| Meidingu | |
|---|---|
_and_%22Meitingu%22_(Ancient_Meitei_name).png) "Meidingu" (Modern Meitei name) and "Meitingu" (Ancient Meitei name) | |
| Creation | Before 33 CE |
| First holder | Nongda Lairen Pakhangba |
| Last holder | Charairongba |
| Status | Replaced by Sanskrit title "Maharaja" in the 18th century |
Meidingu or Meedingu (Old Manipuri: ꯃꯤꯇꯤꯉꯨ, romanized: Meetingu) is a native royal title used by the kings of the Meitei people in Kangleipak (now called Manipur). The title was used before the Sanskritisation of Manipur in the 1700s.
The name Meidingu comes from two Meitei words. Mei (ꯃꯩ) is a short form of "Meitei", which first meant the people of the Ningthouja dynasty (also called the Mangang clan). Dingu (ꯗꯤꯡꯉꯨ) means "ruler" or "great king". So, Meidingu means "King of the Meiteis" or "Main ruler of the Meitei kingdom".
The title Meidingu was used by the kings of the Ningthouja dynasty and other small kingdoms in old Manipur. The word can be found in old books, temple writings, and songs. The first known king who used the title was Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, who became king of Kangla and started the rule of the Ningthouja kings.
In the 1700s, during the rule of Pamheiba (also called Gharib Niwaz), Manipur changed its religion to Hinduism. After this, the Meitei kings started using new royal names from Sanskrit like Maharaja instead of Meidingu.
Many researchers say that the change from Meidingu to Maharaja was part of a big cultural change in Manipur. This happened when King Pamheiba changed the religion of the kingdom to Vaishnavism, a type of Hinduism.
After that, many local Meitei traditions were replaced with Hindu customs. The kings began to use Hindu names and started adding the word "Singh" to their names. However, "Meidingu" was still used secondarily by kings.