The Maharaja Of India

The word Maharaja is Sanskrit for “great king” or “high king” (karmadharaya from mahānt “great” and rājan “king”). Due to Sanskrit’s major influence on the vocabulary of most languages in India, the term ‘Maharaja’ is common to many modern languages, such as Bengali, Hindi and Gujrati. Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). The female equivalent to Maharaja is Maharani, a title used either by the wife of a Maharaja or, in the few states where allowed, by a woman ruling in her own right. The term Maharaj denotes separate noble and religious offices, although the fact that in Hindi the suffix ‘a’ in Maharaja is silent makes the two titles homonyms.