How do we define India?
Your village may be bounded by a river, hill or road; India also has natural boundaries.
Today's India is a modern nation, but 500, 2,000 or 5,000 years ago its borders and names were different. The region is called the Indian Subcontinent. Its natural limits are the Himalayas in the north and the seas in the south.
In the figure : Natural boundaries of the Indian Subcontinent.
Rule 1: The natural boundaries of India — The Himalayas stand like a wall in the north, and parts of the Indian Ocean surround the south on three sides. Even in ancient times people knew these geographical limits well.
- Easy : The Himalayas lie to the north of India.
- Medium : An ancient Tamil poem praises a king's fame "from Cape Kumari to the great mountain in the north".
- Exam-type : Where is Kanyakumari? Answer: at the southern tip of India.
Rule 2: The name in the Constitution — The Constitution of India begins with the words "India, that is Bharat"; the Hindi version says "Bharat arthāt India".
- Easy : India has two official names: India and Bharat.
- Medium : The Constitution was first written in English.
- Exam-type : How does the Constitution refer to India? Answer: "India, that is Bharat".
The Indian Subcontinent is a geographical region; country borders have changed over time.
Thinking India's borders were always as today. They have changed.
India's natural frame: Himalayas to the north, sea on the other three sides. Memory clue : "H-S" (Himalayas and Seas).
Spot the difference
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Subcontinent | The natural landmass of India and neighbouring regions | Includes Bangladesh and Pakistan |
| Natural boundary | A limit set by mountain, river or sea | The Himalayas |
| Name in the Constitution | "India, that is Bharat" | In Hindi "Bhārat arthāt India" |
| Cape Kumari | Southern tip of India | Kanyakumari |
Practice questions
- 1What is the Indian Subcontinent?
- 2Which mountain lies on India's northern boundary?
- 3How is India's name written in the Constitution?
- 4Which water bodies surround India on three sides?
- 5Why was India 500 years ago not the same as today?
- 6What does the Tamil poem tell us about geographical awareness?
- 7Why do you think the Constitution gives two names?
- 8What is the difference between a natural and a political boundary?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The natural landmass of India and neighbouring regions.
- 2The Himalayas.
- 3"India, that is Bharat".
- 4Parts of the Indian Ocean: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the southern sea.
- 5Because there were no fixed national borders and states like today; borders kept shifting.
- 6Naming Kumari in the south and the great mountain in the north shows ancient Indians knew their geography well.
- 7Because India is the name used worldwide and Bharat is the name from our own tradition.
- 8A natural boundary is formed by mountains, rivers or seas; a political boundary is set by governments or agreements and can change.
Names of India: from our own texts
You may have one name at home and another at school; India too had different names at different times.
The Ṛig Veda, India's oldest text, calls the northwest Sapta Sindhava (the land of seven rivers). The Mahābhārata uses Bhāratavarṣha and Jambudvīpa; later Bhārata became the standard name.
In the figure : Names of India found in Indian texts.
Rule 1: From Sapta Sindhava to Bhāratavarṣha — "Sindhu" means the Indus river (or a river). Sapta Sindhava means land of seven rivers. The Mahābhārata names many regions such as Kāshmīra, Kurukṣhetra, Vanga, Prāgjyotiṣha, Kaccha and Kerala, covering the whole Subcontinent.
- Easy : Kaccha is today's Kutch (Gujarat).
- Medium : Vanga is part of Bengal and Prāgjyotiṣha is roughly today's Assam.
- Exam-type : What does Bhāratavarṣha mean? Answer: "country of the Bharatas"; Bharata is the name of a Vedic group in the Ṛig Veda.
Rule 2: Jambudvīpa and Bhārata — Jambudvīpa means the island of the jamun tree, a tree native to India. Emperor Ashoka (about 250 BCE) used this name for the whole of India in an inscription; it then included today's Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan. The Viṣhṇu Purāṇa describes Bhārata as the country north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains.
- Easy : Jambudvīpa takes its name from the jamun tree.
- Medium : "Himādri" in the north is the Himalayas and the sea in the south: India's natural boundary.
- Exam-type : Which name did Ashoka use in an inscription for the whole country? Answer: Jambudvīpa.
Today north India says "Bharat" and south India often says "Bharatam".
Thinking Bharat was a name given by foreigners. Bharat and Jambudvīpa were given by Indians.
Indian names: Sapta Sindhava → Bhāratavarṣha/Jambudvīpa → Bhārata. Memory clue : "S-B-J-B".
Spot the difference
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sapta Sindhava | Land of seven rivers in the Ṛig Veda | Northwest Subcontinent |
| Bhāratavarṣha | Country of the Bharatas; whole Subcontinent | Mahābhārata |
| Jambudvīpa | Island of the jamun tree; a name for India | Ashoka's inscription |
| Bhārata | Gradually the standard name | Viṣhṇu Purāṇa |
Practice questions
- 1What name does the Ṛig Veda give to the northwest?
