View source for Names for India

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{{Use Indian English|date=April 2020}}
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[[File:India 78.40398E 20.74980N.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Relief map of the [[Indian subcontinent]], centred on the [[India|Republic of India]]]]
The [[India|Republic of India]] is principally known by two official short names: '''India''' and '''Bharat'''.  An unofficial third name is '''Hindustan''', which is widely used throughout [[North India]]. Although these names now refer to the modern country in most contexts, they historically denoted the broader [[Indian subcontinent]].

"India" ({{Langx|el|Ἰνδία}}) is a name derived from the [[Indus River]] and remains the country's common name in the [[Western world]], having been used by the [[Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations|ancient Greeks]] to refer to the lands east of [[Iranian plateau|Persia]] and south of the [[Himalayas]]. This name had appeared in [[Old English]] by the 9th century and re-emerged in [[Modern English]] in the 17th century.

"Bharat" ({{Langx|hi|भारत}}) is the shortened form of the name "Bhāratavarṣa" in the [[Sanskrit|Sanskrit language]] and grew in popularity during the 19th century. It originates from the [[Vedic period]] and is rooted in the [[Dharmic religions]], particularly [[Hinduism]]. The long-form Sanskrit name is derived from the [[Bharatas (Vedic tribe)|Bharata tribe]], who are mentioned in the [[Rigveda]] as one of the principal peoples of [[Āryāvarta|Aryavarta]], which roughly corresponds with the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]. The initial application of the name referred only to the western part of the [[Ganges Basin|Gangetic Valley]].<ref name="Jha">[[D. N. Jha|Dwijendra Narayan Jha]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=dqDgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 ''Rethinking Hindu Identity''] (Routledge: 2014), p.11</ref><ref name="Upinder Singh">[[Upinder Singh]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=t6A4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA253 ''Political Violence in Ancient India''], p.253</ref> In 1949, the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] adopted "Bharat" (alongside "India") as one of the country's two official short names.

"Hindustan" ({{Langx|fa|هندوستان|rtl=yes}}) is also a name derived from the Indus River, combining "[[Hindus#Etymology|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 in [[Old Persian]] as early as the 6th century BCE, when it was used to refer to the lands east of the [[Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley|Persian 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 the [[Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent]]. While it is no longer used in an official capacity, "Hindustan" is still a common name for India in the [[Hindustani language]].

== India ==
{{Further|India (Herodotus)}}
[[File:Herodotus world map-en.svg|thumb|India was the lower [[Indus River|Indus]] basin in [[Herodotus]]'s view of the world.]]

The English term is from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''Indikē'' (cf. Megasthenes' work [[Indica (Megasthenes)|Indica]]) or {{transliteration|grc|Indía}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|Ἰνδία}}), via Latin transliteration {{lang|la|India}}.<ref>{{citation |last=Harris |first=J. |title=Indography: Writing the "Indian" in Early Modern England |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUtrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT8 |year=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-09076-8 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Mukherjee |first=Bratindra Nath |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |title=Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTGKAAAAMAAJ |date=2001 |publisher=Regency Publications |isbn=978-81-87498-26-1 |page=3}}: "Apparently the same territory was referred to as Hi(n)du(sh) in the Naqsh‐i‐Rustam inscription of Darius I as one of the countries in his empire. The terms Hindu and India ('Indoi) indicate an original indigenous expression like Sindhu. The name Sindhu could have been pronounced by the Persians as Hindu (replacing ''s'' by ''h'' and ''dh'' by ''d'') and the Greeks would have transformed the latter as Indo‐ (Indoi, Latin Indica, India) with ''h'' dropped..."</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/203/etymology-of-the-name-india/|title=Etymology of the Name India|newspaper=World History Encyclopedia|date=13 January 2011}}</ref>

The name derives from [[Sanskrit]] {{transliteration|sa|Sindhu}}, which was the name of the [[Indus River]] as well as the lower Indus basin (modern [[Sindh]], in Pakistan).<ref>{{citation |last=Mukherjee |first=Bratindra Nath |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |title=Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTGKAAAAMAAJ |date=2001 |publisher=Regency Publications |isbn=978-81-87498-26-1 |page=3}}: "In early Indian sources Sindhu denoted the mighty Indus river and also a territory on the lower Indus."</ref><ref name="Eggermont Sindhu">{{harvp|Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan|1975|p=145}}: "''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."</ref>

[[Franklin Southworth|Southworth]] suggests that the name ''Sindhu'' is in turn derived from ''Cintu'', a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] word for [[date palm]], a tree commonly found in Sindh.<ref>Southworth, Franklin. [https://www.academia.edu/7336735/The_Reconstruction_of_Prehistoric_South_Asian_Language_Contact The Reconstruction of Prehistoric South Asian Language Contact] (1990) p. 228</ref><ref>Burrow, T. [https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/burrow_query.py?qs=īntu&searchhws=yes Dravidian Etymology Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301115537/https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/burrow_query.py?qs=%C4%ABntu&searchhws=yes |date=1 March 2021 }} p. 227</ref>

