The

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, "India" and "Bharata". A third name, "Hindustān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

of the subcontinent when Indians speak among themselves. The usage of "Bhārat", "Hindustān", or "India" depends on the context and language of conversation. "Bhārat", the name for India in several Indian languages, is variously said to be derived from the name of either, King Dhashrath's son Bharat, Dushyanta's son Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata. At first the name Bhārat referred only to the western part of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

, but was later more broadly applied to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and the region of

Greater India Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...

, as was the name "India". Today it refers to the contemporary

located therein. The name "India" is originally derived from the name of the river Sindhu (

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

) and has been in use in Greek since

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

(5th century BCE). The term appeared in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

as early the 9th century and reemerged in Modern English in the 17th century.

India

The English term is from Greek Ἰνδική / Indikē (cf. Megasthenes' work Indica) or (), via Latin transliteration . The name derives ultimately from Sanskrit (), which was the name of the

as well as the lower Indus basin (modern

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, in Pakistan).: "''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." The

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

equivalent of was .

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

conquered Sindh in about 516 BCE, upon which the Persian equivalent was used for the province at the lower Indus basin.

Scylax of Caryanda Scylax of Caryanda ( el, Σκύλαξ ὁ Καρυανδεύς) was a Greek explorer and writer of the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE. His own writings are lost, though occasionally cited or quoted by later Greek and Roman authors. The peri ...

who explored the Indus river for the Persian emperor probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek. The terms () for the Indus river as well as "an Indian" are found in

's Geography. The loss of the aspirate /h/ was probably due to the dialects of Greek spoken in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. 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. By the time of Alexander, in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

denoted the region beyond the Indus. Alexander's companions were aware of at least North India up to the Ganges delta ( Gangaridai). Later, Megasthenes included in India the southern peninsula as well. Latin is used by

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

(2nd century AD). was known in

Old English language Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th cen ...

and was used in King Alfred's translation of Paulus Orosius. In

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

, the name was, under French influence, replaced by or , which entered Early Modern English as "". 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. Sanskrit ''indu'' "drop (of

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

)", also a term for the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected.

Hind / Hindustān

The words ( fa, هندو) and ( fa, هند) came from Indo-Aryan/

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

(the

or its

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

). The Achaemenid emperor

conquered the Indus valley in about 516 BCE, upon which the Achaemenid equivalent of , viz., "''Hindush''" (, ) was used for the lower Indus basin.: '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".': "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." The name was also known as far as the Achaemenid province of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

where it was written () on the Statue of Darius I, circa 500 BCE. In

middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

, probably from the first century CE, the suffix ( fa, ستان) was added, indicative of a country or region, forming the name . Thus, Sindh was referred to as ''Hindūstān'' in the Naqsh-e-Rustam inscription of

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

emperor Shapur I in 262 CE. Emperor Babur said, "On the East, the South, and the West it is bounded by the Great Ocean." ''Hind'' was notably adapted in the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

as the definitive form () 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 ( hi, जय हिन्द) or in (), the Standard Hindi name for the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, but otherwise is deemed archaic. Both the names were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century

Islamic conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

: the rulers in the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

and

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

periods called their Indian dominion, centered around

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, "Hindustan" (; ). In contemporary Persian and

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ur, , link=no, ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, In ...

, the term Hindustan has recently come to mean the Republic of India. The same is the case with Arabic, where is the name for the

. "Hindustan", as the term

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

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 The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Bhārata

Bhārata was selected as an alternative name of India in 1950. The name Bhārata or Bhārata-varṣa (Bharata-varsha) is said to be derived from the name of either Dushyanta's son Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata. Several

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

state that it is derived from the name of Bharata, the son of Rishabha. However, some Puranic passages state that it is derived from Bharata, which was another name for Rishabha's ancestor Manu. Some other Puranic passages refer to the Bharata people, who are described as the descendants of Dushyanta's son Bharata in the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

''. The earliest recorded use of Bhāratavarṣa 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

west of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. In the Sanskrit epic, the ''

'' (200 BCE to 300 CE), a larger region of North India is encompassed by the term, but much of the Deccan and

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

are still excluded. Bhārata has been used as a self-ascribed name by some people of the Indian subcontinent and the Republic of India. The designation ''Bhārata'' appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, ''Bhārata Gaṇarājya''. The name is derived from the ancient Hindu

, which refer to the land that comprises India as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' () and uses this term to distinguish it from other ''varṣa''s or continents. For example, the

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to pr ...

says "''he who conquers the whole of Bhāratavarṣa is celebrated as a samrāt'' (Vayu Purana 45, 86)." The Sanskrit word ''bhārata'' is a vṛddhi derivation of ''Bharata'', which was originally an epithet of

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

. 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 Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

). The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

''bhr'' 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 Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

name for India, is also a derivation of ''Bhārata''. According to the Puranas, this country is known as Bharatavarsha after Bharata, the son of Rishabha.He was a Kshatriya born in Ikshvaku Dynasty(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 ''Bharata Varsha''. Vishnu Purāna mentions: : : : Rishabha was born to Marudevi, Bharata was born to Rishabha, :Bharatavarsha (India) arose from Bharata and Sumati arose from Bharata. ::—Vishnu Purana (2,1,31) : : :This country is known as Bharatavarsha since the times the father entrusted the kingdom to the son Bharata and he himself went to the forest for ascetic practices. ::—Vishnu Purana (2,1,32) :' : : : "The country (''varṣam'') that lies north of the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and south of the snowy mountains is called ''Bhāratam''; there dwell the descendants of Bharata." ::—Vishnu Purana The Srimad Bhagavat Purana mentions(Canto 5, Chapter 4) - "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 Bhârata-varsha" The Bhāratas were also a

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

tribe mentioned in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

, notably participating in the

Battle of the Ten Kings The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...

