What does the word Mahārāja mean?
Q: What does the word Mahārāja mean?
A: The word Mahārāja means "great king" or "high king" in Sanskrit.
Q: Which languages have borrowed the word Maharaja?
A: Many languages including Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, and Gujarati have borrowed the word Maharaja.
Q: Who is a Maharani?
A: A Maharani is a female ruler, which means "great queen". She can be the wife of a Maharaja or a ruler herself.
Q: What were some titles given to rulers of princely states in British India?
A: Some titles given to rulers of princely states in British India were Thakur (if the ruler were Hindu) or Nawab (if he was Muslim). There were many other titles as well.
Q: Who had the title of Raja in Muslim rulers?
A: Many Muslim rulers also had the title of Raja, one of the most famous being the Raja of Rajouri who was a Muslim raja.
Q: Were only rulers of large empires Maharajas?
A: No, originally only rulers of large empires such as the ancient Maurya Empire and Gupta Empire were Maharajas but in later centuries even rulers of small kingdoms used the title.
Q: When did the Indian government abolish the titles and money for all Indian rulers?
A: The Indian government abolished the titles and money for all Indian rulers in 1971 under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. However, some people still claim such titles.