The [[Old Persian]] equivalent of {{transliteration|sa|Síndhu}} was {{transliteration|peo|Hindu}}.<ref>{{citation |last=Thieme |first=P. |chapter=Sanskrit ''sindu-/Sindhu-'' and Old Iranian ''hindu-/Hindu-'' |editor1=Mary Boyce |editor2=Ilya Gershevitch |title=W. B. Henning memorial volume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3UBAAAAMAAJ |year=1970 |publisher=Lund Humphries |pages=447–450 |isbn=9780853312550 }}</ref> [[Darius I]] conquered Sindh in about 516 BCE, upon which the Persian equivalent {{transliteration|peo|Hinduš}} was used for the province at the lower Indus basin.<ref name="Eggermont Hindush"/><ref name="Dandamaev Hindush"/> [[Scylax of Caryanda]] who explored the Indus river for the Persian emperor probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek.<ref>{{citation |last1=Mouton |first1=Alice |last2=Rutherford |first2=Ian |last3=Yakubovich |first3=Ilya |title=Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_B8VOPZlYIC&pg=PA450 |year=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-25341-4 |ref={{sfnref|Mouton, Rutherford & Yakubovich, Luwian Identities|2013}}}}</ref> The terms {{transliteration|grc|Indos}} for the Indus river as well as "an Indian" are found in [[Herodotus]]'s Geography.<ref>{{citation |title=Herodotus, with an English Translation by A. D. Godley, Volume II |publisher=William Heinemann |location=London |year=1921 |url=https://archive.org/details/herodotuswitheng02herouoft |at=III.97–99}}</ref> The loss of the [[aspirated consonant|aspirate]] /h/ was probably due to the dialects of Greek spoken in [[Asia Minor]].<ref>{{citation |last=Horrocks |first=Geoffrey |title=Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwHPKIUXKGsC |date=2009 |edition=Second |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1892-0 |pages=27–28}}: "Note finally that the letter H/η was originally used to mark word-initial aspiration... Since such aspiration was lost very early in the eastern Ionic-speaking area, the letter was recycled, being used first to denote the new, very open, long e-vowel [æ:] ... and then to represent the inherited long e-vowel [ε:] too, once these two sounds had merged. The use of H to represent open long e-vowels spread quite early to the central Ionic-speaking area and also to the Doric-speaking islands of the southern Aegean, where it doubled up both as the marker of aspiration and as a symbol for open long e-vowels."</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Panayotou |first=A. |chapter=Ionic and Attic |editor1=A.-F. Christidis |title=A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-83307-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJbd0m6YaFkC |year=2007 |page=410}}: "The early loss of aspiration is mainly a characteristic of Asia Minor (and also of the Aeolic and Doric of Asia Minor)...In Attica, however (and in some cases in Euboea, its colonies, and in the Ionic-speaking islands of the Aegean), the aspiration survived until later... During the second half of the fifth century BC, however, orthographic variation perhaps indicates that 'a change in the phonetic quality of [h] was taking place' too."</ref> 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.<ref>{{citation |last=Arora |first=Udai Prakash |chapter=Ideas of India in Ancient Greek Literature |editor=Irfan Habib |title=India — Studies in the History of an Idea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyhuAAAAMAAJ |year=2005 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |isbn=978-81-215-1152-0 |page=47}}: "The term 'Indians' was used by [[Herodotus]] as a collective name for all the peoples living east of Persia. This was also a significant development over [[Hecataeus of the Sindi|Hekataios]], who had used this term in a strict sense for the groups dwelling in Sindh only."</ref>

By the time of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], {{transliteration|grc|Indía}} in [[Koine Greek]] denoted the region beyond the Indus. Alexander's companions were aware of at least India up to the Ganges delta ([[Gangaridai]]).<ref>{{harvp|Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan|1975|pp=13-14}}</ref><ref name=Mukherjee/> Later, [[Megasthenes]] included in India the southern peninsula as well.<ref name=Mukherjee>{{citation |last=Mukherjee |first=Bratindra Nath |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |title=Nationhood and Statehood in India: A historical survey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTGKAAAAMAAJ |date=2001 |publisher=Regency Publications |isbn=978-81-87498-26-1 |pages=3–4}}</ref>

