Names of India
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[[Image:India 78.40398E 20.74980N.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The geographic region containing the [[Indian subcontinent]].]]
The name '''India''' may refer to either the region of [[Greater India]] (the [[Indian subcontinent]]), or to the contemporary [[Republic of India]] contained therein. The term is derived from the name of the Sindhu ([[Indus River]]) and has been in use in Greek since [[Herodotus]] (4th century BC). The term appears in [[Old English]] in the 9th century, and again in [[Modern English]] since the 17th century.
The Republic of India has three principal short names, in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant. All three originally designated a single entity comprising all the modern nations of the [[Indian subcontinent]]. These names are '''''India''''', '''''Bharat''''' (named after [[Bharata (emperor)|King Bharata]]) and '''[[Hindustan]]''' (The Land of Hindus). The first Article of the [[Constitution of India]] states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, ''India'' and ''Bharat'' are equally official short names for the Republic of India, while Hindustan is used by Muslim nationals and is mostly used in historical contexts (especially [[British Raj|British India]]). Indians commonly refer to their country as '''''Bharat''''', '''''Hindustan''''' or '''''India''''' depending on the context and language of conversation.
==India==
The English term is from Greek Ἰνδία, via Latin ''India''. Ἰνδία in [[Byzantine]] ([[Koine Greek]]) ethnography denotes the region beyond the ''[[Indus river|Ἰνδός]]'' river, since [[Herodotus]] (5th century BC) {{polytonic|ἡ Ἰνδική χώρη}} "Indian land", {{polytonic|Ἰνδός}} "an Indian", from [[Avestan]] ''Hinduš'' (referring to [[Sindh]], and listed as a conquered territory by [[Darius I]] in the [[Persepolis]] terrace inscription). The name is derived ultimately from ''Sindhu'', the [[Sanskrit]] name of the river, but also meaning "river" generically. Latin ''India'' is used by [[Lucian]] (2nd century).
The name '''India''' was known in [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]], and was used in [[Alfred the Great|King Alfred]]'s translation of [[Orosius]]. In [[Middle English]], the name was, under French influence, replaced by ''Ynde'' or ''Inde'', which entered [[Early Modern English]] as ''Indie''. The use of the name ''India'' dates from the 17th century onwards, and may be due to the influence of Latin, or Spanish or Portuguese. <ref>India ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd edition: 1989.</ref>
Sanskrit ''[[:wikt:indu|indu]]'' "drop (of [[Soma]])", also a term for the [[Moon]], is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected.
Listed by, among others, Colonel James Todd in his ''Annals of Rajputana'', he describes the ancient India under control of tribes claiming descent from the Moon, or "Indu", (referring to [[Chandravanshi|Chandravanshi Rajputs]]), and their influence in Trans-Indian regions where they referred to the land as Industhan.
==Bharat==
The name Bhārat<ref>Article 1 of the English version of the [[Constitution of India]]: "India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States."</ref> is used for the Republic of India, derived from ''Bhārata'' in the official Sanskrit name of the country, ''{{Unicode|Bhārata Gaṇarājya}}''. The form ''Bharata'' is used in several other Indian languages.
The Sanskrit word ''bhārata'' is a [[vrddhi]] 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 [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''bhr'' is cognate with the English verb ''to bear'' and Latin ''ferō''.
This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".
The [[Bhāratas]] were Indians mentioned in the [[Rigveda]], notably participating in the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]].
