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The word Maharaja (also spelled '''maharajah''') is Hindi as well as ancient Sanskrit for " High King " (a Karmadharaya from ''maha'' "great" and '' Raja n'' "king"). 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 Maharaja or, in the few states where that is possible, by a woman ruling in her own right. In Hindi, the suffix 'a' is silent so it is pronounced '''Maharaj'''. INDIAN SUBCONTINENT Maharaja as a ruler's title On the eve of independence in 1947, India (including present day Pakistan ) consisted of more than 600 Princely State s (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 Resident s, 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 State s, sometimes little more then 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 .
Salute States in present India The gun salutes enjoyed by the Princely State s that acceded to the Dominion of India on 14th of August 1947, included more maharajas then any other title, and in most of the classes, though predominantly in the higher ones: Hereditary salutes of 21-guns:
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: 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:
Hereditary salutes of 13-guns (15-guns personal and local):
Hereditary salutes of 13-guns (15-guns local):
Hereditary salutes of 13-guns:
Hereditary salutes of 11-guns:
Hereditary salutes of 9-guns:
Compound and dynastic ruler titles
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:
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 Nobiliary and Honorary use Like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as Zamindar s
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. MALAY WORLD Indonesia As many Indonesian states started out when the archipelago was still predominantly Hindu, some have been ruled by a maharaja, such as Kutai Karta Negara , its nestor, till the 1565 conversion to Islam, which lead to the adoption of the Muslim title Sultan ,while traditional titles remain in use for the other members of his dynasty, e.g. Pangeran Ratu for the heir. Malaysia In Malaysia , Maharaja 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. COMPOUND TITLES The word can also be part of titles used by Malay nobility
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''. Indonesia 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. SEE ALSO
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