Latin {{lang|la|India}} is used by [[Lucian]] (2nd century CE).{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} {{lang|ang|India}} was known in [[Old English language]] and was used in [[Alfred the Great|King Alfred]]'s translation of [[Paulus Orosius]]. In [[Middle English]], the name was, under French influence, replaced by {{lang|enm|Ynde}} or {{lang|enm|Inde}}, which entered [[Early Modern English]] as "{{lang|en-emodeng|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|date=November 2018}}

Sanskrit [[wikt:इन्दु|''indu'']] "drop (of [[Soma (drink)|Soma]])", also a term for the [[Moon]], is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

== Indies ==
The term "Indies" refers to the land  east of [[river 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 as [[West Indies]]. Thus West Indies means India in the western hemisphere. [[Indonesia]]'s former name is [[Dutch East Indies]] which means India in southeast Asia (this should not to be confused with [[Dutch India]], which referred to the trading posts of [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] within the Indian subcontinent).

== Bharat ==
Bharat is another name of India, as set down in [[Part I of the Constitution of India|Article 1]] of the Constitution, adopted in 1950, which states in English: "India, that is Bharat,..."<ref name="Clementin-Ojha">{{cite journal |last=Clémentin-Ojha |first=Catherine |year=2014 |title='India, that is Bharat…': One Country, Two Names |url=https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3717 |journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |volume=10}}</ref> 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.<ref>Article 1 of the English version of the [[Constitution of India]]: "India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States."</ref>

Bharat is derived from the name of the [[Vedic period|Vedic]] community [[Bharatas (Vedic tribe)|Bharatas]], who are mentioned in the [[Rigveda]] as one of the original community of the [[Āryāvarta]] and notably participating in the [[Battle of the Ten Kings]].

The designation ''Bharat'' appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, ''Bhāratagaṇarājya''. The name is derived from the ancient Hindu [[Puranas]], which refer to the land that comprises India as ''Bhāratavarṣa'' and uses this term to distinguish it from other ''varṣa''s or continents.<ref name="pargiter">{{Citation |last=Pargiter |first=F. F. |title=Ancient Indian Historical Tradition |page=131 |year=1922 |place=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass}}</ref> For example, the [[Vayu Purana]] says "''he who conquers the whole of Bhāratavarṣa is celebrated as a samrāṭa'' (Vayu Puran 45, 86)."<ref name="pargiter p.40">{{Citation |last=Pargiter |first=F. F. |title=Ancient Indian Historical Tradition |pages=ff. 8 p. 40 |year=1922 |place=Delhi |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass}}</ref>

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". ''Barato'', the [[Esperanto]] name for India, is also a derivation of ''Bhārata''.

This realm of Bharat, which has been referred to as Bhāratavarṣa in puranas - after [[Bharata (Jainism)|Bharata]], the son of [[Rishabhanatha|Rishabha]]. He is described to be a [[Kshatriya]] born in the [[Solar dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jain |first=Champat Rai |title=The Practical Dharma |publication-date=1929 |pages=92 |language=English}}</ref> This has been mentioned in [[Vishnu Purana]] (2,1,31), Vayu Puran (33,52), [[Linga Purana]] (1,47,23), [[Brahmanda Purana]] (14,5,62), [[Agni Purana]] (107,11–12), [[Skanda Purana|Skand Purana]] (37,57) and [[Markandeya Purana|Markanday Purana]] (50,41), all using the designation ''Bhāratavarṣa''.

The Vishnu Purana mentions:
:{{lang|sa|Uttaraṃ yat samudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam.}}
:{{lang|sa|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 of [[Bharata (Jainism)|Bharata]].
::—Vishnu Purana (2,3,1)
The Bhagavat Puran mentions (Canto 5, Chapter 4)<ref>{{cite web |title=S'RÎMAD BHÂGAVATAM : "The Story of the Fortunate One" : Third revised version 2012 |url=https://archive.org/details/SrimadBhagavatamEnglish-Sanskrit |access-date=2017-08-10 |website=Ia801005.us.archive.org}}</ref> - "He ([[Rishabhanatha|Rishabha]]) begot a hundred sons that were exactly like him... He ([[Bharata (Jainism)|Bharata]]) had the best qualities and it was because of him that this land by the people is called Bhāratavarṣa <ref>[https://www.bharatvarshayatra.com/ Bhāratavarṣa], Bharatvarsha Yatra, Explore the Soul of Bharat</ref>"

[[Bharat Khand]] (or Bhārat Kṣētra<ref name="dikshit">{{Cite book |last=Dikshitar |first=Ramachandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KP_DTtd6kJEC&q=%22Bharata+Khanda%22&pg=PA230 |title=The Gupta Polity |date=1993-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=9788120810242}}</ref>) is a term used in some of the [[Hindu texts]].

