Maharaja

[3] The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Hindi the suffix -a is silent, the two titles are near homophones.

Historically, the title "Maharaja" was first introduced in the first century BC by the Kushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja".

The word Maharaja originates in Sanskrit and is a compound karmadhāraya term from mahānt- "great" and rājan "ruler, king").

Since medieval times, the title was used by (Hindu) monarchs of lesser states claiming descent from ancient maharajas.

The rulers of Jeypore, Darbhanga, Vizianagaram, Parlakhemundi Gidhaur were a few zamindars who were titled Maharaja for their cordiality and contribution to the British Raj.

In the Mughal Empire it was quite common to award to various princes (hereditary or not) a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocolary rank.

The meaning of chakravarti is "he, whose wheels (of chariot) are moving" which symbolises that the leader who is a war hero, who commands over vast land and sea, the one who rules the people with dedication.

In the Mahabharata, the Chakravarti Bharat is known to have ruled the entire sub-continent of India brought golden age to his empire.

Maharani usually denotes the wife of a Maharaja (or Maharana, Maharao, Maharawal) or in rare cases, in some states where it was customary, a woman ruling without a husband.

[10] Like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars.

Duan Xingzhi, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Dali, submitted to the Mongol Empire, and in return was enfeoffed as Maharaja (摩诃罗嵯) of Dali, continuing to rule the area (but subordinated to Yuan princes and Muslim governors of Yunnan), until the Ming conquest of Yunnan.

The last Prime Minister of Aceh who was installed to be the Maharaja Mangkubumi, Habib Abdurrahman el Zahir, who also acted as the foreign affairs minister of Aceh but was deposed and exiled to Jeddah by the colonial Dutch East Indies authorities in October 1878.

Karim ul-makdum re=enforced Islam, a Srivijaya Johore ruler, later established the Sultanate of Maguindanao-Ranao (Mindanao) after taking the political authority of his father-in-law Tomaoi Aliwya of the Maguiindanao family dynasty.

The second and third Makdum's father was Sultan Betatar of Taif Arabia who was the 9th progeny of Hasan, the grandson of prophet Sayyidina Muhammad.

The palace marshal of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state) of modern Malaysia is called Datuk Maharaja Lela Penghulu Istana Negara.