maha (Hindi); a prefix meaning 'great'.

Maha Singh. There were several leading members of clans who had this name. They came from Begun (Choondawat); Jharol (Jhala); Kanor (Choondawat); Kunthawas (Saktawat); Moie (Bhati), and Nimbahera (Mertia Rathore).

Mahabat Khan, a Mughal title conferred on various persons at different times. Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1605-1627) gave the title to Jaman Beg of Kabul in 1605 at the time of his accession. He became the most intrepid of the Emperor's generals, and died in 1634.

Mahabharata (Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty), one of India's two major epic poems, the other being the RAMAYANA. It has a central heroic narrative about the struggle for supremacy between two related families, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. However, it is an important source of Hinduism as it evolved during the period ca 400 BC-AD 200. The poem, consisting of almost one hundred thousand couplets also encompasses the Bhagavadgita (The Lord's Song), the single most important religious text of Hinduism. The epic is believed to be based on actual historical events that took place some time between 1400 and 1000 BC. The Mahabharata is, above all, an exposition on dharma (codes of conduct), and has been translated into many languages and read throughout the world.

Mahadeva (Hindu god): see SHIVA.

Mahadevi (Shiva's wife): see PARVATI.

Mahakaleshwar Temple, Udaipur; the deity is Shiva.

Mahakali, (Hindu Goddess of Destruction): see KALI.

mahal, (Hindi) a palace or mansion.

Mahalakshmi, Princess, of the Rashtrakuta tribe who married Rawal Bhert Patt II (AD 942-43).

Mahap, Kunwar, son of Rawal KARAN (RAN) SINGH I (1158-1168), who founded the small, independent kingdom of DUNGARPUR, and brother of RAHAP who, in 1168, formed the breakaway SISODIA branch of the Guhilot family, taking the title of Rana.

Maharaj Kumar (Maharajkumar), (Hindi) the son of a Rajput ruler, but not necessarily the heir apparent (Baoji Raj, Crown Prince).

Maharaja (also Maharajah), (Sanskrit: great raja), the highest of hereditary rulers among the Hindus. See also MAHARANA and RAJA.

Maharaja Nath Singh: see NATH SINGH, MAHARAJA.

Maharana, the title of the highest of hereditary rulers among the Hindus in Rajputana. They were called Hindupati (chief of the Hindu race). Maharana was not a title or position given by a central power or external agency, but acquired by the Rulers of Mewar by service and sacrifices, and recognised and respected all over the country. In the true concept of Rulership, the Ruler (the Maharana) was both the temporal and the spiritual leader of the people. The Maharanas of Mewar hold the office of priest-kings, Diwans (Prime Ministers) of the god EKLINGJI, the phallic manifestation of Lord SHIVA. Ekling-ka-Diwan is the common title of the Maharana. For many years, BHAGWAT SINGH wanted to preserve the importance of the name Maharana. With Indian Independence, followed by the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971, all former royal titles, including that of Maharana, were scrapped. However, to Bhagwat Singh, the word Maharana (first used by Hamir Singh in 1326) was more than a royal title; it possessed great significance and eminence, denoting a proud and ancient institution. It was far too important a word to be dismissed as a vagary of the past. (The rulers of Mewar traditionally traced their descent from Rama, hero of the revered Hindu epic, the Ramayana, thus the Maharana enjoyed an extraordinary status among all Rajput clans.) Therefore, in 1984, he registered Maharana as a legally constituted name, in perpetuity, for formal use by the head of the Mewar family, as guardian of that name and its intrinsic heritage. Bhagwat Singh incorporated this in his will. For example, although the current patriarch, Arvind Singh, is no longer called Maharana Arvind Singh, legally he can sign his correspondence "Maharana Mewar". However he prefers to use the older family name of Mewar, inaugurated by Bappa Rawal in 734, signing himself "Arvind Singh Mewar".

Maharana, a book by English author, BRIAN MASTERS under the auspices of Shri Arvind Singh Mewar. Subtitled The Story of the Rulers of Mewar, it was first published in 1990.