In the Sanskrit epic, the ''[[Mahabharat]]'' (200 BCE to 300 CE), a larger region of Indosphere  is encompassed by the term Bharat.<ref>D.N. Jha (2014), p.11</ref> Some other Puranic passages refer to the same Bhārata people, who are described as the descendants of [[Dushyanta]]'s son [[Bharata (Mahabharata)|Bharata]] in the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dineschandra Sircar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC&pg=PA3 |title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1971 |isbn=978-81-208-0690-0 |page=3}}</ref>

The use of Bharat often has political overtones, appealing to a certain cultural conception of India.<ref>{{cite news |date=18 January 2024 |title=How Hindu is India's foreign policy? |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/01/18/how-hindu-is-indias-foreign-policy |access-date=24 January 2024 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> In 2023, [[President of India|President]] [[Droupadi Murmu]] and [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]] used the Bharat name in connection with a [[G20]] gathering, which caused speculation on a name-change for the country.<ref name="CNN 20 September 2023">{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Akanksha |date=20 September 2023 |title=Opinion: It's not just about its colonial past. Here's what India's possible name change is all about |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/20/opinions/india-name-change-modi-parliament-special-session-singh/index.html |access-date=21 September 2023 |work=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=SHEIKH SAALIQ|agency=Associated Press |date=2023-09-08 |title='India' or 'Bharat'? A G-20 dinner invite sparks rumors of a national rebrand |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-09-08/india-bharat-rumors-nation-name-change |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Such a change would need a constitutional amendment, meaning two-thirds of the vote in each of the two houses of parliament,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Will India change its name to Bharat? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/09/15/will-india-change-its-name-to-bharat |access-date=2024-07-02 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> and an official notice to the UN, advising how to write the name in the UN's [[Official languages of the United Nations|six official languages]].<ref name="BBC 28 November 2023">{{cite news |last1=Weiner |first1=Eric |title=Why do countries change their name? |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231120-why-do-countries-change-name |access-date=3 October 2024 |work=BBC |date=28 November 2023}}</ref>

=== Epigraphical references ===
The earliest recorded use of Bhārata-varṣa ({{Literal translation|Bharat mainland}}) 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 [[Ganges]] west of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]]. The inscription clearly mentions Bharat was named after Bharata, the son of first Jain tirthankar [[Rishabhanatha]].<ref name="Jha" /><ref name="Upinder Singh" />

== Hindustan / Hind ==
{{Main|Hindustan}}
[[File:Darius I statue India.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|<div><hiero>O4-N35-D46-V4-M17-M17</hiero></div><small>''H-n-d-w[[Aleph|Ꜣ]]-y''</small><br>"India" written in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] on the [[Egyptian statue of Darius the Great|Statue of Darius I]], circa 500 BCE.]]
<div>The words {{transliteration|fa|Hindū}} ({{langx|fa|هندو}}) and {{transliteration|fa|Hind}} ({{langx|fa|هند}}) came from [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]/[[Sanskrit]] {{transliteration|sa|Sindhu}} (the [[Indus River]] or its [[Sindh|region]]). The [[Achaemenid]] emperor [[Darius I]] conquered [[Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley|the Indus valley]] in about 516 BCE, upon which the Achaemenid equivalent of {{transliteration|sa|Sindhu}}, viz., "''Hindush''" ({{wikt-lang|peo|𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁}}, {{transliteration|peo|H-i-du-u-š}}) was used for the lower Indus basin.<ref name="Eggermont Hindush">{{harvp|Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan|1975}}: '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".'</ref><ref name="Dandamaev Hindush">{{citation |last=Dandamaev |first=M. A. |title=A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ms30qA6nyMsC&pg=PA147 |year=1989 |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-09172-6 |page=147}}: "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."</ref> The name was also known as far as the Achaemenid province of [[Egypt]] where it was written <span style="display:inline-block"><hiero>O4-N35-D46-V4-M17-M17</hiero></span> ({{transliteration|egy|H-n-d-wꜣ-y}}) on the [[:Commons:Category:Statue of Darius I|Statue of Darius I]], circa 500 BCE.<ref name=NMI>[[National Museum of Iran]] [[:File:Darius I statue list of subject countries.jpg|notice]]</ref><ref name=EI>{{cite book |last1=Yar-Shater |first1=Ehsan |title=Encyclopaedia Iranica |date=1982 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |isbn=9780933273955 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBQZAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Susa, Statue of Darius – Livius |url=http://www.livius.org/articles/place/susa/susa-photos/susa-statue-of-darius/ |website=www.livius.org |language=en}}</ref></div>

