NCERT Textbook: India, That Is Bharat | Social Studies (SST) Class 6 PDF Download

 Page 1


75
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
India, That Is Bharat
CHAPTER
5
 
In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was 
made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great 
surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.
— Sri Aurobindo
Fig. 5.1. A scene from rural India about 2,300 years ago  
(north gate of the Great Sanchi Stupa)
1. How do we define India?
2. What were the ancient 
names for India?
The Big 
Questions
5-100724-v16.indd   75 5-100724-v16.indd   75 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM
Page 2


75
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
India, That Is Bharat
CHAPTER
5
 
In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was 
made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great 
surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.
— Sri Aurobindo
Fig. 5.1. A scene from rural India about 2,300 years ago  
(north gate of the Great Sanchi Stupa)
1. How do we define India?
2. What were the ancient 
names for India?
The Big 
Questions
5-100724-v16.indd   75 5-100724-v16.indd   75 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM
76
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Fig. 5.2. A physical map of the Indian Subcontinent, with some of its rivers.
5-100724-v16.indd   76 5-100724-v16.indd   76 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
Page 3


75
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
India, That Is Bharat
CHAPTER
5
 
In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was 
made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great 
surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.
— Sri Aurobindo
Fig. 5.1. A scene from rural India about 2,300 years ago  
(north gate of the Great Sanchi Stupa)
1. How do we define India?
2. What were the ancient 
names for India?
The Big 
Questions
5-100724-v16.indd   75 5-100724-v16.indd   75 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM
76
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Fig. 5.2. A physical map of the Indian Subcontinent, with some of its rivers.
5-100724-v16.indd   76 5-100724-v16.indd   76 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
77
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
Today, the India we know is a modern nation, with defined 
borders, defined states and a known population. However, 
it was very different 500 years ago, 2,000 years ago or even 
5,000 years ago. This region of the world, which we often call 
the ‘Indian Subcontinent’, has had many different names 
and shifting boundaries. We can learn about India’s past 
and evolution from many different sources. Let us explore.
THINK ABOUT IT 
Consider the physical map of the Indian Subcontinent at 
the start of the chapter. What are its natural boundaries 
that you can make out?
In the course of history, India has been called by many 
names — both by its inhabitants and by visitors from outside. 
These names come to us from ancient texts, accounts of 
travellers and pilgrims, and inscriptions.
Inhabitants: 
People who 
live in a 
particular 
place.
Fig. 5.3. The northwest region  
of the Indian Subcontinent
How Indians Named 
India
The ?ig Veda is India’s most ancient 
text; as we will see in Chapter 7, 
it is several thousand years old. 
It gives the northwest region of 
the Subcontinent the name ‘Sapta 
Sindhava’, that is, the ‘land of the 
seven rivers’. The word ‘Sindhava’ 
comes from ‘Sindhu’, which refers 
to the Indus River, or at times to a 
river in general.
5-100724-v16.indd   77 5-100724-v16.indd   77 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
Page 4


75
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
India, That Is Bharat
CHAPTER
5
 
In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was 
made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great 
surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.
— Sri Aurobindo
Fig. 5.1. A scene from rural India about 2,300 years ago  
(north gate of the Great Sanchi Stupa)
1. How do we define India?
2. What were the ancient 
names for India?
The Big 
Questions
5-100724-v16.indd   75 5-100724-v16.indd   75 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM
76
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Fig. 5.2. A physical map of the Indian Subcontinent, with some of its rivers.
5-100724-v16.indd   76 5-100724-v16.indd   76 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
77
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
Today, the India we know is a modern nation, with defined 
borders, defined states and a known population. However, 
it was very different 500 years ago, 2,000 years ago or even 
5,000 years ago. This region of the world, which we often call 
the ‘Indian Subcontinent’, has had many different names 
and shifting boundaries. We can learn about India’s past 
and evolution from many different sources. Let us explore.
THINK ABOUT IT 
Consider the physical map of the Indian Subcontinent at 
the start of the chapter. What are its natural boundaries 
that you can make out?
In the course of history, India has been called by many 
names — both by its inhabitants and by visitors from outside. 
These names come to us from ancient texts, accounts of 
travellers and pilgrims, and inscriptions.
Inhabitants: 
People who 
live in a 
particular 
place.
Fig. 5.3. The northwest region  
of the Indian Subcontinent
How Indians Named 
India
The ?ig Veda is India’s most ancient 
text; as we will see in Chapter 7, 
it is several thousand years old. 
It gives the northwest region of 
the Subcontinent the name ‘Sapta 
Sindhava’, that is, the ‘land of the 
seven rivers’. The word ‘Sindhava’ 
comes from ‘Sindhu’, which refers 
to the Indus River, or at times to a 
river in general.
5-100724-v16.indd   77 5-100724-v16.indd   77 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
78
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Moving on in time, we see names for other parts of India 
appear in the literature. The Mahabharata is one of India’s 
most famous texts (we read about it in the theme ‘Our 
Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions’). Interestingly, 
it lists many regions, such as Kashmira (more or less today’s 
Kashmir), Kuruk?hetra (parts of Haryana today), Vanga 
(parts of Bengal), Pragjyoti?ha (roughly today’s Assam), 
Kaccha (today’s Kutch), Kerala (more or less today’s Kerala), 
and so on. 
LET’S EXPLORE
Do you recognise the names of any regions given in the map 
(Fig. 5.4) on page 79? List the ones that you have heard of.
But when do we come across a name for the entire Indian 
Subcontinent? Because ancient Indian texts are difficult to 
date, this is not an easy question to answer. The Mahabharata 
uses the terms ‘Bharatavar?ha’ and ‘Jambudvipa’, and 
scholars generally agree that this long poem was written 
from a few centuries BCE onward. 
The first term, ‘Bharatavar?ha’, clearly extends to the entire 
Subcontinent, and the text includes the names of numerous 
rivers and peoples. ‘Bharatavar?ha’ means ‘the country of 
the Bharatas’. ‘Bharata’ is a name that first appears in the 
?ig Veda, where it refers to one of the main Vedic groups 
of people. In later literature, several kings named ‘Bharata’ 
are mentioned. 
The second term, ‘Jambudvipa’, means ‘the island of the 
fruit of the jamun tree’. This is indeed a common tree native 
to India, also called ‘jambul tree’, ‘Malabar plum tree’, etc. 
‘Jambudvipa’ came to mean the Indian Subcontinent.
In fact, we get a good clue from an Indian emperor — his 
name is Ashoka and we will meet him later; for now, we 
can take his date to be about 250 BCE. As we will see, he 
left us many inscriptions. In one of them, he used the same 
5-100724-v16.indd   78 5-100724-v16.indd   78 11-Jul-24   4:25:00 PM 11-Jul-24   4:25:00 PM
Page 5


