Maratha titles

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A Maratha Durbar showing the Chief (Raja) and the nobles (Sardars, Jagirdars, Istamuradars & Mankaris) of the state.

The following list includes a brief about the titles of nobility or orders of chivalry used by the Marathas of India and by the Marathis/Konkanis in general.

Titles used by the Maratha Royals[edit]

The titles used by royalty, aristocracy and nobility of the Maratha Empire

  • Chhatrapati: Chhatrapati is an Indian royal title most equivalent to a King or an Emperor. It means the 'Lord of the Parasol'[1] and is a title conferred upon the founder of Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji. The title is also used by Shivaji's descendants.
  • Maharaj: The English equivalent of Maharaj is great king. It is a title first conferred upon Chhatrapati Shivaji's father Shahaji Raje Bhosale.
  • Maharani: The English equivalent of Maharani is great queen. It is a title first used by Tarabai, as regent of marathas empire .
  • Raje: The English equivalent of Raje is Your Majesty. It is a title first conferred upon Chhatrapati Shivaji's grandfather Maloji Raje Bhosale
  • Kshatriya Kulavantas: It means 'The Head of the Kshatriya varna' and was a title first given to Chhatrapati Shivaji at the time of his coronation[2]
  • Sinhasanadhishwar: It means 'the enthroned King' and was a title first given to Chhatrapati Shivaji at the time of his coronation[2]
  • Peshwa: It is a word of Persian origin and means 'Foremost' or 'the first minister'[3] or 'Premier' (or Prime Minister). It was a title given to the prime ministers of the Maratha Empire
  • Peshwin: The wife of a Peshwa[4]
  • Chitnis: It means the Personal Secretary and high-ranking minister of the Chhatrapati, usually from the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu community.

(Chitnis)

Desais were the rulers of Kudal (Sindhudurg) in Maharashtra.[22] [23] [24] Desai, or a loftier compound, was a rare title for rulers of a few princely states, notably - Raja Sar Desai in the Maratha Savantvadi State from 1627 until the adoption of "Raja Bahadur" in 1763.

Titles given by the British[edit]

Other titles[edit]

  • Rao: It is an honorary title used by men as a suffix to their first name, example Malhar Rao Holkar, the prince of Indore
  • Sinh: It is a word derived from the Sanskrit word siḿha, meaning 'lion'.[29] It is used as a suffix to the first name, example Maharaja Pratapsinh Gaekwad[30] or H.H. Meherban Shrimant Raja Vijaysinhrao Madhavrao Patwardhan, Raja of Sangli[citation needed]
  • Shett/Sheth: Shett/Sheth is a name given to the Daivajnas of Konkani origin residing on the west coast of India. For example, the Saldanha-Shet family is one of the well known Konkani Catholic families from Mangalore.[31]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Alain Daniélou (11 February 2003). A Brief History of India. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-1-59477-794-3.
  2. ^ a b "The Fascinating Life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj!". www.culturalindia.net.
  3. ^ Temple, Sir Richard Carnac (1953-01-01). Sivaji and the rise of the mahrattas. Susil Gupta.
  4. ^ Yule, Henry; Burnell, A. C.; Teltscher, Kate (2013-06-13). Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199601134.
  5. ^ Sardesai, HS (2002). Shivaji, the Great Maratha, Volume 3. Cosmo Publications. p. 649. ISBN 9788177552874.
  6. ^ "The COININDIA Coin Galleries: Baroda".
  7. ^ Singh, Ravindra Pratap (1987-01-01). Geography and Politics in Central India: A Case Study of Erstwhile Indore State. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788170220251.
  8. ^ a b Sir Roper Lethbridge (2005). The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated of the Indian Empire. Aakar Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-81-87879-54-1.
  9. ^ Social Science. FK Publications. 2006-01-01. ISBN 9788179730423.
  10. ^ Kapoor, Subodh (2002-01-01). The Indian Encyclopaedia: Biographical, Historical, Religious, Administrative, Ethnological, Commercial and Scientific. Cosmo Publications. ISBN 9788177552577.
  11. ^ a b Farooqui Salma Ahmed (2011). A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. p. 334. ISBN 978-81-317-3202-1.
  12. ^ Copeman, Jacob; Ikegame, Aya (2012-01-01). The Guru in South Asia: New Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 9780415510196.
  13. ^ Central India (1908). The Central India State Gazetteer Series. Thacker, Spink.
  14. ^ T. N. Madan (1988). Way of Life: King, Householder, Renouncer : Essays in Honour of Louis Dumont. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 978-81-208-0527-9.
  15. ^ Rosalind O'Hanlon (2002). Caste, Conflict and Ideology: Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Low Caste Protest in Nineteenth-Century Western India. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-521-52308-0.
  16. ^ Balkrishna Govind Gokhale (1988). Poona in the eighteenth century: an urban history. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195621372.
  17. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1992-01-01). Fall of the Mughal Empire. Sangam. ISBN 9780861317493.
  18. ^ Raj Kumar (2003). Essays on Modern India. Discovery Publishing House. p. 73. ISBN 9788171416905.
  19. ^ Syed Siraj ul Hassan (1989). The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1. Asian Educational Services. p. 111. ISBN 9788120604889.
  20. ^ Sandhya Gokhale (2008). The Chitpavans: Social Ascendancy of a Creative Minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918. Shubhi Publications. p. 28. ISBN 9788182901322. Hereditary rights of Karhades were those of Desai, district officer, or Deshmukh, and Sardesai, senior district officer.
  21. ^ V. D. Divekar (1993). South India in 1857 War of Independence. Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust. p. 148.
  22. ^ "SAWANTS OF WADI Coastal Politics in 18th and 19th Centuries". S. K. Mhamai. 1984.
  23. ^ "Anthropological Society of Bombay". Anthropological Society of Bombay. 1909.
  24. ^ "Numismatic Digest". Numismatic Digest. 1997.
  25. ^ "No. 22523". The London Gazette. 25 June 1861. p. 2622.
  26. ^ "Picturing the 'Beloved'". 18 August 2016.
  27. ^ a b Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati papers. 1997.
  28. ^ British Military Medals. Kaiser-i-Hind medal Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^
    • Saheb: It is an honorary title used by men as a suffix to their first name, example AnnaSaheb Magar, a politician in Maharashtra
    • Bai: It is an honorary title used by women as a suffix to their first name, example Rani Laxmibai, the Queen of Jhansi
    • Devi: It is an honorary title used by women as a suffix to their first name.
  30. ^ Sawhney, Clifford (2004-12-01). Strange But True Facts. Pustak Mahal. ISBN 9788122308396.
  31. ^ Farias, Kranti (1999), The Christian impact in South Kanara, Church History Association of India, p. 279