India is he land of holy people. India is famous for its rich culture and versatility. Do you know India is recognized by some other names too?
Well, in this article, we will discuss India and its various names, the neighbouring countries coined us and a little about its history.
The Constitution of India has recognized two names for the nation. In Article 1(1) of the Constitution of India, it is mentioned that “India that is Bharat shall be a union of states.” But in the neighbouring countries like China and Japan, India or Bharat is called by different names.
Chinese calls India as ‘Yindu’ despite India or Bharat. And the Japanese have named India as ‘Indo.’ Both the countries using different names to call India from the ancient era. The exciting part is, India is still familiar with the old name in some of the countrymen.
According to history, Chinese traveller Xuanzang who came to India in 7th Centaury used the name ‘Yindu.’ ‘Yindu’ word is derived from ‘Indus River’ or ‘Hindu,’ and the people of China pronounced it as ‘Yindu.’
It is assumed that in Japan, the name ‘Indo’ came from the Chinese word ‘Yindo.’ Although India is known as ‘Indo’ in Japan, they used another name for ancient India, Tenjiku. An almost similar name was used by the Chinese also.
The ancient name used by the Chinese is ‘Tianzhu’ or ‘Wutianzhu,’ which means five Indias. The people of East Asia, mainly in China, knew ancient India in five divisions, e.g. Central India, East India, West India, North India and South India.
‘Tianzhu,’ means India in East Asia. India was also known as ‘l̥induk’ in ancient china. This word came from the Parsee word ‘Hinduka,’ which means ‘Hindu.’
Similarly, The term ‘Tenjiku’ was used in Japan to mean ancient India. The meaning of the word was also five Indias.
There are many stories about India and its names coined by different countries. If we look back to history, we will found a few intresting stories about it.