- For other uses, see Raja (disambiguation) and Rajah (disambiguation).
A Raja (Sanskrit राजा (rājā), also spelled Rajah) is a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna.
The title has a long history in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda.1 It can also be used as a name for non-royal Indians.
Sanskrit word rājā cognate to Latin rēx (genitive rēgis), the Gaulish rīx etc. (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".
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 रानि (rāni) (sometimes spelled Ranee), from Sanskrit राज्ञी (rājñī) (compare Old Irish rígain) or Thai Rajanee (Queen).
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.
However in Pakistan, Raja is still used by many Muslim Rajput clans as hereditary titles.
Raja is also used as a name by Hindus and Sikhs.
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.
- 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.
- Maharaja and equivalent compound of variants on Raja with the prefix Maha- 'Great' (e.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.
- 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.
- Uparaja (with its own variations and derivations; can mean viceroy or other high dynastic ranks).
- Racha Khan (Raja Khan) the common title for the King of Thailand (see also 'Khan')
Rajas in the Malay world
- The ruler of the state of Perlis, Malaysia is titled the Raja of Perlis. Most of the other state rulers are titled Sultans. Nevertheless, the Raja has equal status with the other rulers and is one of the electors who designate one of their number as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong every five years.
- In the Philippines, Vicentine diarist Antonio Pigafetta relates in his account of the first circumnavigation that when Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan) reached on March 28, 1521 the island-port of Mazaua in Mindanao("masawa" is a Butuanon word meaning "brightly lit") he was met by Raia Siaiu, king of Mazaua, and Raia Calambu, king of Butuan. Magalhães/Magellan entered into the first recorded blood compact (cassi cassi was the Malayan term Magellan used) with Raia Siaiu. When the Spanish fleet, led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, arrived in Manila, they were met by Rajah Sulaiman. This indicates that Pre-Hispanic Manila probably had the same social structure as Indonesia. In Mindanao, various subdivisional princes in Sulu were given the titles Raja or Maharaja.
- Various traditional princely states in Indonesia still style their ruler Raja, or did so until their abolition after which the title became hollow, e.g. Buleleng on Bali.
Notes
- ^ where it is more accurately translated as "tribal chief"; see for example the दाशराज्ञ (dāśarājñá), the "battle of ten rajas"
3. 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
Sources and references
