The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, India and Bhārat. A third name, "Hindūstān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states of the Indian Subcontinent when Indians speak among themselves. The usage of "Bhārat", "Hindūstān", or "India" depends on the context and language of conversation.
"Bhārat", the name for India in several Indian languages, is mainly derived from the name of the Vedic community of Bharatas who are mentioned in the Rigveda as one of the principal kingdoms of the Aryavarta. It is also variously said to be derived from the name of either Dushyanta's son Bharata or Mahabharata.[1] At first the name Bhārat referred only to the western part of the Gangetic Valley,[2][3] but was later more broadly applied to the Indian subcontinent and the region of Greater India, as was the name "India". Today it refers to the contemporary Republic of India located therein. The name "India" is originally derived from the name of the river Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus (5th century BCE). The term appeared in Old English as early as the 9th century and reemerged in Modern English in the 17th century.
"Hindūstān" is a third name for the Republic of India. It was popular during Mughal's rule. The term 'Hindu' was the Old Persian adaption of "Sindhu" (Indus River). "Hindustan" is still common amongst Urdu scholars.
India was the lower Indus basin in Herodotus's view of the world.
The English term is from Greek Ἰνδική / Indikē (cf. Megasthenes' work Indica) or Indía (Ἰνδία), via Latin transliteration India.[4][5][6]
The name derives ultimately from SanskritSindhu (सिन्धु), which was the name of the Indus River as well as the lower Indus basin (modern Sindh, in Pakistan).[7][8] The Old Persian equivalent of Síndhu was Hindu.[9]Darius I conquered Sindh in about 516 BCE, upon which the Persian equivalent Hinduš was used for the province at the lower Indus basin.[10][11]Scylax of Caryanda who explored the Indus river for the Persian emperor probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek.[12] The terms Indos (Ἰνδός) for the Indus river as well as "an Indian" are found in Herodotus's Geography.[13] The loss of the aspirate /h/ was probably due to the dialects of Greek spoken in Asia Minor.[14][15] Herodotus also generalised the term "Indian" from the people of lower Indus basin, to all the people living to the east of Persia, even though he had no knowledge of the geography of the land.[16]
By the time of Alexander, Indía in Koine Greek denoted the region beyond the Indus. Alexander's companions were aware of at least India up to the Ganges delta (Gangaridai).[17][18] Later, Megasthenes included in India the southern peninsula as well.[18]
In middle Persian, probably from the first century CE, the suffix -stān (Persian: ستان) was added, indicative of a country or region, forming the name Hindūstān.[22] Thus, Sindh was referred to as Hindūstān in the Naqsh-e-Rustam inscription of Sassanid emperor Shapur I in c. 262 CE.[23][24]
Emperor Babur of the Mughal Empire said, "On the East, the South, and the West it is bounded by the Great Ocean."[25]Hind was notably adapted in the Arabic language as the definitive form Al-Hind (الهند) for India, e.g. in the 11th century Tarikh Al-Hind ('History of India'). It occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phrase Jai Hind (Hindi: जय हिन्द) or in Hind Mahāsāgar (हिन्द महासागर), the Standard Hindi name for the Indian Ocean, but otherwise is deemed archaic[how?].
Both the names were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century Islamic conquests: the rulers in the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods called their Indian dominion, centered around Delhi, "Hindustan" (ہندوستان; हिन्दुस्तान). In contemporary Persian and Urdu language, the term Hindustan has recently come to mean the Republic of India. The same is the case with Arabic, where al-Hind is the name for the Republic of India.
"Hindustan", as the term Hindu itself, entered the English language in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the term as used in English referred to the Subcontinent. "Hindustan" was in use simultaneously with "India" during the British Raj.