The term ''Bhārata'' as a name for India as a whole is derived from the name of [[Bharata (emperor)|Bharata]] son of [[Dushyanta]], a legendary ruler mentioned in the ''[[Mahabhārata]]'' (the core portion of which is itself known as ''Bhārata''). The realm of Bharata is known as ''{{Unicode|Bharātavarṣa}}'' in the ''Mahabhārata'' and later texts. The term ''varṣa'' means a division of the earth, or a continent. [http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/]
From: Vishnu Purana (2.3.1)[http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/visnup_u.htm][http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/vishnu_purana.pdf]
:''{{IAST|uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam
: varṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ }}''
:उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
:वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततीः ।।
: "The country (''var{{Unicode|ṣ}}am'') that lies north of the [[samudra|ocean]] and south of the snowy mountains is called ''Bhāratam''; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
The term in Classical [[Sanskrit literature]] is taken to comprise the territory of the contemporary [[Republic of India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bangladesh]], as well as portions of eastern [[Afghanistan]]. This corresponds to the approximate extent of the historical [[Maurya Empire]] under emperors [[Chandragupta Maurya]] and [[Ashoka|Ashoka the Great]] (4th to 3rd centuries BC). Later political entities unifying approximately the same region are the [[Mughal Empire]] (17th century), the [[Maratha Empire]] (18th century) , and the [[British Raj]] (19th to 20th centuries).
''[[Akhanda Bharata]]'' ("undivided Bharat") is an [[irredentist]] term of [[Hindu nationalism]] calling for a re-unification of the region under the predominance of [[Dharmic]] culture.
==Hindustan and Hind==
{{Main|Hindustan}}
The name ''Hind'' is derived from the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] equivalent of [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] ''[[Sindh]]''. The [[Avestan]] ''-stān'' means country or land (cognate to Sanskrit ''sthāna'' "place, land").
India was called ''Hindustan'' in [[Persian language|Persian]] although the term ''Hind'' is in current use. ''al-Hind'' {{lang|ar|الهند}} is the term in the [[Arabic language]] (e.g. in the 11th century ''[[Tarikh Al-Hind]]'' "history of India"). It also occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phrase ''Jai Hind''.
The terms ''Hind'' and ''Hindustān'' were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century [[Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic conquests]]: the rulers in the [[Sultanate]] and [[Mughal]] periods called their Indian dominion, centred around [[Delhi]], Hindustan. [[-stan]] is a Persian suffix meaning "home of/place of".
''Hindustān'', as is 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 northern region of India between the [[Indus]] and [[Brahmaputra]] rivers and between the [[Himalayas]] and the [[Vindhyas]] in particular, hence the term [[Hindustani]] for the Hindi-Urdu language.
''Hindustan'' was in use synonymously with ''India'' during the [[British Raj]].
''Hind'' ({{lang-hi|हिन्द}}) remains in use in Hindi-Urdu. In contemporary [[Persian language]], the term Hindustan has come to mean the Indian subcontinent, and the modern Indian Union is called ''Hind''. The same is the case with [[Arabic language]], where ''al-Hind'' is the name of the [[Republic of India]].
==Aryadesa==
In a few Hindu texts such as the Manu Smriti and a few early Buddhist texts, India is known as 'Aryadesh.' India is mentioned as [[Aryavarta|Aryaavarta]] in the Manu Smriti. So '[[Arya]]' is used for members of the [[Arya Dharma]] (now called [[Hinduism|Hindu Dharma]]) and 'Aryaa' is a designation for the [[Aryan]] tribe.
Aryadesa (or Aryadesha) or Arya Nadu (or Ariya Nadu) are names that have been used by scholars to describe India.
Aryadesh was used by the Chinese traveler to India, I-Tsing who used the term to refer to all of India.<ref> P. 437 ''Life and Culture in Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to 1000 A.D.'' By Bhanwarlal Nathuram Luniya </ref>
Tamil poet Bharathi called India ''Arya Nadu'' in his poetry.<ref> P. 88 ''A Comparative Study of Bharati and Vallathol'' By Cir̲pi </ref> Arya means ''noble'' and "desa" or "nadu" mean ''land''.
==Some historical definitions==
Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below <ref>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson Hobson Jobson Dictionary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2
|- bgcolor=#cccccc
! Year !! Name !! Source !! Definition
|-
| c. 486 BC. || Hidush || [[Naksh-i-Rustam]] || "Says [[Darius]] the King: By the grace of [[Ormazd]] these (are) the countries which I have acquired besides Persia. I have established my power over them. They have brought tribute to me. That which has been said to them by me they have done. They have obeyed my law. Medea . . . Arachotia (Harauvatish), Sattagydia (Thatagush), Gandaria (Gadára), India (Hidush). . . ."
