The naming of India has some interesting historical significance . It is said that India derived its name from the river Indus and the Indus River was referred as Sindhu by the Aryan worshippers. Later according to historical mentions , the name was converted to Hindu by the the invaders of Persia. That’s how , the name ‘Hindustan’ combines with Sindhu and Hindu. Hindustan is yet another name of India which is a popularly used term for India. The word ‘Hind’ is the Persian equivalent of Iranian ‘Sindh’ that refers to the Indo-Aryans while ‘stan’ in Persian means ‘land’ or ‘country,’ much like ‘sthana’ in Sanskrit that means ‘place’.
Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution states that, “India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States” . The two names of India both in the official and English Language i.e. India and Bharat. There are different reasons about why India is called Bharat. As per history , the name Bharat is derived from Sanskrit.
It is said that —
- Bharat is a derivation of the Sanskrit word Bharata which stands for ‘Agni’ meaning fire. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root ‘bhr’ meaning to carry with a literal meaning of ‘to be maintained’ (of fire),
- The term Bharata also means ‘one who is in search of knowledge’
- According to history, The name Bharat tells the story of the legendary Emperor Bharata, the first conqueror of the entire Indian subcontinent and the Republic of India.
So just like the name “India” holds a strong historical significance similarly the 29 states of India has also an interesting background story behind their names.
Jammu and Kashmir
As per mentioned in wikipedia , The word Kashmir is thought to have been derived from Sanskrit and was referred to as káśmīra. According to a popular local etymology Kashmira is land desiccated from water.
In Sanskrit, “Ka” signifies water, and “shimeera” means to desiccate.
However according to an alternative etymology , it derived its name from the name of the Vedic Sage sage Kashyapa who is believed to have settled people in this land. Which is why it is said that, Kashmir would be derived from either kashyapa-mir (Kashyapa’s Lake) or kashyapa-meru (Kashyapa’s Mountain).
And regarding the term Jammu it is said that it was formed from the identity of its emperor Raja JambuLochan.
It is believed that the city was originally founded by Raja Jamboo Lochan who lived in fourteenth century B.C. The Raja had gone out one day for hunting when he happened to witness a tiger and a goat drinking water from one and the same pond. This extraordinary phenomenon set him thinking and he decided to build a city at this site so that the strong and weak could live together in peace and mutual tolerance. Eventually, he founded the city which came to be known as “Jamboo” after his own name. With the passage of time and due to its frequent use the pronunciation of the name got slightly distorted and the city, came to be known as ‘Jammu’ as it is called now.(source: https://jammu.nic.in/history/)
Himachal Pradesh
The name Himachal is said to have Sanskrit roots, i.e., Hima means ‘snow,’ and achal means ‘mountain,’ so combined it indicates the Home of Snowy Mountains.
Punjab
According to reports , the term “Punj” means five while “ab” means water, respectively, resulting in the phrase “Land of Five Rivers.
Uttarakhand
On November 9, 2000, the state of Uttaranchal—the 27th state of India—was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, and in January 2007 the new state changed its name to Uttarakhand, meaning “northern region,” which was the traditional name for the area. It is said that Uttaranchal means ‘Northern Mountains,’ as Uttar means north and anchal means mountain. Later Uttarakhand, meaning ‘Northland,’ was adopted as its new name.
Haryana
According to Historical mentions, Haryana includes “Hari,” which means Vishnu or Lord Krishna’s avatar, and “ana,” which means to come.
Uttar Pradesh
The term Uttar means North in Hindi, while Pradesh is the Hindi word for the province. Therefore, it is called “Northern Province.”
Rajasthan
The term Rajasthan comes from the Sanskrit term ‘Raja,’ which means king in English. And Rajputana, which means ‘Land of Rajputs’, was the initial name.
Bihar
Originally the term ‘Vihara,’ which is a Pali term meaning “abode” has a Sanskrit origin and it is known to be the source of the name “Bihar.” Abode or Vihara of Buddhist monks was its former name.
West Bengal
According to Wikipedia , as per a theory suggests, the word derives from “Bang”, the name of a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BCE. The Bengali word Bongo might have been derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga (or Banga). Although some early Sanskrit Literature mentions the name Vanga, the region’s early history is obscure.
In 2011 the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the official name of the state to Paschim Banga (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Pôshchimbônggô).
Jharkhand
The term Jhar means forest in Sanskrit , while Khand means land. As a result, it is referred to as the “Land of Forest” or “Vananchal.”