{{multiple image
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| image1            = Umayyad Caliphate coinage temp Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik al-Hind (possibly Multan) mint. Dated AH 97 (AD 715-6).jpg
| image2            = India in Abd al-Malik al-Hind coin 715 CE.jpg
| footer            = The name "[[al-Hind]]" (here {{lang|ar|[[:ary:بالهند|بالهند]]}}  ''Bil'Hind'', "In India") on an Umayyad coin minted in India, from the time of the first [[Caliphal province of Sind|Governor of Sindh]] [[Muhammad ibn Qasim]] in 715 CE.{{efn|[[:ary:بالهند|بالهند]] ''Bil'Hind'' appears upside-down at 6h (bottom) on the circular legend of the obverse side of the coin. The complete circular legend is "In the name of Allah, struck this dirham in [[al-Hind]] in the year seven and ninety."}}
}}
In [[middle Persian]], probably from the first century CE, the suffix {{transliteration|fa|-stān}} ({{langx|fa|ستان}}) was added, indicative of a country or region, forming the  name {{transliteration|fa|Hindūstān}}.<ref>{{citation |first=Irfan |last=Habib |author-link=Irfan Habib |chapter=Hindi/Hindwī in Medieval Times |editor=Aniruddha Ray |title=The Varied Facets of History: Essays in Honour of Aniruddha Ray |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qSbjBTDC-UC&pg=PA105 |year=2011 |publisher=Primus Books |isbn=978-93-80607-16-0 |pages=105}}</ref> Thus, Sindh was referred to as ''Hindustān'' in the Naqsh-e-Rustam inscription of [[Sassanid]] emperor [[Shapur I]] in {{circa}} 262 CE.<ref>{{citation |last=Mukherjee |first=Bratindra Nath |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |title=The Foreign Names of the Indian Subcontinent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBFuAAAAMAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Place Names Society of India |page=46}}: "The term Hindustan, which in the Naqsh-i-Rustam inscription of Shapur I denoted India on the lower Indus, and which later gradually began to denote more or less the whole of the subcontinent..."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Ray & Chattopadhyaya, A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization|2000|p=553}}: "Among the countries that fell before Shapur I the area in question appears as ''Hndstn'', ''India'' and ''Hindy'' respectively in the three languages mentioned above [Middle Persian, Greek and Parthian]."</ref>

Emperor Babur of the Mughal Empire said, "On the East, the South, and the West it is bounded by the Great Ocean."<ref>P. 310 ''Memoirs of Zahir-ad-Din Muhammad Babur: Emperor of Hindustan'' By [[Babur]] (Emperor of Hindustan)</ref> ''Hind'' was notably adapted in the [[Arabic language]] as the definitive form {{transliteration|ar|Al-Hind}} ({{lang|ar|الهند}}) for India, for example, in the 11th-century ''Tarikh Al-Hind'' ('History of India'). It occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phrase {{lang|hi|[[Jai Hind]]}} ({{langx|hi|जय हिन्द}}) or in {{transliteration|hi|Hind Mahāsāgar}} ({{lang|hi|हिन्द महासागर}}), the Standard Hindi name for the [[Indian Ocean]].

Both the names were current in [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic]], and from that into northern Indian languages, from the 11th century [[Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic conquests]]: the rulers in the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] periods called their Indian dominion, centered around [[Delhi]], "Hindustan". In contemporary Persian and [[Hindi]]-[[Urdu]], the term Hindustan has recently come to mean the Republic of India. The same is the case with Arabic, where {{transliteration|ar|al-Hind}} is the name for the [[Republic of India]].

"Hindustan", as 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 Subcontinent. "Hindustan" was in use simultaneously with "India" during the [[British rule|British era]].

==Jambudvīpa ==
[[File:Jambudiipasi.jpg|thumb|The name ''Jambudīpasi'' for "India" ([[Brahmi script]]) in the Sahasram [[Minor Rock Edict]] of [[Ashoka]], circa 250 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |title=Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch |date=1925 |pages=169–171 |url=https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n345 |language=sa}}</ref>]]

[[Jambudvīpa]] ({{Langx|sa|जम्बुद्वीपम्|lit=berry island|translit=Jambu-dvīpam}}) was used in ancient scriptures as a name of India before the term ''Bhārat'' became widespread. It might be an indirect reference to the [[Insular India]].{{clarification needed|date=December 2024}} The derivative ''Jambu Dwipa'' was the historical term for India in many [[Southeast Asia]]n 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 Emperor [[Ashoka]] in his inscriptions to denote his realm.

