Empire dominated over the whole Malayas far-reaching the presentPhilippine Archipelago, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia under the Srivijaya Empire of the Majapahit King Maharaja Pamariwasa. The latter's daughter Es-kander was married to an Arab (Zein Ul-Abidin), the third Makdum who promulgated Koranic studies (Madrassahs) and was a Srivijaya ruler in Seri who were a Srivijaya Monarchy. In the 12th century with the fall of the empire, the Seri King being a Muslim established theSultanate of Brunei in 1363 with the throne name Sultan Mohamad Shah. In 1426, he established the sultanate of sulu as his death was recorded in 1431 Mt. Makatangis Sulu grave and 1432 Brunei grave. Both Sulu and Brunei claim the honor of his grave, while his brother, a Johore (Singapore) Prince Makdum Karim (Sharif Kabungsuwan of Malabang Lanao) the second Makdum after the first one Makdum Tuan Masha'ik. Karim ul-makdum re=enforced Islam, a Srivijaya Johore ruler, later established the Sultanate of Maguindanao-Ranao (Mindanao) after taking the political authority of his father-in-law Tomaoi Aliwya of the Maguiindanao family dynasty. He adapted the title as sultan Aliwya (Sharif Kabungsuwan), the first Maguindanao Sultan. The second and third Makdum's father was Sultan Betatar of Taif Arabia who was the 9th progeny of Hasan, the grandson of prophet Sayyidina Muhammad.
The word can also be part of titles used byMalay nobility:
Most famous wasBendahara Seri MaharajaTun Mutahir of Malacca (executed 1509) and DatukMaharaja Lela Pandak Lam ofPerak (executed 1876).
Thepalacemarshal of theYang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state) of modernMalaysia is calledDatuk Maharaja Lela Penghulu Istana Negara.
Eventually, Maharajah Adinda was also used to refer to a particular lineage within the royal families.
.png)
TheKing of Thailand has been called a "Maharaj" (Thai:มหาราชา).
... Literally Maharaja means 'a great king' ...
... Cognate Chart Sanskrit: Maha Greek: Mega English: Much ...
... Mag-, great; maj-, greater; max-, greatest; IE base: meg-, yields Sanskrit maha; English much; Greek mega ...
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
