RAJA  , the

Hindu title for a chief, or prince, derived from the same root as the Latin rex . Other forms are rao, tuna and rawal, while chiefs of high rank are styled maharaja, maharao and maharana . The Hindustani form is rai, and the title of the Hindu emperor of Vijayanagar in S . India was raya . It is not confined to the rulers of native states, being conferred by the British government on Hindu subjects, sometimes as an hereditary distinction . In the form of rao it appears as a suffix to the names of most Mahrattas, and to the names of Kanarese Brahmans .