Hinduism: Details about 'Maharaja'
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Indian subcontinentUse as a ruler's titleOn the eve of independence in 1947, India (including present day Pakistan) consisted of 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 1/3rd 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 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 Hidu 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.
Compound and dynastic ruler titlesIn 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 useLike Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars
Derived style for princes of the bloodMaharaj Kumar (or Maharajkumar) means son of a Maharaja; the female equivalent is Maharaj Kumari (Maharajkumari): daughter of a Maharaja. Malay worldMalaysiaIn 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 titlesThe 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. IndonesiaAcehMaharaja 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 was Habib Abdurrahman el Zahir. He also acted as the foreign affairs minister of Aceh. He was desposed to Jeddah by Netherlands in October 13 1878. See also
Sources and References
Maharadscha Râja Maharadža Maharadża Магараджа maharadja
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