How India Got Its Name as Bharat?

The word Bharat comes from the Sanskrit word “Bharata,”  the word Bharata meaning in Hindi is Agni (fire in English) and it is the official Sanskrit name of the country. India was given the name of one of the renowned Indian Emporers, Bharat, who was the son of Dushyant and Shakuntala.

Bharat is the union of states and a blend of various cultures, religions customs, and heritage, etc. which makes it an interesting nation cuddling the diversity of this world. 

During ancient times, our nation was conferred with the term Bharat. Various stories about Bharat are described by our eminent historians that fascinate us and explain how India got the name Bharat.

This page will help you to understand the all-inclusive of how India got its name  Bharat along with the impressive long-living Bharat History.

Bharat Name History: How India Got Its Name Bharat?

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Do you know how Bharat got its name? Well! There have been several rumours to the same, now let us discuss what is the origin of the name Bharatvarsha to known the fact:

As per the information, the name Bharat name history dates back to 1950. The name Bharata or Bharatvarsha was taken either Dushyant’ son  Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata. 

Also, various Puranas illustrate that Bharat’s name was taken from Rishabh’s son Bharta, while some Puranic passages declare that Bharat’s name was taken from Bharata which was another name for Rishabha's ancestor Manu. 

Furthermore, some Puranic passages state that Bharat was derived from Dushyanta's son Bharata in the Mahabharata.

In an ancient geographical map, the notable use of Bhāratavarṣa is in  King Kharavela’s Hathigumpha inscription of (first century BCE), which talks of the restrained area of northern India, namely the fragment of the Gangetic Valley that lies to the west of Magadha.

While in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata (200 BCE-300 CE), a huge region of North India is covered by the term, but much of the Deccan and South India are still prohibited.

A few people of the Indian subcontinent and Republic Indian use Bhārata as a self-ascribed name. The term Bhārata is cited as the official Sanskrit name, Bhārata Gaṇarājya, which is taken from the ancient Hindu Puranas referring to the land that comprises India as Bhāratavarṣa (Sanskrit: भारतवर्ष, lit. country of Bharata), and therefore, employs this term to differentiate it from other varṣas/ continents. Like the Vayu Purana ((Vayu Purana 45, 86) mentions that "he who conquers the whole Bhāratavarṣa is regarded the samrāt.

Moreover, it is illustrated that the Sanskrit word bhārata is a vṛddhi inference of Bharata, which was initially a label of Agni. The term Bharata is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to carry", with a literal meaning of to be preserved (of fire). The root bhr is associated with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. The Bharata name also refers to “a person who thrives in the search for knowledge". Barato, the Esperanto name for India, is also one of the derivations of Bhārata.

Further, Puranas illustrated that this country is termed Bharatavarsha after Bharata, the son of Rishabha. Bharata was a Kshatriya born in Ikshvaku Dynasty (Solar Dynasty). This has been mentioned in the following Puranas:

• 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 these Puranas use the designation Bharata Varsha.

What is the Origin of the Name Bharatvarsha?

Besides these Puranas, another Purana, i.e., Srimad Bhagavat Purana mentions its Canto 5, Chapter 4 - "Rishabh gave birth to hundred clone sone. Among those, Bharata had the finest qualities and it was because of him that Indian land by the people is known as Bhârata-Varsha"

In Rigveda, it is somewhere mentioned that the Bhāratas were a Vedic tribe, who notably participated in the Battle of the Ten Kings.

In the text of Mahabhārata, the realm of Bharata is known as Bharātavarṣa, mentioned in the core portion of which has itself known as Bhāratain the and later texts. Also, as per its text, the term Bharata is taken from king Bharata, who was the son of Dushyanta and Shakuntala and the term Varsha means a splitting of the earth or a continent.

Another term Bharata Khanda also called Bharata Ksetra is used in Hindu texts, like the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranic, to showcase geographical regions that covered the following modern countries:

• India, 

• Sri Lanka, 

• Afghanistan, 

• Bangladesh, 

• Pakistan, 

• Nepal, 

• Bhutan, and 

• Myanmar.

Do you know why is India Called Bharat? Let us understand the same:

Why is India Called Bharat?: History of How India Got Its Name Bharat

Several assumptions have been made; starting from architecture to a highly developed civilization in ancient India or an amazing Bharat history of the much-conquered nation, 

India has marked its presence as a great nation. During ancient times our nation has blissfully conferred the title Bharat (Bharat meaning in Sanskrit). Below, we will discuss stories on how Bharat got its name:

• First: Rigveda: The Battle of Ten Kings

In the history of Indian Geography, India was the land of seven rivers, the Rig Veda’s (an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns), going to the 18th hymn of the seventh book,  this book describes the terrible war, known as ‘Dasharajna’ or battle of ten kings was fought between ten powerful tribes who plotted to kick off King Sudasa of the Bharata tribe of Trtsu Dynasty. This battle commenced on the river Ravi in Punjab. 

As a result, king Sudasa made an immense victory over the federation of ten kings, which made him popular and people started recognizing themselves as members of the Bharata tribe. The name ‘Bharata’ dwelled on the mouth of people and the nation was named ‘Bharat Varsha,’ meaning Bharata’s land.

• Second: Mahabharata and Bharata Chakravarti Story

In Mahabharata, a renowned story acclaimed that India was conferred with the name Bharatvarsha following the king named Bharata Chakravarti. During those times, Bharata was a legendary emperor, being an ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas he was also the founder of the Bharata Dynasty. Bharat was the son of Queen Sakuntala and King Dushyanta of Hastinapur. Also, he was a descendant of Kshatriya Varna. The quality of Bharata was he conquered all of Greater India, and united it to a single political entity which was titled “Bharatvarsha” as an honour after him.

• Third: The Origin of Sanskrit Word Bharat

In the above text, we explained that Bharata is the official name of India, Bharata Ganarajya, and this word Sanskrit describes Agni. Also, this term has a Sanskrit root, bhr meaning “to bear” i.e., “to be maintained” (of fire). Bharata is the “Person who engrosses in search of Knowledge”.

• Fourth: Illustration By Jain Dharma

India got its title Bharat from Bharat Chakravarti who was the eldest son of Jain Tirthankar I and it is somewhere stated that it is a unique gift of Jainism as a title of Bharat and its actual source of Civilisation of Bharat today known as India.

Fun Facts on Bharat (India)

Below are the mesmerizing facts about India:

• It is mentioned somewhere that the word "India" is taken from the river name Sindhu (Indus River) and it was in Greek since the Herodotus period (5th century BCE).  During the early 9th century, this name appeared in Old English, further merged in Modern English in the 17th century.

• India is the largest country in the world and ranks 7th in terms of democracy. 

• For the first time, Indian Mathematician Budhayana calculated the value of "pi" and he very well explained the concept of the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this long before the European mathematicians in the 6th century.