# Raja — Short Fiction character guide

> Raja in Short Fiction by Clark Ashton Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Raja, the Raja

**First appearance:** 0000-the-malay-krise

## Snapshot

The great State elephant of Jizapur, whose strange private drills with a mahout hint at secrets beneath the wedding pomp.

## Who they are

Raja is the ceremonial elephant who carries the Maharaja of Jizapur through the streets during the great wedding procession, draped in gold and watched by thousands. Yet before the festivities, an English traveler glimpses the beast in a jungle clearing, hoisting and dropping a dummy at his mahout's cryptic command — a rehearsal no one can explain. That unexplained ritual, dismissed by most as native nonsense, plants the first quiet unease in a story otherwise consumed by spectacle and celebration.

## Relationships

### [Bently](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/bently)

_professional_

Bently serves as a subordinate or assistant to Raja, handling administrative or logistical tasks.

### [John Hawley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/john_hawley)

_rivalry_

John Hawley is a colonial officer who frequently clashes with Raja over authority and local governance.

### [Chumbu Singh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/chumbu_singh)

_family_

Chumbu Singh is Raja's younger brother and trusted military commander.

### [Arthur Merton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/arthur_merton)

_social_

Arthur Merton and Raja are occasional acquaintances at colonial social functions, with mutual wariness.

### [Krishna Singh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/krishna_singh)

_family_

Krishna Singh is Raja's cousin and advisor on religious matters.

### [Bently](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/bently)

_professional_

Bently serves as a subordinate or assistant to Raja, handling administrative or logistical tasks.

### [Chumbu Singh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/chumbu_singh)

_family_

Chumbu Singh is Raja's younger brother and trusted military commander.

### [Arthur Merton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/arthur_merton)

_social_

Arthur Merton and Raja are occasional acquaintances at colonial social functions, with mutual wariness.

### [Bently](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/bently)

_professional_

Bently serves as a subordinate or assistant to Raja, handling administrative or logistical tasks.

### [Chumbu Singh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/chumbu_singh)

_family_

Chumbu Singh is Raja's younger brother and trusted military commander.

## In the story

### [The Mahout](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/chapters/the-mahout)

The State elephant trained by the mahout to kill Krishna Singh.

### [The Raja and the Tiger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/chapters/the-raja-and-the-tiger)

Chumbu Singh, the Raja of Shaitanabad, who plots to kill Bently but is killed by the tiger.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters/raja
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_9_se/characters