Titles of Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

A title in Indian history is a claim written down. A ruler who called himself the uprooter of all kings was announcing a policy of conquest; one who called himself the shadow of God was answering nobles who thought a sultan was only the first among equals. For an examiner this makes titles the cheapest possible one-mark question, because each title belongs to exactly one name. This note collects the titles that papers actually ask, dynasty by dynasty, with the meaning that makes each one easy to remember.

Why rulers took titles

Titles came from three places. A ruler could assume one himself, usually at his coronation or after a victory, as Pulakeshin II did when he added Parameshwara after defeating Harsha. A superior could confer one: the Abbasid Caliph sent Iltutmish a letter of investiture, and Jahangir gave Mehr-un-Nissa the title Nur Jahan and Bairam Khan the title Khan-i-Khanan. Finally, later writers and historians attached labels of their own, which is why Samudragupta is called the Indian Napoleon although no inscription of his says so. Keep the three kinds apart, because questions are often framed as who gave the title rather than who held it.

Titles of ancient Indian rulers

Titles in the Delhi Sultanate

Sultanate titles are about legitimacy. Qutbuddin Aibak was called Lakh Baksh, the giver of lakhs, for his charity. Iltutmish was the first Sultan of Delhi to receive a letter of investiture, the mansur, from the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad, and he therefore styled himself the Caliph deputy. Raziya is remembered as the first and only woman to sit on the throne of Delhi. Balban met a weak sultanate with the grandest claims of all: Zil-i-Ilahi, the shadow of God, and Niabat-i-Khudai, deputy of God, backed by the Persian court customs of sijda and paibos. Alauddin Khalji had Sikandar-i-Sani, the second Alexander, struck on his coins, and called himself Yamin-ul-Khilafat, right hand of the Caliphate, without ever seeking the Caliph approval. Before his accession he was known as Ali Gurshasp, just as Muhammad bin Tughlaq was Juna Khan and Balban himself was Ulugh Khan.

Mughal names and titles

Titles in the regional kingdoms

• Rajaraja I of the Cholas took Mummudi Chola, the Chola of three crowns, for his conquests of the Chera, Chola and Pandya lands.
• Rajendra I took Gangaikonda Chola after his northern campaign to the Ganga and Kadaram Kondan after the Srivijaya expedition.
• Mahendravarman I of the Pallavas called himself Vichitrachitta, the curious minded, and Mattavilasa; his son Narasimhavarman I was Mamalla, the great wrestler, and Vatapikonda for taking Vatapi.
• Amoghavarsha I of the Rashtrakutas used Nripatunga and Atishayadhavala and wrote the Kannada work Kavirajamarga.
• Mihir Bhoja of the Gurjara-Pratiharas is called Adivaraha on his coins.
• Rana Kumbha of Mewar held Hindu Suratrana, the Hindu Sultan, along with Abhinava Bharatacharya.
• Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara is known as Andhra Bhoja and Abhinava Bhoja for his patronage of letters, and Deva Raya II as Gajabetekara, the elephant hunter.
• Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir is remembered as Budshah, the great king, and is often called the Akbar of Kashmir.
• Shivaji took the title Chhatrapati at his coronation at Raigad in 1674, and the head of his Ashta Pradhan council held the title Peshwa.

The exam angle

Nearly every question here is a pairing: ruler to title, or title to meaning. The traps are built out of near neighbours. Vikramaditya is claimed by Chandragupta II and by Skandagupta and by Hemu, so the dynasty in the question decides the answer. Gangaikonda Chola belongs to Rajendra I and not to Rajaraja I. Zil-i-Ilahi belongs to Balban and Sikandar-i-Sani to Alauddin Khalji, and a paper will often swap the two. Nur Jahan was a conferred title, not a personal name, and Sher Shah earned his before he had a kingdom.