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Class 6 History & Civics — The names of India

Trace the names this land has been given — Sapta Sindhava, Bhāratavarṣha, Jambudvīpa, Bhārata from within, and Hindu, Indoi and Yindu from outside — and say where each one came from.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The Viṣhṇu Purāṇa's description of Bhārata, drawn.

123
  1. 1. Mountains
  2. 2. Bhārata
  3. 3. Ocean

North is at the top: snow-capped peaks along the upper edge, open sea along the lower one, and the land in between. An ancient Tamil poem of about 2,000 years ago describes the same country from the other end — from Cape Kumari in the south to the great mountain in the north, and from the oceans on the east and on the west.

  1. 1.Which region of the Subcontinent does the Ṛig Veda give the name Sapta Sindhava to?

    • a) The far south, around Cape Kumari
    • b) The northwest region
    • c) The whole Subcontinent
    • d) The eastern region, towards Vanga

  2. 2.The word Sindhava comes from Sindhu. Which river does Sindhu refer to?

  3. 3.Which people does the chapter name as the first foreigners to mention India?

    • a) The ancient Chinese
    • b) The Arabs
    • c) The ancient Greeks
    • d) The Persians, the ancient inhabitants of Iran

  4. 4.Put the steps of the Chinese name for India in order, starting from Sindhu.

    • Indu
    • Sindhu
    • Hindhu
    • Yindu

  5. 5.The Indian Constitution, first written in English, opens with a phrase naming the country twice over. Which phrase?

    • a) Jambudvipa, that is India
    • b) Hindustan, that is India
    • c) India, that is Bharat
    • d) Bharatavarsha, the land of the seven rivers

  6. 6.The ancient Greeks took their name for the region from the Persian sources, but dropped the initial letter h. Why?

    • a) The h was a mistake in the inscription they copied from
    • b) That letter did not exist in their Greek language
    • c) They wanted a name that sounded less Persian
    • d) The Persians had already stopped using the h themselves

  7. 7.Xuanzang travelled from China to India in the 7th century CE, visited many parts of the country, met scholars and collected Buddhist texts. After how many years did he return to China? Answer with a number.

  8. 8.Match each name to what it means.

    • Sapta Sindhava
    • Bhāratavarṣha
    • Jambudvīpa
    • Bharata
    • the land of the seven rivers
    • the country of the Bharatas
    • one of the main Vedic groups of people
    • the island of the fruit of the jamun tree

Answer key — Class 6 History & Civics — The names of India

  1. 1. b) The northwest region
  2. 2.
    • the Indus
    • the Indus River
    • Indus
  3. 3. d) The Persians, the ancient inhabitants of Iran
  4. 4. 1. Sindhu 2. Hindhu 3. Indu 4. Yindu
  5. 5. c) India, that is Bharat
  6. 6. b) That letter did not exist in their Greek language
  7. 7. 17
  8. 8. Sapta Sindhava → the land of the seven rivers; Bhāratavarṣha → the country of the Bharatas; Jambudvīpa → the island of the fruit of the jamun tree; Bharata → one of the main Vedic groups of people