- 2What does Bhāratavarṣha mean?
- 3What does Jambudvīpa mean?
- 4Which regions did Jambudvīpa include in Ashoka's time?
- 5How does the Viṣhṇu Purāṇa describe Bhārata?
- 6Name three regions in the Mahābhārata and their modern equivalents.
- 7Where does the name Bharat come from?
- 8Why might one country have many names?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Sapta Sindhava — the land of seven rivers.
- 2The country of the Bharatas.
- 3The island of the jamun tree.
- 4Today's India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan.
- 5The country north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains.
- 6Kāshmīra (Kashmir), Kaccha (Kutch), Kerala (Kerala); also Vanga (Bengal), Prāgjyotiṣha (Assam).
- 7From the Vedic group named Bharata in the Ṛig Veda, giving "Bhāratavarṣha", the country of the Bharatas.
- 8Different people, regions and periods named it for different reasons — a river, a ruler, a tree or its geography.
Names of India: given by foreigners
Your name may be spelt and pronounced slightly differently in English; in the same way foreigners shaped India's names from "Sindhu".
Foreign travellers and invaders mostly formed India's names from the river Sindhu. Persians said Hind/Hidu, Greeks Indoi/Indike, Chinese Yintu and Tianzhu; Hindustān first appeared in a Persian inscription some 1,800 years ago.
In the figure : Foreign names derived from Sindhu.
Rule 1: Persian and Greek names from Sindhu — In the 6th century BCE a Persian emperor won control of the Indus region. In their language "Sindhu" became "Hidu/Hind"; there the word was purely geographical, not religious. The Greeks made it "Indoi/Indike" because their alphabet had no "h".
- Easy : The name India is linked to the Sindhu.
- Medium : In ancient Persian "Hindu" was a geographical term.
- Exam-type : Why did Greeks say "Indoi"? Answer: their language lacked the letter "h", so the initial "h" dropped.
Rule 2: Chinese travellers and Hindustān — Chinese texts called India "Yintu" and "Tianzhu"; the second can mean "heavenly master", showing respect for the land of the Buddha. In the 7th century CE Xuanzang came from China, met scholars and took Buddhist texts home. "Hindustān" first appeared in a Persian inscription some 1,800 years ago.
- Easy : Xuanzang came from China to India.
- Medium : The Chinese respected India as the land of the Buddha.
- Exam-type : From which river did foreigners derive most names? Answer: the Sindhu (Indus).
Foreign travellers came for many reasons: trade, knowledge, religion, pilgrimage, adventure.
Thinking the ancient Persian word "Hindu" refers to a religion. It was only geographical.
Sindhu → Hind/Hindu (Persian) → Indoi (Greek) → India. Memory clue : "S-H-I-I" (Sindhu, Hind, Indoi, India).
What happened before Xuanzang's journey? Around 399 CE, some 230 years before Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk named Faxian set out on foot from China for India at about the age of 60. He spent around 10 years in India and wrote an account of his travels. In 629 CE Xuanzang followed; the Chinese emperor had then banned foreign travel, yet Xuanzang went.
What happened after Xuanzang's journey? In 645 CE he returned to the Chinese capital, Chang'an, with more than 600 Buddhist texts and was welcomed with honour; he declined the high government posts the emperor offered. In 646 CE, at the emperor's request, he completed his travel account, the "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions".
Spot the difference
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hind/Hidu | Persian form of Sindhu | Persian inscriptions |
| Indoi/Indike | Greek names | Greek writers' records |
| Yintu/Tianzhu | Chinese names | Land of the Buddha |
| Hindustān | Name in a Persian inscription | About 1,800 years ago |
Practice questions
- 1From which river did foreigners derive most of India's names?
- 2What did the Persians call India?
- 3What names did the Greeks give India?
- 4Name two Chinese names for India.
- 5Who was Xuanzang and why did he come to India?
- 6What does "Tianzhu" mean and what does it show?
- 7Which misunderstanding should be avoided about "Hindu" in ancient Persian?
- 8Why did people come to India from other lands in ancient times? Give four reasons.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The Sindhu (Indus).
- 2Hind, Hidu or Hindu.
- 3Indoi and Indike.
- 4Yintu and Tianzhu.
- 5A Chinese monk of the 7th century CE who came to meet Buddhist scholars and collect Buddhist texts.
- 6"Heavenly master"; Chinese respect for India as the land of the Buddha.
- 7It was not the name of a religion but a geographical term for the Indus region.
- 8Trade, knowledge and learning, religious pilgrimage, and invasion or conquest.