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TheRepublic of India is principally known by two official short names:India andBharat. An unofficial third name isHindustan, which is widely used throughoutNorth India. Although these names now refer to the modern country in most contexts, they historically denoted the broaderIndian subcontinent.
"India" (Greek:Ἰνδία) is a name derived from theIndus River and remains the country's common name in theWestern world, having been used by theancient Greeks to refer to the lands east ofPersia and south of theHimalayas. This name appeared inOld English by the 9th century and re-emerged inModern English in the 17th century.
One of the earliest known epigraphical attestations of the nameBharata occurs in theHāthigumphā inscription of KingKharavela (1st century BCE) aJain inscription at Udayagiri, near Bhubaneswar in Odisha. The inscription, which records Kharavela's military campaigns, contains a reference to Bharatavarsa, indicating that the term was already in use as a cultural or territorial designation in ancient India.[1]
According toJain tradition, the name Bharatavarṣa derives fromEmperor Bharata, the eldest son of the first Tirthankara,Rishabhanatha (Adinatha). Jain texts describe Bharata as a universal monarch (cakravartin), after whom the land was named. This association between Bharata and the territorial name Bharatavarṣa is a recurring theme in Jain literature.[2][3]
According tovedic tradition "Bharat" (Hindi:भारत) is the shortened form of the name "Bhāratavarṣa" in theSanskrit language. It originates from theVedic period and is rooted in theDharmic religions, particularlyHinduism. The long-form Sanskrit name is derived from theBharata tribe, who are mentioned in theRigveda as one of the principal peoples ofAryavarta, which roughly corresponds with theIndo-Gangetic Plain. The initial application of the name referred only to the western part of theGangetic Valley.[4][5] In 1949, theConstituent Assembly of India adopted "Bharat" (alongside "India") as one of the country's two official short names.
"Hindustan" (Persian:هندوستان) is also a name derived from the Indus River, combining "Hindu" as an exonym with the suffix "-stan" in the Persian language. It has been the most common Persian name for India since at least the 3rd century, with the earlier form "Hindush" (an adaptation of the Sanskrit name "Sindhu") being attested inOld Persian as early as the 6th century BCE, when it was used to refer to the lands east of thePersian frontier in the Indus Valley. However, the name did not become particularly widespread in other languages until the 11th century, when it was popularised during theMuslim period in the Indian subcontinent. While it is no longer used in an official capacity, "Hindustan" is still a common name for India in theHindustani language.
The English term is fromGreekIndikē (cf. Megasthenes' workIndica) orIndía (Ἰνδία), via Latin transliterationIndia.[6][7][8]
The name derives fromSanskritSindhu, which was the name of theIndus River as well as the lower Indus basin (modernSindh, in Pakistan).[9][10]
Southworth suggests that the nameSindhu is in turn derived fromCintu, aDravidian word fordate palm, a tree commonly found in Sindh.[11][12]
TheOld Persian equivalent ofSíndhu wasHindu.[13]Darius I conquered Sindh in about 516 BCE, upon which the Persian equivalentHinduš was used for the province at the lower Indus basin.[14][15]Scylax of Caryanda who explored the Indus river for the Persian emperor probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek.[16] The termsIndos for the Indus river as well as "an Indian" are found inHerodotus'Histories.[17] The loss of theaspirate /h/ was probably due to the dialects of Greek spoken inAsia Minor.[18][19] 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.[20]
By the time ofAlexander,Indía inKoine Greek denoted the region beyond the Indus. Alexander's companions were aware of at least India up to the Ganges delta (Gangaridai).[21][22] Later,Megasthenes included in India the southern peninsula as well.[22]
Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador in theMauryan Empire court during the regin ofChandragupta Maurya and wrote a detailed account of his visit inIndica. He resided in the Mauryan capital ofPataliputra, noting that they surpassed in power and glory in all India.[23][24][25]
They surpass in power and glory every other people, not only in this quarter, but one may say in all India, their capital beingPalibothra, a very large and wealthy city, after which some call the people itself the Palibothri, - nay, even the whole tract along the Ganges. Their king has in his pay a standing army of 600,000 foot-soldiers, 30,000 cavalry, and 9000 elephants : whence may be formed some conjecture as to the vastness of his resources.Megasthenes, inIndica[26]
LatinIndia is used byLucian (2nd century CE).[citation needed]India was known inOld English language and was used inKing Alfred's translation ofPaulus Orosius. InMiddle English, the name was, under French influence, replaced byYnde orInde, which enteredEarly Modern English as "Indie". The name "India" then came back to English usage from the 17th century onward, and may be due to the influence of Latin, or Spanish or Portuguese.[citation needed]
Sanskritindu "drop (ofSoma)", also a term for theMoon, is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected.[citation needed]
The term "Indies" refers to the land east ofriver Indus. It is fully interchangeable with the word India. Portuguese initially described the entire region they discovered as the Indies. Caribbean islands were initially described as "Indies" as they were thought to be India. When they became known to be in western hemisphere, they were renamed asWest Indies. Thus West Indies means India in the western hemisphere.Indonesia's former name isDutch East Indies which means India in southeast Asia (this should not to be confused withDutch India, which referred to the trading posts ofVOC within the Indian subcontinent).