|-
| c. 440 BC|| 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. 300 BC|| 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 from [[Scythia]], 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 the [[Nile]]."
|-
| 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 together 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. 590. || Hind|| Istakhri|| "As for the land of the Hind it is bounded on the East by the Persian Sea (i.e. the [[Indian 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 of [[Makran|Mokrān]], the country of [[Mansura (Brahmanabad)|Mansūra]] and Bodha and the rest of [[Sind]], till thou comest to [[Kannauj|Kannūj]] and thence passest on to [[Tibet]], is about 4 months, and its breadth from the Indian Ocean to the country of Kannūj about three months."
|-
| c. 650 || Five Indies || [[Xuanzang]] || "The circumference of the Five Indies is about 90,000 li; 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. 944.|| Hind, Sind || Masudi || "For the nonce let us confine ourselves to summary notices concerning the kings of Sind and Hind. The language of Sind is different from that of Hind. . . ."
|-
| c. 1020|| Hind || [[Al Biruni|Al-Birūnī]]|| "Hind is surrounded on the East by Chín and Máchín, on the West by Sind and Kábul, and on the South by the Sea."-
|-
|1205|| Hind || Hasan Nizāmī|| "The whole country of Hind, from [[Peshawar]] 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 <br> India the Minor <br> Middle India|| [[Marco Polo]] || "India the Greater is that which extends from Maabar to Kesmacoran (i.e. from [[Coromandel]] to [[Makran|Mekran]]), and it contains 13 great kingdoms. . . . India the Lesser extends from the Province of Champa to Mutfili (i.e. from [[Cochin]]-[[China]] to the Kistna Delta), and contains 8 great Kingdoms. . . . Abash ([[Abyssinia]]) is a very great province, and you must know that it constitutes the Middle India."
|-
|c. 1328. || India || Friar Jordanus || "What shall I say? The great- ness 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 || 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."
|}
==Republic of India==
===Official names===
{{main|Official names of India}}
The official names as set down in article 1 of the [[Indian constitution]] are:
:[[English language|English]]: ''India; Bharat''
:[[Hindi]]: {{lang|hi|भारत}} (''{{lang|hi-Latn|Bhārat}}'')
=== Other names of India ===
==== Jambudvipa ====
There is a story in Hindu mythology and in Jain and Buddhist texts as well that describe [[Jambudvipa]] being one of the seven islands/continents of the world. It is possible that perhaps "''island''" is used to refer to India because India in one time was a separate Indian Plate. Perhaps the phrase is used in the manner that the land of India is still an island in between the [[Indus River]] and the rest of the Asian Plate. Jambudvipa is also addressed in Buddhist mythology and in some he is addresses as the ruler over entire Jambudvipa and in one, "''He reigned over a quarter of the land of Jambudvipa...''"<ref> [http://www.buddhistinformation.com/the_lotus_sutra_study_center/two_kinds_of_faith.htm Two Kinds of Faith] </ref>
==== [[Tenjiku]] ====
In Japan, [[Tenjiku]] was commonly used in reference to India. "Tian", the root word for the Japanese kanji means, "heaven,"<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenjiku</ref> while, "jiku," means: 'the center of'<ref>http://www.schnormeiergardens.org/Meadow_Garden/Meadow_Garden.htm</ref>, or 'primary concentration of', in Japanese. The word is known to mean: 'The ultimate heaven.'
==See also==
*[[History of India]]
*[[List of etymologies of country subdivision names#India|Origin of the names of Indian states]]
*[[Aryavarta|Āryavarta]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{wiktionary|India}}
*[http://www.svabhinava.org/HinduCivilization/DileepKaranth/UnityofIndia.htm The Unity of India] Dileep Karanth's article about the terms "Hindu" and "India"
*[http://www.voi.org/books/htemples2/app3.htm Meaning of the word Hindu]
*[http://www.sacw.net/India_History/dnj_Jan06.pdf Looking for a Hindu Identity]
{{India}}
[[Category:Country name etymology|India]]
[[Category:History of India|Name]]
[[Category:Indian culture|Name]]
[[Category:Cultural history of India]]
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