Class 6 Social Science Notes Chapter 5 Exploring Society India and Beyond

India, That Is Bharat

Present-Day India: A well-defined nation with clear borders, states, and a known population.
Historical Context: 500, 2,000, or 5,000 years ago, the Indian Subcontinent had different names, shifting boundaries, and was not a unified entity as it is today.

Variety of Names: India has been called by various names by its inhabitants and visitors throughout history.
Sources of Information: Ancient texts, accounts of travelers, pilgrims, and inscriptions provide insights into the historical names and boundaries.

Sapta Sindhava: The Ṛig Veda, India’s most ancient text, names the northwest region of the Subcontinent as ‘Sapta Sindhava’ (Land of the Seven Rivers).
Sindhu and Sindhava: ‘Sindhava’ derives from ‘Sindhu,’ referring to the Indus River or a river in general.

Mahābhārata: This epic mentions regions like Kāshmīra (Kashmir), Kurukṣhetra (Haryana), Vanga (Bengal), Prāgjyotiṣha (Assam), Kaccha (Kutch), and Kerala (Kerala).
Bhāratavarṣha and Jambudvīpa: The Mahābhārata introduces these terms:
- Bhāratavarṣha: Refers to the entire Subcontinent; ‘Bharata’ is linked to the Vedic group mentioned in the Ṛig Veda.
- Jambudvīpa: Means “the island of the fruit of the jamun tree,” another term for the Indian Subcontinent.

Jambudvīpa Usage: Around 250 BCE, Emperor Aśhoka referred to India as ‘Jambudvīpa,’ encompassing present-day Bangladesh, Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan.

Later Usage: A few centuries after Aśhoka, ‘Bhārata’ became the common name for the Indian Subcontinent.
Viṣhṇu Purāṇa Reference: Defines ‘Bhārata’ as the land north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains.
Present-Day Usage: ‘Bhārata’ remains in use today; written as ‘Bharat’ in North India and ‘Bharatam’ in South India.

Geographical Awareness: A 2,000-year-old Tamil poem praises a king known from Cape Kumari (southern tip of India) to the great northern mountain (likely the Himalayas), showing that ancient Indians had a good understanding of their geography.

Constitutional Reference: The Indian Constitution, originally written in English, begins with the phrase “India, that is Bharat.”
Hindi Version: The Hindi version of the Constitution mirrors this by stating “Bhārat arthāth India.”

Early Mentions by Persians: The Persians, ancient inhabitants of Iran, were the first foreigners to mention India.
6th Century BCE Context: A Persian emperor in the 6th century BCE launched a military campaign and took control of the Indus River region, historically called ‘Sindhu’.
Persian Adaptations: In their records and stone inscriptions, the Persians referred to the region as ‘Hind,’ ‘Hidu,’ or ‘Hindu,’ adaptations of ‘Sindhu’ in their language.
Geographical Term: In ancient Persian, ‘Hindu’ was purely geographical and not related to the Hindu religion.

Adoption by Greeks: The ancient Greeks, influenced by Persian sources, named the region ‘Indoi’ or ‘Indike’.
Language Adaptation: The Greeks dropped the initial ‘h’ from ‘Hindu’ because the Greek language did not have this letter.

Chinese Names for India: The ancient Chinese interacted with India and referred to it as ‘Yintu’ or ‘Yindu’ in several texts.
Evolution of Names: The word ‘Yindu’ also derives from ‘Sindhu’:
- Sindhu → Hindhu → Indu → Yindu.
Xuanzang’s Journey: Xuanzang, a Chinese traveler in the 7th century CE, visited many parts of India, collected Buddhist texts, and translated them into Chinese after his return.
Other Chinese Terms: Another Chinese word derived from ‘Sindhu’ was ‘Tianzhu,’ which could also mean ‘heavenly master,’ reflecting the Chinese respect for India as the land of the Buddha.

Origin of ‘Hindustān’: The term ‘Hindustān’ was first used in a Persian inscription around 1,800 years ago.
Later Usage: This term later became widely used by invaders to describe the Indian Subcontinent.

Ancient Names by Inhabitants: Names like ‘Jambudvīpa’ and ‘Bhārata’ were given by the ancient inhabitants of India, with ‘Bhārata’ becoming widespread and used in most Indian languages.
Names from Foreigners: Foreign visitors and invaders primarily used names derived from the Sindhu or Indus River, leading to names like ‘Hindu,’ ‘Indoi,’ and eventually ‘India.’