India is one of those few countries that is known by various names. The most popular names are India, Hindustan and Bharat. Given the rich diversity and history of India and the country is one of the oldest civilizations of the world, it is quite obvious that various names were given to India from time to time. However, most names are lost in the course of time but these names are no less important as they signify the culture and social time of the people in ancient India. Here, I list some of the names that India subcontinent was known in the past.

1. Meluha: The name Meluhha or Melukhkha was given to the Indian subcontinent during the  Indus Valley Civilization. The word Meluha is of Dravidian origin which translates to mel-akam (highland country). These people were Proto-Dravidians and were also engaged in trade with the Mesopotamians where they exported timbers, carnelian, and ivory etc.

2. Āryāvarta: This region was inhabited the Indo-Aryan people and covered mostly the northern part of India. Āryāvarta is believed to be the land between the Himalaya in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. This name is also recorded in many Vedic literatures.

3. Jambudvipa: This name was given to the Indian subcontinent even before Bharata and the name literally translates to “berry islands”. The area was recorded between the Brahmaputra in the east and the Indus in the west with the Indian Ocean or Rama Setu as the southern boundary. The name has its origin in the Vedic Puranas that divides Jambudvipa into four vast regions shaped like four petals of a lotus flower with Mount Meru being located at the centre.

4. Nābhivarṣa: The Indian subcontinent was known as Nabhivarsa before Bharata. According to Jain literature, King Nabhi was the grandfather of Bharata.

5. Bharat: In the Vishnu Purana, it is noted that “The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata.” The name is said to be derived from the name of either Dushyanta’s son Bharata or Rishabha’s son Bharata. We often hear India referred to as Bharat Mata (Mother Bharat) which may be confusing to many as to how a nation named after a male king be addressed as a mother. To this, Jawaharlal Nehru once beautifully responded as “Sometimes as I reached a gathering, a great roar of welcome would greet me Bharat Mata ki Jai [sic]—Victory to Mother India! I would ask them unexpectedly what they meant by that cry, who was this Bharat Mata, Mother India, whose victory they wanted? And so question and answer went on, till they would ask me impatiently to tell them about it. I would endeavour to do so and explain that India was all this that they had thought, but it was much more. The mountains and the rivers of India, and the forest and the broad fields, which gave us food, were all dear to us, but what counted ultimately were the people of India, people like them and me, who were spread out all over this vast land. Bharat Mata, Mother India, was essentially these millions of people, and victory to her meant victory to these people. You are parts of Bharat Mata, I told them, you are in a manner yourself Bharat Mata, and as this idea slowly soaked into their brains, their eyes would light up as if they had made a great discovery’ (Nehru 1946: 39).”

6. Hindustan: This name was given by the Persians in the seventh century BCE who occupied the Indus valley. The Sanskrit name Sindhu was Persianised as Hindu and the Persian suffix, ‘stan’ was added to form the name Hindustan. The area as described by Emperor Babur is, “On the East, the South, and the West it is bounded by the Great Ocean”.

7. India: The name is derived from the Sanskrit name Sindhu (the Indus river). However, the English term is from Greek word, Indika. It is said that when the Persian emperor, Skylax of Karyanda explored the Indus valley, he passed the Persianized name of Sindu, that is Hindu to the Greeks. In the course of time and due to the dialects of Greek people, the loss of aspirate /h/ happened to convert Hindu to Indos. By the time Alexander invaded India, the Indos region came to be identified as India.