== Gyagar and Phagyul ==
{{anchor | Gyagar | Phagyul }}

Both Gyagar ("White expanse", analogous to the names Gyanak for China and Gyaser for Russia) and Phagyul are [[Classical Tibetan|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]]  [[lama]]s & authors also started to refer to India as the ''Phagyul'', short for ''Phags yul'', meaning ''the land of [[Indo-Aryan peoples|arya]]s'' i.e. land of noble, holy, enlightened & superior people who are the source of spiritual enlightenment.<ref name=tib1>Toni Huber, 2008, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SjzSpGf1eM0C&q=Gyagar The Holy Land Reborn: Pilgrimage and the Tibetan Reinvention], [[University of Chicago]] Press, p.74-80.</ref> 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 [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] (modern [[Bihar]]).<ref name=tib4>[[Gendün Chöphel|Gendun Chopel]] (translated by Thupten Jinpa and Donald S. Lopez Jr.), 2014, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XSZnAgAAQBAJ&q=Gyagar Grains of Gold: Tales of a Cosmopolitan Traveler], [[University of Chicago]] Press, p.73-74.</ref> 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]]''".<ref name=tib2>Jianbian Joacuo (translated by Liang Yanjun, Wu Chunxiao and Song Xin), 2019, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QhBOEAAAQBAJ&q=Gyagar 降边嘉措著, ‎梁艳君, ‎吴春晓 A study of Tibetan epic Gesar], [[Liaoning Normal University]], [[Dalian]], China.</ref> 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."''<ref name=tib3>[https://tibet.net/thankyouindia2018/ Thank you India], [[Central Tibetan Administration]], published: Jan 2018, accessed: 19 Dec 2022.</ref>

==Tianzhu==

{{main|Tianzhu (India)}}
{{lang|zh-Latn|Tiānzhú}} ({{CJKV|t=天竺|s=天竺}} originally pronounced {{lang|ltc|*qʰl'iːn tuɡ}}) is one of several Chinese transliterations of the Sanskrit ''Sindhu'' via Persian ''Hindu''<ref name=cheung>{{cite book|first=Martha Pui Yiu|last=Cheung|chapter=Zan Ning (919–1001 CE), To Translate Means to Exchange|title=An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation: From Earliest Times to the Buddhist Project|year=2014|orig-year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-63928-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZC3AwAAQBAJ|pages=179, 181}}</ref>  and is used since ancient times in China and its peripheries. Its [[Sino-Xenic]] reading is {{lang|ja-Latn|Tenjiku}} in Japanese, {{lang|ko-Latn|Cheonchuk}} ({{lang|ko|천축}}) in [[Korean language|Korean]], and {{lang|vi|Thiên Trúc}} in [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]. Devout Buddhists in the [[Sinosphere]] traditionally used this term and its related forms to designate India as their "heavenly centre", referring to the sacred origins of [[Buddhism]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>[http://www.kamit.jp/01_introdctn/invi_eng.htm An Invitation to Indian Architecture]</ref><ref>[https://www.thenationalnews.com/how-the-japan-india-alliance-could-redraw-the-political-map-1.344356 How the Japan-India alliance could redraw the political map]</ref>

Other forms include {{lang|zh-Latn|Juāndú}} ({{linktext|lang=zh|身毒}}), which appears in [[Sima Qian|Sima Qian's]] [[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]]. Another is {{lang|zh-Latn|Tiāndǔ}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|天篤}}), which is used in the [[Hou Hanshu]] (Book of the Later Han).<ref name=yu>{{cite journal|last1=Yu|first1=Taishan|title=China and the Ancient Mediterranean World: A Survey of Ancient Chinese Sources|journal=Sino-Platonic Papers|date=November 2013|issue=242|pages=73, 77|url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp242_china_mediterranean.pdf}}</ref> {{lang|zh-Latn|Yìntèjiā or Indəkka}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|印特伽}}) comes from the [[Kuchean language|Kuchean]] ''Indaka'', another transliteration of ''Hindu''.<ref name=cheung/>

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):

{{Blockquote|The state of Tianzhu: Also named Shendu, it lies several thousand ''li'' southeast of [[Yuezhi]]. 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 (the [[Buddha]]), [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 produces [[elephants]], rhinoceros, tortoise shell, [[gold]], [[silver]], copper, iron, lead, and tin. It communicates to the west with [[Da Qin]] and (so) has the exotica of Da Qin.<ref name=yu/>}}

Tianzhu was also referred to as {{lang|zh-Latn|Wǔtiānzhú}} ({{lang|zh-Hani|五天竺}}, 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 {{lang|zh-Latn|Wǔ Yìn}} or "Five Inds".<ref name=cheung/>