Bhārata
Bhārata (Sanskrit: भारतम् Hindi: भारत, romanized: Bhārat, Urdu: بھارت, see schwa deletion), in its accusative singular form of Bhāratam, was chosen as the name for India in its Sanskrit version of the Constitution of India. However, in Article 1 of the Constitution, adopted in 1950,[26] Bhārat, which was predominantly used in Hindi, was adopted as a self-ascribed alternative name by some people of the Indian subcontinent and the Republic of India.[27]
The designation Bhārata appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, Bhārata Gaṇarājya. The name is derived from the ancient Hindu Puranas, which refer to the land that comprises India as Bhāratavarṣa and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents.[28] For example, the Vayu Purana says "he who conquers the whole of Bhāratavarṣa is celebrated as a samrāta (Vayu Purana 45, 86)."[29]
The Sanskrit word Bhārata is a vṛddhi derivation of Bharata, which was originally an epithet of Agni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to bear/to carry", with a literal meaning of to be maintained (of fire). The rootbhr is cognate with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge". Barato, the Esperanto name for India, is also a derivation of Bhārata.
According to the Puranas, this country is known as Bhāratavarṣa after Bharata, the son of Rishabha. He is described to be a Kshatriya born in the Solar dynasty. (Reference -Champat Rai Jain 1929, p. 92). This has been mentioned in Vishnu Purana (2,1,31), Vayu Purana (33,52), Linga Purana (1,47,23), Brahmanda Purana (14,5,62), Agni Purana (107,11–12), Skanda Purana, Khanda (37,57) and Markandaya Purana (50,41), all using the designation Bhāratavarṣa.
Bhāratavarṣa arose from Bharata and Sumati arose from Bharata.
—Vishnu Purana (2,1,31)
The Bhagavata Purana mentions (Canto 5, Chapter 4)[30] - "He (Rishabha) begot a hundred sons that were exactly like him... He (Bharata) had the best qualities and it was because of him that this land by the people is called Bhāratavarṣa"
In the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata (200 BCE to 300 CE), a larger region of North India is encompassed by the term Bharata, but much of the Deccan and South India are still excluded.[32] Some other Puranic passages refer to the same Bhārata people, who are described as the descendants of Dushyanta's son Bharata in the Mahabharata.[33]
The realm of Bharata is known as Bhāratavarṣa in the Mahabharata (the core portion of which is itself known as Bhārata) and later texts. According to the text, the term Bharat is from the king Bharata, who was the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala and the term varsa means a division of the earth or a continent.[citation needed]
The use of Bharat often has political overtones, appealing to a certain cultural conception of India.[34] CNN reported in 2023 of president Droupadi Murmu and prime minister Narendra Modi using the Bharat name in connection with a G20 gathering, speculating on a possible name change for the country.[35]
Epigraphical References of the term Bharata
The earliest recorded use of Bhārata-varṣa (lit.'Bhārata mainland') in a geographical sense is in the Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavela (first century BCE), where it applies only to a restrained area of northern India, namely the part of the Ganges west of Magadha.[2][3]
Jambudvīpa (Sanskrit: जम्बुद्वीप, romanized: Jambu-dvīpa, lit. 'berry island') was used in ancient scriptures as a name of India before the term Bhārata became widespread. It might be an indirect reference to the Insular India. The derivative Jambu Dwipa was the historical term for India in many Southeast Asian countries before the introduction of the English word "India". This alternate name is still used occasionally in Thailand, Malaysia, Java and Bali to describe the Indian Subcontinent. However, it also can refer to the whole continent of Asia.
