Rajarshi or Rajarishi is, in Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 and Hindu mythology

Hindu mythology

Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

, a royal saint and rishi

Rishi

Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...

.

Order

A Rajarshi is a king who turned into a royal sage, or Rajarshi. A rajarshi will not have to leave the kingship to became rishi as in the example of Vishwamitra (who later advanced to becoming a Brahmarishi) but still while ruling the kingdom has reached a state of rishi and have attained self realization.

They still perform the kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

 responsibility, and remain similar to most rishis, maharishis and brahmarishis in their level of spiritual knowledge.

Examples

Janaka

Janaka

Janaka or Raja Janaka were the kings of Videha Kingdom. Their capital was Mithila, which is believed to be present day Janakpur, Nepal...

, the king of and Mithila

Mithila

Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...

 father of Sita

SITA

SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

, and Dasaratha

Dasaratha

Dasharatha was a king of Ayodhya of the Ikshvaku dynasty whose life story is narrated principally in the Hindu epic Ramayana...

, king of Ayodhya and father of Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

,The Great Arshtishen were both Rajarishis, spiritually self-realized and advanced in their knowledge of religion. Hotravan (Grandfather of Kashi Princess, Amba) was known as Rajrishi from Mahabharata era.

Modern Usage

"Rajarshi" is the name of the novel by Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

, based on the life of a king of the state of Tripura, named Govindamanikya. Purushottam Das Tandon

Purushottam Das Tandon

Purushottam Das Tandon पुरुषोत्तम दास टंडन , was a freedom fighter from Uttar Pradesh in India, of Punjabi Khatri descent. He is widely remembered for his efforts in achieving the Official Language of India status for Hindi. He was customarily given the title Rajarshi...

, freedom fighter from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 was addressed reverentially as "Rajarshi." The Abdicated Highness of princely state of Cochin, Sir Sri Rama Varma

Sir Sri Rama Varma

Sir Sri Rama Varma XV GCSI GCIE popularly known as The Rajarshi Of Cochin and as Abdicated Highness, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin from 1895 to 1914.- Reign :...

 also known as Father of Modren Cochin, is often called Rajarshi Rama Varma.
Chatrapati Shahu, ruler of princely state of Kolhapur, well known for his social reforms in modern India is remembered as Rajarshi.Rajarshi Udai Pratap(Bhinga Raj).Mr. James Jesse Lynn, disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda was also referred to by the title of the Rajarshi,as Rajarsi Janakananda

Rajarsi Janakananda

Rajarsi Janakananda, born James Jesse Lynn was the leading disciple of the yogi Paramhansa Yogananda and a prominent businessman in the Kansas City, Missouri area...

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