The name Tianzhu and its Sino-Xenic cognates were eventually replaced by terms derived from the [[Middle 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. Pronounced {{Transliteration|zh|{{visible anchor|Yìndù}}}} ({{CJKV|t=印度|s=印度}}) in Chinese, it was first used by the seventh-century monk and traveler [[Xuanzang]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khair |first1=Tabish |title=Other Routes: 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing |date=2006 |publisher=Signal Books |isbn=9781904955115 |page=36}}</ref> In Japanese for example, the name {{Transliteration|ja|{{visible anchor|Indo}}}} ({{lang|ja|インド}}, {{lang|ja|印度}}, or occasionally {{lang|ja|印土}}) had been found occasionally in 18th and early 19th-century works, such as [[Arai Hakuseki]]'s ''[[Sairan Igen]]'' (1713) and {{ill|Yamamura Saisuke|ja|山村才助}}'s {{Transliteration|ja|Indoshi}} ({{lang|ja|印度志}}, a translation of a work by [[Johann Hübner]]). However, the use of the name {{Transliteration|ja|Tenjiku}}, which was heavily associated with the image of [[history of Buddhism in India|India as a land of Buddhism]], was not completely displaced until the early 20th century: scholars such as [[Soyen Shaku]] and {{ill|Seki Seisetsu|ja|関精拙}} who travelled to India for pilgrimages to Buddhist historical sites, continued to use the name {{Transliteration|ja|Tenjiku}} to emphasise the religious aspect of their travels, though most of their contemporaries (even fellow Buddhist pilgrims) adopted the name {{Transliteration|ja|Indo}} by then.<ref>{{cite book |first=Fabio |last=Rambelli |chapter=The Idea of India ''(Tenjiku)'' in Pre-Modern Japan |editor-first=-Tansen |editor-last=Sen |title=Buddhism Across Asia |publisher=ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute |date=2014 |isbn=9789814519328 |page=262}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Richard M. |last=Jaffee |title=Seeking Sakyamuni: South Asia in the Formation of Modern Japanese Buddhism |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2019 |isbn=9780226391151 |pages=12–13, 114–115}}</ref>

India is nowadays also called {{Transliteration|ko|Indo}} ({{lang|ko|인도}}) in Korean, and {{lang|vi|Ấn Độ}} in [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]. Similar to Hindu and Sindhu, the term ''Yin'' was used in classical Chinese much like the English ''Ind''.

==Hodu==
Hodu ({{Langx|he|הֹדּוּ}} ''Hodû'') 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,<ref name="Esther">{{Bibleverse|Esther|1:1}} and {{Bibleverse-nb|Esther|8:9}}</ref> [[Ahasuerus]] had been described as King ruling 127 provinces from ''Hodu'' (India) to ''[[Ethiopia]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uskojaelama.net/lange/ot/est/1.htm|title=THE BOOK OF ESTHER|website=Uskojaelama.net|access-date=10 August 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043509/http://uskojaelama.net/lange/ot/est/1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The term seemingly derives from [[Sanskrit]] ''Sindhu'', "great river", i.e., the [[Indus River]], via [[Old Persian]] ''Hiñd°u''.<ref>''[[Brown–Driver–Briggs|Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon]]'' at [https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1912.htm BibleHub]</ref> It is thus cognate with the term India.

==Historical names==
Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson |title=Hobson-Jobson |access-date=2012-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120628235414/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:191.hobson |archive-date=2012-06-28 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! Year
! Name
! Source
! Definition
|-
| 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 of [[Ahasuerus]], the [[Ahasuerus]] who reigned from Hodu (India) to Cush (Ethiopia) over 127 provinces"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/esther/1-1.htm|title=Esther 1:1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush|website=Biblehub.com|access-date=10 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312225438/http://www.hanefesh.com/edu/Holidays/Book_of_Ester_-_kids_version.htm | archive-date=12 March 2014| url=http://www.hanefesh.com/edu/Holidays/Book_of_Ester_-_kids_version.htm | title=The Book of Esther - Kids Version | publisher=Hanefesh Community | access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://daytonjewishobserver.org/2015/10/tarnegol-hodu-a-bird-called-turkey/
|quote=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
|title=TARNEGOL HODU, A BIRD CALLED TURKEY
|date=26 October 2015
}}</ref>
|-
| 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 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]]."
|-
|200 BCE
|Jambudvīpa
|[[Chanakya]]<br>''[[Arthashastra]]''
|"This (Brahmaputra) is the eastern boundary of Jambudvipa, its western boundary being the mouths of the Indus and its southern boundary being the Indian Ocean or Rama Sethu."<ref>P. 247 ''Chanakya and Chandragupta'' By [[A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar]]</ref>
|-
|Between first century BCE<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |author-link=Horace Hayman Wilson |first=H. H. |title=''The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition'' |year=2006 |publisher=Read Country Books|location=Cambridge |isbn=1-84664-664-2|page=xii}}</ref> and ninth century CE{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=249}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn= 0-521-43878-0 | page = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/111 111]}}</ref>
| Bhāratavarṣa (realm of Bhārat)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-SqThZprK0EC&q=Bharatavarsha&pg=PA296 A History of Civilization in Ancient India, Based on Sanskrit Literature. In Three Volumes. Volume 3. Buddhist and Pauranik Ages], Romesh Chunder Dutt, Publisher Elibron.com, {{ISBN|0-543-92939-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-543-92939-6}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jV6k0FvIC4sC&q=%22the+land+of+Bharat%22&pg=RA7-PA23 A Text Book of Social Sciences], Dr. N.N. Kher & Jaideep Aggarwal, Pitambar Publishing, {{ISBN|81-209-1466-X}}, {{ISBN|978-81-209-1466-7}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp058.htm VISHŃU PURÁŃA, BOOK II, CHAP. I], The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840], at sacred-texts.com</ref>
| [[Vishnu Purana]]
| "उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" <br>
i.e. "The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharat."
|-
| 100 CE or later
| Bhāratam
| [[Vishnu Purana]]
| "उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" <br>
i.e. "The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharat."
|-
| 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 ([[Standard Chinese|Modern Chinese]]: ''Wǔ Yìn'', the Five Indies) is about 90,000 [[Li (unit)|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. 950
| 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]] 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. 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#Etymology|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."<ref>P. 146 ''A smaller manual of modern geography. Physical and political'' By John Richardson (Vicar of St. Mary's Hospital, Ilford.)</ref>
|-
|}