Gyagar and Phagyul
Both Gyagar ("White expanse", analogous to the names Gyanak for China and Gyaser for Russia) and Phagyul are Tibetan names for India. Ancient Tibetan Buddhist authors and pilgrims used the ethnogeographic referents Gyagar or Gyagar to the south and Madhyadesa (central land or holy centre) for India. Since at least 13th century, several influential indigenous Tibetanlamas & authors also started to refer to India as the Phagyul, short for Phags yul, meaning the land of aryas i.e. land of noble, holy, enlightened & superior people who are the source of spiritual enlightenment.[37] Tibetan scholar Gendun Chopel explains that Tibetan word gyagar comes from the Indian sanskrit language word vihāra (buddhist monastery), and the ancient Tibetans applied the term Geysar mainly to the northern and central India region from Kuru (modern Haryana) to Magadha (modern Bihar).[38] The Epic of King Gesar, which originally developed around 200 BCE or 300 BCE and about 600 CE, describes India as the "Gyagar: The Kingdom of Buddhist Doctrine", "Gyagar: The Kingdom of Aru Medicine" (ayurveda), "Gyagar: The Kingdom of Pearls" and "Gyagar: The Kingdom of Golden Vases".[39] The Central Tibetan Administration, often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, asserts "Tibet is inextricably linked to India through geography, history, culture, and spiritually, Tibetans refer to India as ‘Gyagar Phagpay Yul’ or ‘India the land of Aryas.’"Dalai Lama reveres India as the guru with Tibet as its chela (shishya or disciple) and "refers to himself the ‘Son of India’ and a true follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He continues to advocate the revival of India's ancient wisdom based on the Nalanda tradition."[40]
Tiānzhú (Chinese: 天竺 originally pronounced *qʰl'iːn tuɡ) is one of several Chinese transliterations of the Sanskrit Sindhu via Persian Hindu[41] and is used since ancient times in China and its peripheries. Its Sino-Xenic reading in Japanese is Tenjiku, and Cheonchuk (Hangul: 천축) in Korean. Devout Buddhists in the Sinosphere traditionally used this term and its related forms to designate India as their "heavenly centre", referring to the sacred origins of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent.[42][43]
Other forms include Juāndú (身毒), which appears in Sima Qian'sShiji. Another is Tiāndǔ (天篤), which is used in the Hou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han).[44]Yìntèjiā or Indəkka (印特伽) comes from the KucheanIndaka, another transliteration of Hindu.[41]
A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in the Hou Hanshu compiled by Fan Ye (398–445):
"The state of Tianzhu: Also named Shendu, it lies several thousand li southeast of Yuezhi. Its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi, and it is low, damp, and very hot. It borders a large river. The inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare; they are weaker than the Yuezhi. They practise the way of Futu (the Buddha), [and therefore] it has become a custom among them not to kill or attack [others]. From west of the states Yuezhi and Gaofu, and south until the Western Sea, and east until the state of Panqi, all is the territory of Shendu. Shendu has several hundred separate towns, with a governor, and separate states which can be numbered in the tens, each with its own king. Although there are small differences among them, they all come under the general name of Shendu, and at this time all are subject to Yuezhi. Yuezhi have killed their kings and established a general in order to rule over their people. The land produces elephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west with Da Qin and (so) has the exotica of Da Qin."[44]
Tianzhu was also referred to as Wǔtiānzhú (五天竺, literally "Five Indias"), because there were five geographical regions in India known to the Chinese: Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern India. The monk Xuanzang also referred to India as Wǔ Yìn or "Five Inds".[41]
The name Tianzhu and its Sino-Xenic cognates were eventually replaced by terms derived from the Middle Chinese borrowing of *yentu from Kuchean, though a very long time elapsed between that term's first use and its becoming the standard modern name for India in East Asian languages. Pronounced Yìndù (Chinese: 印度) in Chinese, it was first used by the seventh-century monk and traveler Xuanzang.[45] In Japanese for example, the name Indo (インド, 印度, or occasionally 印土) had been found occasionally in 18th and early 19th-century works, such as Arai Hakuseki's Sairan Igen (1713) and Yamamura Saisuke [ja]'s Indoshi (印度志, a translation of a work by Johann Hübner). However, the use of the name Tenjiku, which was heavily associated with the image of India as a land of Buddhism, was not completely displaced until the early 20th century: scholars such as Soyen Shaku and Seki Seisetsu [ja] who travelled to India for pilgrimages to Buddhist historical sites, continued to use the name Tenjiku to emphasise the religious aspect of their travels, though most of their contemporaries (even fellow Buddhist pilgrims) adopted the name Indo by then.[46][47]
India is nowadays also called Indo in Korean (인도), and Ấn Độ in Vietnamese. Similar to Hindu and Sindhu, the term Yìn 印 was used in classical Chinese much like the English Ind.
^بالهندBil'Hind appears upside-down at 6h (bottom) on the circular legend of the obverse side of the coin. The complete circular legend is "In the name of Allah, struck this dirham in al-Hind in the year seven and ninety."
^Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath (2001), Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey, Regency Publications, p. 3, ISBN978-81-87498-26-1: "Apparently the same territory was referred to as Hi(n)du(sh) in the Naqsh‐i‐Rustam inscription of Darius I as one of the countries in his empire. The terms Hindu and India ('Indoi) indicate an original indigenous expression like Sindhu. The name Sindhu could have been pronounced by the Persians as Hindu (replacing s by h and dh by d) and the Greeks would have transformed the latter as Indo‐ (Indoi, Latin Indica, India) with h dropped..."
^Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan (1975), p. 145: "Sindhu means a stream, a river, and in particular the Indus river, but likewise it denotes the territory of the lower Indus valley, or modern Sind. Therefore, the appellation Saindhavah, means "inhabitants of the lower Indus valley".... In this respect Sindhu is no tribal name at all. It denotes a geographical unit to which different tribes may belong."
^Thieme, P. (1970), "Sanskrit sindu-/Sindhu- and Old Iranian hindu-/Hindu-", in Mary Boyce; Ilya Gershevitch (eds.), W. B. Henning memorial volume, Lund Humphries, pp. 447–450, ISBN9780853312550
^ abEggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan (1975): 'The Persians coined the name of Hindush after the current Sanskrit geographical name of Sindhu. Neither the Old Persian inscriptions, nor the Avesta make use of the word hindu in the sense of "river".'
^ abDandamaev, M. A. (1989), A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, BRILL, p. 147, ISBN90-04-09172-6: "The new satrapy, which received the name of Hindush, extended from the centre to the lower part of the Indus Valley, in present-day Pakistan."
^Horrocks, Geoffrey (2009), Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers (Second ed.), John Wiley & Sons, pp. 27–28, ISBN978-1-4443-1892-0: "Note finally that the letter H/η was originally used to mark word-initial aspiration... Since such aspiration was lost very early in the eastern Ionic-speaking area, the letter was recycled, being used first to denote the new, very open, long e-vowel [æ:] ... and then to represent the inherited long e-vowel [ε:] too, once these two sounds had merged. The use of H to represent open long e-vowels spread quite early to the central Ionic-speaking area and also to the Doric-speaking islands of the southern Aegean, where it doubled up both as the marker of aspiration and as a symbol for open long e-vowels."
^Panayotou, A. (2007), "Ionic and Attic", in A.-F. Christidis (ed.), A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity, Cambridge University Press, p. 410, ISBN978-0-521-83307-3: "The early loss of aspiration is mainly a characteristic of Asia Minor (and also of the Aeolic and Doric of Asia Minor)...In Attica, however (and in some cases in Euboea, its colonies, and in the Ionic-speaking islands of the Aegean), the aspiration survived until later... During the second half of the fifth century BC, however, orthographic variation perhaps indicates that 'a change in the phonetic quality of [h] was taking place' too."
^Arora, Udai Prakash (2005), "Ideas of India in Ancient Greek Literature", in Irfan Habib (ed.), India — Studies in the History of an Idea, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, p. 47, ISBN978-81-215-1152-0: "The term 'Indians' was used by Herodotus as a collective name for all the peoples living east of Persia. This was also a significant development over Hekataios, who had used this term in a strict sense for the groups dwelling in Sindh only."
^Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath (1989), The Foreign Names of the Indian Subcontinent, Place Names Society of India, p. 46: "The term Hindustan, which in the Naqsh-i-Rustam inscription of Shapur I denoted India on the lower Indus, and which later gradually began to denote more or less the whole of the subcontinent..."
^Ray & Chattopadhyaya, A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization (2000), p. 553: "Among the countries that fell before Shapur I the area in question appears as Hndstn, India and Hindy respectively in the three languages mentioned above [Middle Persian, Greek and Parthian]."
^P. 310 Memoirs of Zahir-ad-Din Muhammad Babur: Emperor of Hindustan By Babur (Emperor of Hindustan)
^Khair, Tabish (2006). Other Routes: 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing. Signal Books. p. 36. ISBN9781904955115.
^Rambelli, Fabio (2014). "The Idea of India (Tenjiku) in Pre-Modern Japan". In Sen, -Tansen (ed.). Buddhism Across Asia. ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. p. 262. ISBN9789814519328.
^Jaffee, Richard M. (2019). Seeking Sakyamuni: South Asia in the Formation of Modern Japanese Buddhism. University of Chicago Press. pp. 12–13, 114–115. ISBN9780226391151.
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