Suratrana (IAST: Suratrāṇa, सुरत्राण) is a Sanskrit word that has the literal meaning "protector of gods",P. Acharya (1946), Jajnagar from epigraphic and literary sources from Orissa and Bengal, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 9 (1946), pp. 215-227, Quote: "Suratrana means the protector of gods" but is often used as a transliteration of the Islamic word "Sultan" into Sanskrit., Quote: "Hindu-suratrana ('the Hindu Sultan')" The term consists of two words "sura" (सुर) meaning "deva, gods, deity",Sura, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 1234 and trana (त्राण) meaning "protect, preserve, defend".Trāṇa, Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Etymologically and Philologically Arranged, Oxford University Press, page 457
Suratrana is found in Indian texts and inscriptions, in the post 12th-century medieval period of Hindu-Muslim interaction during Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. For example, the Vilasa grant of Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka in modern Andhra Pradesh, dated to 1330 CE, refers to Ahammada suratrana ("Muslim Sultan", here the Sultan of Delhi). The term Hinduraya Suratrana is found in a long Sanskrit stone inscription in Nāgarī script found at a temple at Hampi in Karnataka and dated to 1344 CE. The term Hindu raya suratrana is also seen in some stone inscriptions found in Andhra Pradesh, the earliest dated to about 1352 CE.
Benjamin Lewis Rice translates Hinduraya Suratrana as "the Suratrana of Hindu Rayas". Other scholars have interpreted it to mean "the Sultan among Hindu kings" and state this to be an evidence of Islamic political traditions being adopted by Hindu kings. Scholar Lorenzen sees this evidence of Indian kingdoms recognizing their identity of being "Hindu" and even a religious Hindu identity by early 14th century. Others interpret the term Hinduraya Suratrana to mean "protectors of the gods of (or among) the Hindu kings".A.R. Kulkarni (1970), Social Relations in the Maratha Country in the Medieval Period, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 32, Issue 1, pp. 231-268, Quote: "Suratrana has been interpreted by some as the 'protector of gods' (...)"
A few other inscriptions in South India use the word Suratrana sometimes in modified form. For example, the Akkalapundi Grant inscription of 1368 CE for Kapaya Nayaka of Warangal who fought the Delhi Sultanate armies, refers to the Nayaka as Andhrasuratranah (the Suratrana of the Andhra). It appears in a Warangal inscription dated to about 1570 CE, for Aravidu king Tirumala I, as Urigola Suratranah. Wagoner interprets it as "Sultan of Warangal".
A related term Hinduravu Suradhani (IAST: Hindurāvu Suradhāni) is found in an Ongole inscription for Sariyapati Timmareddi of Andhra region, and is dated to 1482 CE. According to Wagoner, both Suratrana and Suradhani are transliterations of Sultan. Suradhani found in Hindurāvu Suradhāni term is also a composite of two words, "Sura" and "Dhani", with Dhani meaning "possessor, housing, virtuous keeper".
See also Hammira, Sanskrit transliteration of emir Balhara (title), Arabic transliteration of Sanskrit Vallabha
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