Sawai is a title of honor used in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, the word having its root in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

language. Sawai literally means a quarter over one (1+1/4) in strength and / or intelligence. In other words it means - one and a quarter of an average man in worth.

Holders of Sawai title

* Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa aka Madhu Rao II Narayan was

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

in India. He was the son of Narayanrao Peshwa and was brought to power as

by the treaty of Salbai in 1782. *

Sawai Jai Singh Jai Singh II (3 November 1681 – 21 September 1743) popularly known as Sawai Jai Singh was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He was born at Amber, th ...

was given title of ''Sawai'' at the age of eleven by the Mughal Emperor,

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

in the year 1699, who had summoned him to Delhi, impressed by his wit. Later he proved to be ''Sawai'' also in warfare. The title became hereditary for his successors used by his descendants like,

Sawai Pratap Singh Pratap Singh (2 December 1764 – 1 August 1803) was a Kachwaha ruler of Jaipur. He is known for constructing the Hawa Mahal. Biography Pratap was born as a younger son of Madho Singh I on 2 December 1764 . Pratap Singh became the Maharaja ...

;

Sawai Man Singh II Major General Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman. Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state ...

. *

Khengarji III Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sir Khengarji III Sawai Bahadur (23 August 1866 – 15 January 1942) was a progressive and one of the longest ruling monarchs of a dependent state and also the longest ruling king of the Princely State of Cutch ...

ruler of Cutch from 1875–1942, was given the title of ''Sawai'' by British in the year 1885 The title became hereditary for his successors used by his descendants like

Vijayaraji Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sri Sir Vijayarajaji Khengarji Sawai Bahadur, GBE (2 September 1885 – 26 February 1948) was the ruling Rao of Cutch from 1942 to his death in 1948.Madansinhji Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sri Madansinhji Vijayaraji Sawai Bahadur (12 October 1909 – 21 June 1991) was the last official ruler of the Princely State of Cutch, from 26 February 1948 to 1 June 1948.Sawai Jawahar Singh was

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

of Bharatpur from 1763 – 1768. He assumed the lofty title of Sawai and the title became hereditary and was used by all successive rulers of Bharatpur. * Ranjor Singh ruler of

Ajaigarh Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Panna District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1785, and ...

from 1859–1919, was given the title of ''Sawai Maharaja'' in the year 1877 at the

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...

on the occasion of the proclamation of Her Majesty as

Empress of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

. The title became hereditary and was used by all successive rulers of Ajaigarh. *

Sur Singh Sawai Raja Sur Singh Rathore or Suraj Mal or Suraj Singh (24 April 1571 – 7 September 1619), was the Raja of Marwar Kingdom (11 July 1595 – 7 September 1619). His sister was the wife of Emperor Jahangir and mother of Shah Jahan. Early lif ...

, ruler of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tra ...

from 1595 - 1619 was given the title of ''Sawai Raja'' by

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

in recognition of his many services. *Pratap Singh ruler of

Orchha Orchha is a town, near city of Niwari in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state of covering parts of c ...

from 1874–1930, was given the title of ''Sawai'' in his lifetime and title became hereditary for rulers of Orchha. *Manan bhatia (GLC) of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

is ponhe which is a little less than sawai and dedh.

References

{{Reflist Honorary titles Noble titles Cultural history of India