. The realm of Bharata is known as ''Bharātavarṣa'' in the ''

'' (the core portion of which is itself known as ''Bhārata'') and later texts. According to the text, the term ''Bharata'' is from the king Bharata, who was the son of Dushyanta and

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

and the term ''varsa'' means a division of the earth or a continent.

Bharata Khanda Bharata Khanda (IAST : ''Bhāratakhaṇḍa'') is a term used in Hindu texts, including the Vedas, ''Mahabharata'', ''Ramayana'' and the Puranic, to describe the Indian subcontinent. The historical context of the Sanskrit epics are the Vedi ...

(or Bharata Ksetra) is a term used in

Hindu texts Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

, including the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, ''

'', ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' and the

Puranic Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, to describe the geographic region that encompassed the modern countries of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar—that is, ''South Asia'' at the term's furthest extent.

Jambudvīpa

Jambudvīpa () was used in ancient scriptures as a name of India before Bhārata became the official name. 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 and Phagyul, are Tibetan language, Tibetan names for India. Ancient Tibetan Buddhism, 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 Tibetan people, Tibetan lamas & authors also started to refer to India as the ''Phagyul'', short for ''Phags yul'', meaning ''the land of Indo-Aryan peoples, aryas'' i.e. land of noble, holy, enlightened & superior people who are the source of spiritual enlightenment.Toni Huber, 2008
The Holy Land Reborn: Pilgrimage and the Tibetan Reinvention
University of Chicago Press, p.74-80. Tibetan scholar Gendün Chöphel, 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 Kingdom, Kuru (modern Haryana) to

(modern Bihar).Gendün Chöphel, Gendun Chopel (translated by Thupten Jinpa and Donald S. Lopez Jr.), 2014
Grains of Gold: Tales of a Cosmopolitan Traveler
University of Chicago Press, p.73-74. 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: Pearl Fishery Coast, The Kingdom of Pearls''" and "''Gyagar: Hatti Gold Mines#History, The Kingdom of Golden Vases''".Jianbian Joacuo (translated by Liang Yanjun, Wu Chunxiao and Song Xin), 2019
降边嘉措著, ‎梁艳君, ‎吴春晓 A study of Tibetan epic Gesar
Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China. 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 Guru–shishya tradition, 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."''Thank you India
Central Tibetan Administration, published: Jan 2018, accessed: 19 Dec 2022.

Tianzhu

or (; originally pronounced ) is used since ancient times, the Japanese and some other Asian peoples, especially devout Buddhists, traditionally used "Tenjiku" and its related terms to designate India as their "heavenly centre", referring to the sacred origins of Buddhism in the

. Some historical East Asian name for India that comes from the Chinese transliteration of the Persian ''Hindu'', which itself is derived from the Sanskrit ''Sindhu'', the native name of the

. is one of several Chinese transliterations of Sindhu. () appears in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, Shiji and () is used in the Hou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han). () comes from the Kucha, Kuchean ''Indaka'', another transliteration of ''Hindu''. A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in the ''Hou Hanshu'' compiled by Fan Ye (historian), Fan Ye (398–445): Tianzhu was also referred to as (, 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 or "Five Inds". The term is also used in Japan, where it is pronounced as Tenjiku (). The foreign loanwords () and () are also used in some cases. The current Japanese name for modern India is the foreign loanword (). The current Chinese language, Chinese word for India is (), first used by the seventh-century monk and traveller Xuanzang. Similar to Hindu and Sindhu, the term 印 was used in classical Chinese much like the English ''Ind''.

Hodu

Hodu ( ''Hoddû'') is the Biblical Hebrew name for India mentioned in the ''Book of Esther'' part of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament. In Esther, 1:1 and 8.9, and Ahasuerus had been described as King ruling 127 provinces from ''Hodu'' (India) to ''Ethiopia''. The term seemingly derives from

''Sindhu'', "great river", i.e., the

, via

''Hiñd°u''. It is thus cognate with the term India.

Historical definitions of India

Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below.

Historical definitions of a Greater India

Writers throughout history, both Indian and of other nationalities have written about a 'Greater India', which Indians have called either Akhand Bharat or Mahabharata.P. 45 ''Calcutta Review'' By University of Calcutta, 1950

Republic of India

The official names as set down in article 1 of the Indian constitution are: : Hindi: (') : English language, English: ''India''

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *