Raja

Raja (/ˈrɑːdʒɑː/; also spelled rajah, from Sanskrit राजा rājā-) is a term for a monarch or princely ruler in South and Southeast Asia. Rana is practically equivalent, and the female form Rani (sometimes spelled ranee) applies equally to the wife of a raja or rana. Maharaja, or "great king" is in theory a title for more significant rulers in India, but after some inflation of titles over time, there is no clear difference between the terms.

The title has a long history in the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a rājan- is a ruler, see for example the dāśarājñá, the "battle of ten kings".

Etymology

Sanskrit rājan- is cognate to Latin rēx (genitive rēgis), Gaulish rīx, Gaelic rí (genitive ríg), etc., originally denoting heads of petty kingdoms and city states. It is believed to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European *h₃rēǵs, a vrddhi formation to the root *h₃reǵ- "to straighten, to order, to rule". The Sanskrit n-stem is secondary in the male title, apparently adapted from the female counterpart rājñī which also has an -n- suffix in related languages, compare Old Irish rígain and Latin regina. Cognates of the word Raja in other Indo-European languages include English reign and German reich. Rather common variants in Rajasthani, Marathi and Hindi, used for the same royal rank in parts of India include Rana, Rao, Raol, Rawal and Rawat.

Rajah (disambiguation)

Rajah may refer to:

People

Organisms

Circus of Crime

The Circus of Crime is a fictional villainous organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The Circus of Crime first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #3 (September 1962), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional team biography

Old West

There were two organizations in the Old West who dubbed themselves the Circus of Crime. Both teams fought against Kid Colt.

World War II

Originally a spy organization employed by the Nazis during World War II, Tiboldt's Circus was a traveling circus led by Fritz Tiboldt, the Ringmaster, and he and his performers would use their special skills and talents to rob their audiences. He was sent to America to murder US Government officials using the cover of his circus activities. Tiboldt and his gang fell afoul of Captain America and were deported back to Germany, where Fritz Tiboldt and his wife were subsequently murdered by their former employers.

Modern day

The modern day Circus of Crime first came to the authorities' attention when they carried out a series of robberies of small towns using the Ringmaster's skill in hypnotism to mesmerize entire towns. Regrettably for the Circus, Rick Jones was one of the victims of their capers, and his involvement led to the involvement of the Hulk, as Rick briefly had telepathic control over the Hulk. He resisted the Ringmaster's hypnotism when the Ringmaster tried to bill him as 'The Monster of the Age', leading to the Circus' arrest. After a brief stretch in prison, the Circus visited New York City, where they battled both Spider-Man and Daredevil. The Ringmaster was briefly able to hypnotise Spider-Man. The Circus' core members later briefly operated as the Masters of Menace, a name thought up by Princess Python, after being released from prison and throwing the Ringmaster off the team, replacing him with the Clown. They were again captured by Spider-Man.

Arul

Arul (English: Grace) is a 2004 Indian Tamil action film written and directed by Hari starring Vikram, Jyothika, Pasupathy, Vadivelu, Sarath Babu, Vinu Chakravarthy and Vaiyapuri. The music is composed by Harris Jayaraj. The story tells how a man is rejected by his family but then finds his way back. The film opened to mixed reviews from both critics as well as audience.

The film was dubbed in Telugu as Akhandudu and in Hindi as Main Balwaan.

Plot

Arul (Vikram), who works in a mill, is the third son of four brothers in a family of goldsmiths. Once, Arul's brother steals a chain due to financial circumstances. As Arul had taken the blame for it, he was labelled as a "thief" and seen as a black sheep by his father. Thus, he vows never to make a gold ornament ever again, takes up a job and pays for his expenses. Kanmani (Jyothika), who moves into the opposite house, begins by playing tricks on him, but eventually falls for his character. Arul doesn't believe in love, and keeps his distance from her. One day, when Arul's father scolds him in the temple, Kanmani stands up for him. Arul's father insults her by telling her "Arul's siblings are keeping quiet. Why are you making noise as though you have slept with him?" In a fit of anger, Arul marries Kanmani. Arul then realizes his love for her. The setting up of the party office of the ruling party forces Arul to lock horns with Gajapathy (Pasupathy), the local MLA, and his brother Sethupathy (Kollam Thulasi), the party leader. How Arul defeats the bad guy forms the rest of the story.