==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 Mahabharat.<ref>P. 45 ''Calcutta Review''
By University of Calcutta, 1950</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! Year
! Name
! Source
! Definition
|-
|944
|Al-Hind
|[[Al-Masudi]]<br>''Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawhar''
|"The Hindu nation (Al-Hind) extends from the mountains of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and of es-Sind ([[Baluchistan]]) as far as et-Tubbet (Tibetan Plateau.)"<ref>P. 177 ''Kitab Muruj Al-dahab Al-Masudi. El-Masudis Historical Encyclopaedia'' By 'Abu-l-Hasan 'Ali ibn al-Husain al-Masudi</ref>
|-
|982–983
|Hindistān
|Author Unknown<br>''[[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."<ref>P. 187 ''Journal of Ancient Indian History, Volume 9'' By D.C. Sircar</ref>
|-
| 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 Coast|Coromandel]] to [[Makran|Mekran]]) and it contains 13 great kingdoms... India the Lesser extends from the Province of Champa to Mutfili (i.e. from [[Cochinchina]] to the [[Krishna 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]]<br>''[[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."<ref>''The Ain i Akbari, Volume 3'' By Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak</ref>
|-
|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..."<ref>P. 3 ''The Mapping of Power in Renaissance Italy'' By Mark Rosen</ref>
|-
|}

== Republic of India ==
[[File:India-Bharat-Hindustan.svg|thumb|right|The name and logo of state-owned petroleum companies of India]]
The official names as set down in article 1 of the [[Indian constitution]] are:
* [[Hindi]]: {{lang|hi|भारत}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|Bhārata}})
* [[English language|English]]: ''India''

== See also ==
{{col div|colwidth=20em}}
* [[List of Indian state and union territory name etymologies|Origin of the names of Indian states]]
* [[Administrative divisions of India|List of regions of India]]
* [[Indus River|Sindhu]]
* [[India]]
* [[Indosphere]]
* [[Bharat Khand]]
* [[Sapta Sindhu]]
* [[Bharat chakravartin]]
* [[Akhand Bharat]]
* [[Renaming of cities in India]]
{{colend}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |last=Eggermont |first=Pierre Herman Leonard |title=Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan and the Siege of the Brahmin Town of Harmatelia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nG0_xoDS3hUC&pg=PA179 |year=1975 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-6186-037-2 |ref={{sfnref|Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan|1975}}}}
* {{citation |editor1-last=Ray |editor1-first=Niharranjan |editor2-last=Chattopadhyaya |editor2-first=Brajadulal |title=A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zcyho16xzWEC |year=2000 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-1871-1 |ref={{sfnref|Ray & Chattopadhyaya, A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization|2000}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rocher |first1=Ludo |author-link=Ludo Rocher |title=The Purāṇas |date=1986 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=3-447-02522-0}}

== Further reading ==
* {{EI2|title=Hind|volume=3|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/hind-COM_0290?s.num=47&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.start=40&s.q=shushtari}}

== External links ==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170406050611/http://www.bharatvani.org/books/htemples2/app3.htm Meaning of the word Hindu (about the words 'Hindu', 'Hindustan' and 'Bharat')]

{{Asia topic|Name of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Names Of India}}
[[Category:Toponyms for India]]
[[Category:Country name etymology|India]]
[[Category:Cultural history of India]]
[[Category:Culture of India]]
[[Category:Names of places in Asia|India]]
[[Category:Lists of country names in various languages|India]]