Sikkim
The origin of the name Sikkim arose from combining the two words in the Limbu Su, meaning “new,” and Khyim, meaning “palace” or house, referring to the palace built by the state’s first ruler, Phuntsok Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim, Denjong, means the “valley of rice”
(Source: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sikkim)
Arunachal Pradesh
Among 29 state names, Arunachal is another that comes from the Sanskrit words “Aruna” and “Chala,” which means “sun rising.” However, a few people interpret it as “Dawn-lit Mountains.”
Assam
There are several opinions to the origin of the name “Assam”. In the ancient Sanskrit literature both the names ‘Pragjyotisha’ and ‘Kamrupa’ were used as designation for ancient Assam. Its antiquity can be established from the fact that it has been mentioned in the two great epics- The Mahabharata and the Ramayana and also in the Puranas. Regarding the name ‘Prajyotisha’ or ‘Pragjyotishpura’, Gait (1992, reprint) writes that Prag means ‘former’ or ‘eastern’ and Jyotisha ‘a star’, astrology, shining. Pragjyotishpur may, therefore, be taken to mean the ‘City of Eastern Astrology’.
The name ‘Aham’ or ‘Asom’ was probably given by the Ahoms who came to Assam in 1228 A.D. (Source: https://assam.gov.in/about-us/394)
Odisha
According to historians , odisha term originated from the Sanskrit term ‘Odra Vishaya’ as well as ‘Odra Desa.’ It references the Odra people, who lived in the middle section of the area.
Karnataka
The Karnataka state meaning is said to have formed from Karu, which implies “lofty,” as well as Naad, which means “land,” which alludes to the Deccan Plateau.
Goa
The story behind naming of Goa is not yet clearly known but it is said that Goa is derived from the Sanskrit word GO, which means cow. Since agriculture was an important source of income for the early inhabitants. While as per another theory some believes it to be originated from the European or Portuguese language.
Tamil Nadu
The term Tamil Nadu is known as the homeland of the Tamils. Also, as per reports the Tamilian term for homeland or country is “Nadu,” which means sweet nectar.
Mizoram
The term Mizoram is formed combined from the two terms Mi meaning people, and zo, meaning highlander.
Chhattisgarh
The Chhattisgarh state is named for its 36 forts. Chhattis in hindi means thirty-six.
Madhya Pradesh
The term Madhya denotes central, while Pradesh denotes a province. As a result, Madhya Pradesh is the Hindi name for the Central Province.
Maharashtra
According to historians Maha means great and Rashtra means country. It is translated as “Great Nation.”
Telangana
According to reports , Trilinga means the country of the three lingas – which is the source of the name Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh
The term Andhra, which means south in Sanskrit, is the name’s root. Tribes in this region are referred to as “Andhras.”
Gujarat
It is said that Gujrat was initially called GurharRashtra, then Gujar-rartra, and eventually Gujarat. During the 8th century, the Gurjaras, the region’s rulers, gave their name to the state.
Kerala
According to historians , Kerala’s name derives from the word “KERA,” which means coconut tree, referring to the abundance of coconut trees in the area.
There are also some other theories related with its name.
a) It is originated from ‘Chernna’ means added and ‘alam’ which means land.
b) The keralam word is originated with the rulers of Chera dynasty from 1stto 5thcentury AD from word ‘chera alam’ and later it came to be known as Keralam.
c) In Sanskrit keralam word means as the land added on.
d) Geographically, Kerala is originated as an addition of land mass by the sea.
Meghalaya
The state Meghalaya derived its meaning from the Sanskrit terms “Megha” (cloud) and “Alaya” (abode), which together indicate “the land of clouds.”
Manipur
The term Manipur is said to be a Sanskrit term, which means the land of jewels.
Nagaland
The Burmese word ‘Naka,’ i.e., Naga, which implies persons with pierced ears or noses, is the term’s origin. It is sometimes referred to as the Land of the Nagas.
Tripura
There goes several explanations behind the name of the state Tripura . According to the ‘Rajmala”, Tripura’s celebrated court chronicle, an ancient king named ‘tripur’ ruled over the territorial domain known as ‘Tripura’ and the name of the kingdom was derived from his name. Many researchers explain the name ‘Tripura’ from its etymological origin: the word ‘Tripura’ is a compound of two separate words, ‘tui’ (water) + ‘pra’ (near) which in totality means ‘near water’. The geographical location of the state with it’s close proximity to the vast water resources of eastern Bengal coupled with the generic identity of the state’s original inhabitants as ‘Tipra’ or ‘Twipra’ apparently justify this explanation of the State’s name.( https://tripuratourism.gov.in/origin)
So that’s how goes the interesting historical background behind naming of each and every state of India .
