Mahārāja (Sanskrit: महाराज, also spelled maharajah) is a Sanskrit title for a “great king” or “high king”. The female equivalent title Maharani (or Maharanee, Mahārājñī) denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajmata. 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 near homophones.
