A Rajah, translated means a Monarch. A Raja (Sanskrit rājan-) is a monarch, or princely ruler from the Kshatriya / Rajput lineages. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Kshatriya (क्षत्रिय kṣatriya from क्षत्र kṣatra) is one of the four varnas (social orders in Hinduism Rajput constitute one of the major Hindu Kshatriya groups from India The title has a long history in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda. This article is about the history of South Asia prior to the Partition of British India in 1947 The history of Southeast Asia has been characterized as interaction between regional players and foreign powers The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" ^[1] It can also be used as a name for non-royal Indians.

Sanskrit word rājan- is an n-stem, with nominative rājā. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical It is cognate to Latin rēx, the Gaulish rīx etc. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The King of Rome ( Latin: rex regis) was the Chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became (originally denoting tribal chiefs or heads of small 'city states'), ultimately a vrddhi derivation from a PIE root *h₃reǵ- "to straighten, to order, to rule". Vrddhi (वृद्धि) is a Sanskrit word meaning "growth" (from)

Rather common variants in Hindi, used for the same royal rank in (parts of) India include Rana, Rao, Raol, Rawal and Rawat. The female form, 'queen', mainly used for a Raja's wife, is Rani (sometimes spelled Ranee), from Sanskrit rājñī (compare Old Irish rígain) or Thai Rajanee (Queen). Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language, or rather the Goidelic languages, for which extensive written texts are possessed

Raja, the lower title Thakore and many variations, compounds and derivations including either of these were used in and around India by most Hindu Muslim and some Buddhist and Sikh rulers, while Muslims also used Nawab or Sultan, and still is commonly used in India. Thakur, Thakore, Thakar, Thakrar, Thakhor etc is an Indian feudal and colonial title in Hindi India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A Nawab or Nawaab ( Urdu: نواب Hindi: नवाब was originally the Subedar (provincial governor or viceroy of a Sultan (سلطان is an Islamic title with several historical meanings India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

However in Pakistan, Raja is still used by many Muslim Rajput clans as hereditary titles. Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Muslim Rajputs ( Punjabi: مسلمان راجپوت, Musalman Rajputs) are the Rajputs that converted to Islam

Raja is also used as a name by Hindus and Sikhs. A name ( Etymology: from OE nama akin to OHG namo, Latin Nomen, and Greek όνομα (

Compound and derived titles

A considerable number of princely styles, used by rulers, their families and/or even enobled courtiers, include the title/root Raja:

• Rao Raja, a juxtaposition of two equivalent titles, was used by the rulers of Bundi until they were awarded the higher title of Maharao Raja. p WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Bundi is a city and a Municipality of approximately 88000 inhabitants (2001 in the Hadoti
• Raja Bahadur is a typical Mughal compound, as the adjective Bahadur 'valourous' always raises one rank in the imperial court protocol; in the specific hierarchy among the (en)noble(d) Hindu retainers at the court of the Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad, it was the equivalent of the rank Nawab for Muslim members of the retinue. Hyderābād and Berar (హైదరాబాదు حیدر آباد under the Nizams was the largest Princely state in the erstwhile Indian Empire A Nawab or Nawaab ( Urdu: نواب Hindi: नवाब was originally the Subedar (provincial governor or viceroy of a
• Maharaja and equivalent compound of variants on Raja with the prefix Maha- 'Great' (e. The word Mahārāja (also spelled maharajah) is Sanskrit for "great king" or " High king " (a Karmadharaya from mahānt g. Maharana, Maharawal) mean 'Great King'; the word originally denoted a Raja who had conquered other Rajas, thus becoming a great ruler, but was soon adopted or awarded by the paramount ruler of India (Mughal or British) as a hollow style too, causing too massive title inflation and - devaluation to remain a truly high distinction. The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description though occasionally also used as an actual title for a number of rulers' position in relative
• Raja Perumal means 'godly king' - supposed to be the greatest title assigned to an Indian king. Legacy has it that kings with the title have time and time again defeated acts of denigration by Parama, the jealous warmonger.
• Rajadhiraja means 'King of Kings'; again, through title devaluation this is less prestigious then the equivalents in most linguistic families. King of Kings is a lofty title that has been used by several monarchies (usually empires in the informal sense of great powers throughout history and in many cases the literal title
• in South India, the title of the Samrat (Hindu 'emperor') of Vijayanagar was Raya instead of (Maha)Raja. South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union Samraat ( Sanskrit samrãṭ) is an Ancient Indian title sometimes translated into modern English as "Emperor" The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South
• A number of medieval rulers in Southeast Asia used variants such as the devotional titles Buddharaja and Devaraja or the geographically specific Lingaraja.
• Uparaja (with its own variations and derivations; can mean viceroy or other high dynastic ranks). Ouparath, also Ouparaja, or Uparaja, are titles for viceregal positions reserved for of the Buddhist dynasties in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma

Rajas in the Malay world

The ruler of Perlis (a constitutive peninsular state of federal Malaysia, most colleagues are Sultans; he is one of the electors who designate one of their number as King every five years) is to this day title the Raja of Perlis. This article is about the Malaysian state For the computer scientist see Alan Perlis. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and

• The White Rajahs of Sarawak in Borneo were James Brooke and his dynasty. The White Rajahs refer to a dynasty that founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946 namely the Brookes who came originally from England Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the Island of Borneo. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. James The Rajah of Sarawak (born James Brooke; 29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868) was the first White Rajah of A dynasty is a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations
• In the Philippines, various subdivisional princes in Sulu were given the titles Raja or Maharaja. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP For the Star Trek character see Hikaru Sulu. For the sultanate see Sultanate of Sulu. The Raja is also known as Hari in Tagalog dialect. Tagalog is one of the major languages used in the Philippines.

• Various traditional princely states in Indonesia still style their ruler Raja, or did so until their abolition after which the title became hollow, e. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. g. Buleleng on Bali. Buleleng is a regency ( kabupaten) of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 1365 Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to

Notes

3. The Battle of the Ten Kings ( dāśarājñá) is a battle alluded to in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda (hymns 18 33 and 83 In the book "One Grain of Rice" by Demi ISBN 0-590-93998X there are two main characters. One is the Raja and the other is a peasant girl called Rani. The book demonstrates the power of doubling where Rani asks to be rewarded by receiving a grain of rice on the first day and doubling each day for thirty days.

See also

• Thakial
• Janjua
• Ranial Rajputs
• chibb
• Amir Ali Khan
• Maharaja
• Kshatriya
• Rajput
• Minhas
• Dhanyal
• Shah
• Raja Gursahani
• Rakesh's link

Sources and references

• Indian Princely States, the most comprehensive, specialised site on (princely) (e)states in British India
• RoyalArk (more elaborate, on a smaller number of dynasties)- here India
• WorldStatesmen- Indian princely states, here K-Z