:For other uses, see Raja (disambiguation) and Rajah (disambiguation).
Raja (also spelled Rajah, from Sanskrit , nominative ) is the Hindustani term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna. The female form, the word for "queen", mainly used for a Raja's wife, is Rani (sometimes spelled Ranee), from Sanskrit .
right|thumb|Raja and Rani as depicted in [[yakshagana A theater art from Karnataka.]]

The title has a long history in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a is a tribal chief, see for example the (), the "battle of ten kings".

Sanskrit is cognate to Latin rēx (genitive rēgis), Gaulish rīx etc., originally denoting tribal chiefs or heads of small 'city states'. It is ultimately derived from a PIE , a vrddhi formation to the root "to straighten, to order, to rule". The Sanskrit n-stem is secondary in the male title, apparently adapted from the female counterpart which also has an -n- suffix in related languages, compare Old Irish rígain and Latin regina. Cognates of the word Raja in other Indo-European languages include English reign and German reich.

Rather common variants in Hindi, used for the same royal rank in parts of India include Rana, Rao, Raol, Rawal and Rawat.

Raja, the lower title Thakore and many variations, compounds and derivations including either of these were used in and around South Asia by most Hindu, Muslim and some Buddhist and Sikh rulers, while Muslims also used Nawab or Sultan, and still is commonly used in India. In Pakistan, Raja is still used by many Muslim Rajput clans as hereditary titles. Raja is also used as a given 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 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.

• in South India, the title of the Samrat (Hindu 'emperor') of Vijayanagar was Raya instead of (Maha)Raja.

• 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).

• 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.

• The White Rajahs of Sarawak in Borneo were James Brooke and his dynasty.

• In the Philippines, Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta relates in his document of the first circumnavigation that when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached on March 28, 1521 the island-port of Mazaua in Mindanao he was met by Raia Siaiu, the chieftain of Mazaua and Raia Calambu, chieftain of Butuan. 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 López de Legazpi, arrived in Manila, they were met by Rajah Sulaiman III. In the south of the country, various sub-divisional princes among the Moro peoples are still given the titles Rajah or Maharajah.

• 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.

See also

• Ranial Rajputs

• Thakial Rajputs

• chibb

• Amir Ali Khan

• Maharaja

• Kshatriya

• Rajput

• Chattar

• Chauhan

• Minhas

• Dhanyal

• Shah

• Narma

• mangral

• Rana

• Gakhars

• Pharwala

• Rathore

• Kahlotra

• Khokhar

• Kishtwaria

• Sohlan

• Ghorewaha

• Janjua

Sources and references

Category:Court titlesCategory:Heads of stateCategory:Noble titlesCategory:Titles in IndiaCategory:Titles in PakistanCategory:Pre-Islamic heritage of PakistanCategory:Titles of national or ethnic leadershipCategory:Royal titlesCategory:Sanskrit words and phrasesCategory:Indian words and phrases
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