Bharat is a coequal name of India, as set down inArticle 1 of the Constitution, adopted in 1950, which states in English: "India, that is Bharat, ..."[27] Bharat, which was predominantly used in Sanskrit, was adopted as a self-ascribed alternative name by some people of the Indian subcontinent and the Republic of India.[28]
This realm of Bharat, which has been referred to asBhāratavarṣa in Puranas – afterEmperor Bharata, the son ofRishabhanatha (Adinatha) the first tirthankar ofJainism.
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He is described to be aKshatriya born in theSolar dynasty.[29] This has been mentioned inVishnu Purana (2,3,1), Vayu Purana (33,52),Linga Purana (1,47,23),Brahmanda Purana (14,5,62),Agni Purana (107,11–12),Skanda Purana (37,57) andMarkandeya Purana (50,41), all using the designationBhāratavarṣa.
According to vedic texts Bharat is derived from the name of theVedic communityBharatas, who are mentioned in theRigveda as one of the original community of theĀryāvarta and notably participating in theBattle of the Ten Kings.
The designationBharat appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country,Bhāratagaṇarājya. The name is derived from the ancient HinduPuranas, which refer to the land that comprises India asBhāratavarṣa and uses this term to distinguish it from othervarṣas or continents.[30] For example, theVayu Purana says "he who conquers the whole ofBhāratavarṣa is celebrated as asamrāṭa".[31]
The Sanskrit wordBhārata is avrddhi derivation ofBharata, which was originally an epithet ofAgni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit rootbhr-, "to bear/to carry", with a literal meaning of to be maintained (offire). Therootbhr- is cognate with the English verb 'to bear' and Latinferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".Barato, theEsperanto name for India, is also a derivation ofBhārata.
TheVishnu Purana mentions:
Uttaraṃ yat samudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam.
varṣaṃ tad bhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ.
The country that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam there dwell the descendants ofBharata.
The Bhagavata Purana mentions (Canto 5, Chapter 4)[32] – "He (Rishabhanatha (Adinatha)) 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."[33]
Bharata Khanda (or Bhārata Kṣētra)[34] is a term used in some of theJain andHindu texts.
In the Sanskrit epic, theMahabharata (200 BCE to 300 CE), a larger region of Indosphere is encompassed by the term Bharat.[35] Some other Puranic passages refer to the same Bhārata people, who are described as the descendants ofDushyanta's sonBharata in theMahabharata.[36]
The use of Bharat often has political overtones, appealing to a certain cultural conception of India.[37] In 2023,PresidentDroupadi Murmu andPrime MinisterNarendra Modi used the Bharat name in connection with aG20 gathering, which caused speculation on a name-change for the country.[38][39] Such a change would need a constitutional amendment, meaning two-thirds of the vote in each of the two houses of parliament,[40] and an official notice to the UN, advising how to write the name in the UN'ssix official languages.[41]
The earliest recorded use of Bhārata-varṣa (lit. 'Bharat mainland') in a geographical sense is in theHathigumpha inscription of KingKharavela (first century BCE), where it applies only to a restrained area of northern India, namely the part of theGanges west ofMagadha. The inscription clearly mentions Bharat was named afterBharata, the son of firstJain tirthankaraRishabhanatha.[4][5]
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Inmiddle Persian, probably from the first century CE, the suffix-stān (Persian:ستان) was added, indicative of a country or region, forming the nameHindūstān.[45] Thus, Sindh was referred to asHindustān in the Naqsh-e-Rustam inscription ofSassanid emperorShapur I inc. 262 CE.[46][47]
Emperor Babur of the Mughal Empire said, "On the East, the South, and the West it is bounded by the Great Ocean."[48]Hind was notably adapted in theArabic language as the definitive formAl-Hind (الهند) for India, for example, in the 11th-centuryTarikh Al-Hind ('History of India'). It occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phraseJai Hind (Hindi:जय हिन्द) or inHind Mahāsāgar (हिन्द महासागर), the Standard Hindi name for theIndian Ocean.
