Class 6 · Social Science · Exploring Society
Chapter 5 🇮🇳
Chapter 5 🇮🇳
India, That Is Bharat
Detailed, colourful revision notes — everything you need before your test!
Chapter Contents
1. India Through Time
The India we know today is a modern nation with fixed borders. But 500, 2,000 or 5,000 years ago, this region — often called the "Indian Subcontinent" — had very different, shifting boundaries and many different names!
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Fig 1: Key moments in the naming of India, across thousands of years
2. How Indians Named India
The Ṛig Veda — India's most ancient text — called the northwest of the Subcontinent "Sapta Sindhava", meaning "land of the seven rivers". This word comes from "Sindhu" (the Indus River).
The Mahābhārata names many regions: Kāshmīra (Kashmir), Kurukṣhetra (Haryana), Vanga (Bengal), Kaccha (Kutch), Kerala, and more.
Two terms cover the whole Subcontinent:
"Bhāratavarṣha" — "country of the Bharatas" (a Vedic people) — became "Bhārata", the name of India in most Indian languages today.
"Jambudvīpa" — "island of the jamun tree" — also used by Emperor Ashoka (~250 BCE) in his inscriptions!
"Bhāratavarṣha" — "country of the Bharatas" (a Vedic people) — became "Bhārata", the name of India in most Indian languages today.
"Jambudvīpa" — "island of the jamun tree" — also used by Emperor Ashoka (~250 BCE) in his inscriptions!
3. India in the Constitution
The Constitution of India (in force since 1950) opens with the phrase: "India, that is Bharat..." — the Hindi version says "Bhārat arthāth India". Both ancient and modern names are officially honoured together!
4. How Foreigners Named India
Foreign visitors mostly derived India's name from the river Sindhu — watch how the word travelled and changed across languages:
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Fig 2: From "Sindhu" to "India" — and to "Yindu" in Chinese
In the 6th century BCE, the Persians called the Indus region "Hind"/"Hidu"/"Hindu" (from "Sindhu" — purely geographical, not about religion). The Greeks, borrowing from Persian, dropped the "h" sound (missing in Greek) to get "Indoi"/"Indike" — the root of "India".
The Chinese called India "Yindu" (also from Sindhu) — and also "Tianzhu" ("heavenly master"), showing their respect for India as the land of the Buddha.
The Chinese scholar Xuanzang travelled to India in the 7th century CE, studied here, collected Buddhist texts, and spent 17 years away from home before returning to translate them into Chinese!
5. The Word "Hindustan"
"Hindustan" was first used in a Persian inscription about 1,800 years ago. Later, most invaders of India adopted this term to describe the Subcontinent.
| Language | Name for India |
|---|---|
| Persian | Hind / Hindu |
| Greek | Indoi / Indike |
| Latin | India |
| Chinese | Yindu |
| English | India |
| French | Inde |
🎯 Quick Summary
- India has had many names across history, as its borders and identity shifted over time.
- Indian names: "Sapta Sindhava" (Rig Veda), "Bhāratavarṣha" / "Jambudvīpa" (Mahābhārata, Ashoka).
- The Constitution of India (1950) begins with "India, that is Bharat".
- Foreign names all trace back to the river "Sindhu": Persian "Hindu" → Greek "Indoi/Indike" → "India"; and separately, Chinese "Yindu".
- "Hindustan" first appeared in a Persian inscription ~1,800 years ago.
✏️ Notes by @edugrown — happy revising! 🍌