Both the names were current inPersian andArabic, and from that into northern Indian languages, from the 11th centuryIslamic conquests: the rulers in theDelhi Sultanate andMughal periods called their Indian dominion, centered aroundDelhi, "Hindustan". In contemporary Persian andHindi-Urdu, the term Hindustan has recently come to mean the Republic of India. The same is the case with Arabic, whereal-Hind is the name for theRepublic of India.
"Hindustan", as the termHindu 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 theBritish era.
Jambudvīpa (Sanskrit:जम्बुद्वीपम्,romanized: Jambu-dvīpam,lit. 'berry island') was used in ancient scriptures as a name of India before the termBhārat became widespread. It might be an indirect reference to theInsular India.[clarification needed] The derivativeJambu Dwipa was the historical term for India in manySoutheast 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. It was used by Maurya EmperorAshoka in his inscriptions to denote his realm.
Both Gyagar ("White expanse") and Phagyul areTibetan names for India. AncientTibetan Buddhist authors and pilgrims used the ethnogeographic referentsGyagar orGyagar to the south andMadhyadesa (central land or holy centre) for India. Since at least 13th century, several influential indigenousTibetanlamas & authors also started to refer to India as thePhagyul, short forPhags yul, meaningthe land ofaryas i.e. land of noble, holy, enlightened & superior people who are the source of spiritual enlightenment.[50] Tibetan scholarGendun Chopel explains that Tibetan wordgyagar comes from the Indiansanskrit language wordvihāra (buddhist monastery), and the ancient Tibetans applied the termGeysar mainly to the northern and central India region fromKuru (modernHaryana) toMagadha (modernBihar).[51] TheEpic 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".[52] TheCentral 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 theguru with Tibet as itschela (shishya or disciple) and "refers to himself the 'Son of India' and a true follower ofMahatma Gandhi. He continues to advocate the revival of India's ancient wisdom based on theNalanda tradition."[53]
Tianzhu (天竺, OC:*qʰl'iːntuɡ,mod.Tiānzhú) is one of several Chinese transliterations of the SanskritSindhu via PersianHindu[54] and is used since ancient times in China and its peripheries. ItsSino-Xenic reading isTenjiku in Japanese,Cheonchuk (천축) inKorean, andThiên Trúc inVietnamese. Devout Buddhists in theSinosphere traditionally used this term and its related forms to designate India as their "heavenly centre", referring to the sacred origins ofBuddhism in theIndian subcontinent.[55][56]
Other forms includeJuandu (身毒;Juāndú), which appears inSima Qian'sShiji. Another isTiandu (天篤;Tiāndǔ), which is used in theHou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han).[57]Yintejia or Indəkka (印特伽;Yìntèjiā) comes from theKucheanIndaka, another transliteration ofHindu.[54]
A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in theHou Hanshu compiled byFan Ye (398–445):
The state of Tianzhu: Also named Shendu, it lies several thousandli southeast ofYuezhi. 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 (theBuddha), [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 produceselephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell,gold,silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west withDa Qin and (so) has the exotica of Da Qin.[57]
Tianzhu was also referred to asWu Tianzhu (五天竺;Wǔ Tiānzhú; 'Five Indias'), because there were five geographical regions in India known to the Chinese: Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern India. The monkXuanzang also referred to India asWu Yin (五印;Wǔ Yìn; 'Five Inds').[54]
The nameTianzhu and its Sino-Xenic cognates were eventually replaced by terms derived from theMiddle 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. PronouncedYindu (Chinese:印度; pinyin:Yìndù) in Chinese, it was first used by the seventh-century monk and travelerXuanzang.[58] In Japanese for example, the nameIndo (インド,印度, or occasionally印土) had been found occasionally in 18th and early 19th-century works, such asArai Hakuseki'sSairan Igen (1713) andYamamura Saisuke [ja]'sIndoshi (印度志, a translation of a work byJohann Hübner). However, the use of the nameTenjiku, which was heavily associated with the image ofIndia as a land of Buddhism, was not completely displaced until the early 20th century: scholars such asSoyen Shaku andSeki Seisetsu [ja] who travelled to India for pilgrimages to Buddhist historical sites, continued to use the nameTenjiku to emphasise the religious aspect of their travels, though most of their contemporaries (even fellow Buddhist pilgrims) adopted the nameIndo by then.[59][60]
India is also calledIndo (인도) in Korean, andẤn Độ inVietnamese. Similar to Hindu and Sindhu, the termYin was used in classical Chinese much like the EnglishInd.
Hodu (Hebrew:הֹדּוּHodû) is theBiblical Hebrew name for India mentioned in theBook of Esther part of the JewishTanakh and ChristianOld Testament.Ahasuerus was described as King ruling 127 provinces fromHodu (India) toEthiopia.[61] The term seemingly derives fromSanskritSindhu, "great river", i.e., theIndus River, viaOld PersianHiñd°u.[62]
Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below.[63]
| Year | Name | Source/Origin | Definition of name |
|---|---|---|---|
| c. 440 BCE | India | Herodotus | "Eastward of India lies a tract which is entirely sand. Indeed, of all the inhabitants of Asia, concerning whom anything is known, the Indians dwell nearest to the east and the rising of the Sun." |
| c. 400–300 BCE | Hodû | Book of Esther (Bible) | "Now it took place in the days ofAhasuerus, theAhasuerus who reigned from Hodu (India) to Cush (Ethiopia) over 127 provinces"[64][65][66] |
| c. 300 BCE | India/Indikē | Megasthenes | "India then being four-sided in plan, the side which looks to the Orient and that to the South, the Great Sea compasseth; that towards the Arctic is divided by the mountain chain of Hēmōdus fromScythia, inhabited by that tribe of Scythians who are called Sakai; and on the fourth side, turned towards the West, the Indus marks the boundary, the biggest or nearly so of all rivers after theNile." |
| 250 BCE | Jambudvīpa | Ashoka Minor Rock Edicts of Ashoka | "Devānāṃpiya [speaks] thus. ...... years since I am a lay-worshipper (upāsaka). But (I had) not been very zealous. A year and somewhat more (has passed) since ...... And men in Jambudīpa, being during that time unmingled with the gods, have (now) been made (by me) mingled with the gods. [For] this is the fruit [of zeal]. cannot 1 be reached by (persons of) high rank alone, (but) even a lowly (person) is able to attain even the great heaven if he is zealous. Now, for the following purpose (has) this proclamation (been issued), (that) both the lowly and the exalted may be zealous, and (that) even (my) borderers may know (it), and (that this) zeal may be of long duration. And this matter will (be made by me to) progress, and will (be made to) progress even considerably ; it will (be made to) progress to one and a half, to at least one and a half. And this proclamation (was issued by me) on tour. Two hundred and fifty-six nights (had then been) spent on tour, — 256. And cause ye this matter to be engraved on rocks. And where there are stone pillars here (in my dominions), there also cause (it) to be engraved."[67][68] |
| Between first century BCE[69] and ninth century CE[70][71] | Bhāratavarṣa (realm of Bhārata)[72][73][74] | Vishnu Purana | "उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" |
| 100 CE or later | Bhāratam | Vishnu Purana | "उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" |
| c. 140 | Indoi, Indou | Arrian | "The boundary of the land of India towards the north is Mount Taurus. It is not still called Taurus in this land; but Taurus begins from the sea over against Pamphylia and Lycia and Cilicia; and reaches as far as the Eastern Ocean, running right across Asia. But the mountain has different names in different places; in one, Parapamisus, in another Hemodus; elsewhere it is called Imaon and perhaps has all sorts of other names; but the Macedonians who fought with Alexander called it Caucasus; another Caucasus, that is, not the Scythian; so that the story ran that Alexander came even to the far side of the Caucasus. The western part of India is bounded by the river Indus right down to the ocean, where the river runs out by two mouths, not joined as are the five mouths of the Ister; but like those of the Nile, by which the Egyptian delta is formed; thus also the Indian delta is formed by the river Indus, not less than the Egyptian; and this in the Indian tongue is called Pattala. Towards the south this ocean bounds the land of India, and eastward the sea itself is the boundary. The southern part near Pattala and the mouths of the Indus were surveyed by Alexander and Macedonians and many Greeks; as for the eastern part, Alexander did not traverse this beyond the river Hyphasis. A few historians have described the parts which are this side of the Ganges and where are the mouths of the Ganges and the city of Palimbothra, the greatest Indian city on the Ganges.(...) The Indian rivers are greater than any others in Asia; greatest are the Ganges and the Indus, whence the land gets its name; each of these is greater than the Nile of Egypt and the Scythian Ister, even were these put together; my own idea is that even the Acesines is greater than the Ister and the Nile, where the Acesines having taken in the Hydaspes, Hydraotes, and Hyphasis, runs into the Indus, so that its breadth there becomes thirty stades. Possibly also other greater rivers run through the land of India." |
| c. 650 | Five Indies | Xuanzang | "The circumference of 五印 (Modern Chinese:Wǔ Yìn, the Five Indies) is about 90,000li; on three sides it is bounded by a great sea; on the north it is backed by snowy mountains. It is wide at the north and narrow at the south; its figure is that of a half-moon." |
| c. 950 | Hind | Istakhri | "As for the land of the Hind it is bounded on the East by the Persian Sea (i.e. theIndian Ocean), on the W. and S. by the countries of Islām and on the N. by the Chinese Empire... The length of the land of the Hind from the government ofMokrān, the country ofMansūra and Bodha and the rest of Sind, till thou comest toKannauj and thence passest on toTibet, is about 4 months and its breadth from the Indian Ocean to the country of Kannūj about three months." |
| c. 1020 | Hind | Al-Biruni | "Hind is surrounded on the East by Chín and Máchín, on the West by Sind (Baluchistan) and Kábul and on the South by the Sea." |
| Hindustan | John Richardson,A Smaller Manual of Modern Geography. Physical and Political | "The boundaries of Hindustan are marked on every side by natural features; e.g., the Himalayas, on the N.; the Patkoi Mountains, Tippera Hills, &c., on the N.E.; the Sea, on the E., S., and W.; and the Hala, and Sulaiman Mountains, on the N.W."[75] |
Writers, both Indian and of other nationalities have written about a 'Greater India', which Indians have called either Akhand Bharat or Mahabharat.[76]
| Year | Name | Source | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 944 | Al-Hind | Al-Masudi Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawhar | "The Hindu nation (Al-Hind) extends from the mountains ofKhorasan and of es-Sind (Baluchistan) as far as et-Tubbet (Tibetan Plateau.)"[77] |
| 982–983 | Hindistān | Author Unknown Hudud al-'Alam | "East of it (Hindistān) are the countries of China and Tibet; South of it, the Great Sea; west of it, the river Mihran (Indus); north of it, the country of Shaknan belonging to Vakhan and some parts of Tibet."[78] |
| 1205 | Hind | Hasan Nizāmī | "The whole country of Hind, fromPeshawar in the north, to the Indian Ocean in the south; from Sehwan (on the west bank of the Indus) to the mountains on the east dividing from China." |
| 1298 | India the Greater India the Minor Middle India | Marco Polo | "India the Greater is that which extends from Maabar to Kesmacoran (i.e. fromCoromandel toMekran) and it contains 13 great kingdoms... India the Lesser extends from the Province of Champa to Mutfili (i.e. fromCochinchina to theKrishna Delta) and contains 8 great Kingdoms... Abash is a very great province and you must know that it constitutes the Middle India." |
| c. 1328 | India | Friar Jordanus Catalani | "What shall I say? The greatness of this India is beyond description. But let this much suffice concerning India the Greater and the Less. Of India Tertia I will say this, that I have not indeed seen its many marvels, not having been there..." |
| 1404 | India Minor | Ruy González de Clavijo | "And this same Thursday that the said Ambassadors arrived at this great River (the Oxus) they crossed to the other side. And the same day... came in the evening to a great city which is called Tenmit (Termez) and this used to belong to India Minor, but now belongs to the empire of Samarkand, having been conquered by Tamurbec." |
| 1590 | Hindustān | Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak Ain-i-Akbari | "Hindustan is described as enclosed on the east, west and south by the ocean, but Sarandip (Sri Lanka), Achin (Indonesia), Maluk (Indonesia) and Malagha (Malaysia) and a considerable number of islands are accounted for within its extent."[79] |
| 16th century | Indostān | Ignazio Danti | "The part of India beyond the Ganges extends in length as far as Cathay (China) and contains many provinces in which are found many notable things. As in the Kingdom of Kamul near Campichu (Cambodia)...And in Erguiul...In the Ava Mountains (Burma)..., and in the Salgatgu mountains...In Caindu...In the territory of Carajan..."[80] |
The official names as set down in article 1 of theIndian constitution are:
Hodu is the biblical name for India (Esther 1:1), which is derived from the Persian word Hindu, a name for the region around the Indus River