75
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
India, That Is Bharat
CHAPTER
5
 
In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was 
made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great 
surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.
— Sri Aurobindo
Fig. 5.1. A scene from rural India about 2,300 years ago  
(north gate of the Great Sanchi Stupa)
1. How do we define India?
2. What were the ancient 
names for India?
The Big 
Questions
5-100724-v16.indd   75 5-100724-v16.indd   75 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:58 PM
76
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Fig. 5.2. A physical map of the Indian Subcontinent, with some of its rivers.
5-100724-v16.indd   76 5-100724-v16.indd   76 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
77
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
Today, the India we know is a modern nation, with defined 
borders, defined states and a known population. However, 
it was very different 500 years ago, 2,000 years ago or even 
5,000 years ago. This region of the world, which we often call 
the ‘Indian Subcontinent’, has had many different names 
and shifting boundaries. We can learn about India’s past 
and evolution from many different sources. Let us explore.
THINK ABOUT IT 
Consider the physical map of the Indian Subcontinent at 
the start of the chapter. What are its natural boundaries 
that you can make out?
In the course of history, India has been called by many 
names — both by its inhabitants and by visitors from outside. 
These names come to us from ancient texts, accounts of 
travellers and pilgrims, and inscriptions.
Inhabitants: 
People who 
live in a 
particular 
place.
Fig. 5.3. The northwest region  
of the Indian Subcontinent
How Indians Named 
India
The ?ig Veda is India’s most ancient 
text; as we will see in Chapter 7, 
it is several thousand years old. 
It gives the northwest region of 
the Subcontinent the name ‘Sapta 
Sindhava’, that is, the ‘land of the 
seven rivers’. The word ‘Sindhava’ 
comes from ‘Sindhu’, which refers 
to the Indus River, or at times to a 
river in general.
5-100724-v16.indd   77 5-100724-v16.indd   77 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM 11-Jul-24   4:24:59 PM
78
Exploring Society: India and Beyond 
Tapestry of the Past
Moving on in time, we see names for other parts of India 
appear in the literature. The Mahabharata is one of India’s 
most famous texts (we read about it in the theme ‘Our 
Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions’). Interestingly, 
it lists many regions, such as Kashmira (more or less today’s 
Kashmir), Kuruk?hetra (parts of Haryana today), Vanga 
(parts of Bengal), Pragjyoti?ha (roughly today’s Assam), 
Kaccha (today’s Kutch), Kerala (more or less today’s Kerala), 
and so on. 
LET’S EXPLORE
Do you recognise the names of any regions given in the map 
(Fig. 5.4) on page 79? List the ones that you have heard of.
But when do we come across a name for the entire Indian 
Subcontinent? Because ancient Indian texts are difficult to 
date, this is not an easy question to answer. The Mahabharata 
uses the terms ‘Bharatavar?ha’ and ‘Jambudvipa’, and 
scholars generally agree that this long poem was written 
from a few centuries BCE onward. 
The first term, ‘Bharatavar?ha’, clearly extends to the entire 
Subcontinent, and the text includes the names of numerous 
rivers and peoples. ‘Bharatavar?ha’ means ‘the country of 
the Bharatas’. ‘Bharata’ is a name that first appears in the 
?ig Veda, where it refers to one of the main Vedic groups 
of people. In later literature, several kings named ‘Bharata’ 
are mentioned. 
The second term, ‘Jambudvipa’, means ‘the island of the 
fruit of the jamun tree’. This is indeed a common tree native 
to India, also called ‘jambul tree’, ‘Malabar plum tree’, etc. 
‘Jambudvipa’ came to mean the Indian Subcontinent.
In fact, we get a good clue from an Indian emperor — his 
name is Ashoka and we will meet him later; for now, we 
can take his date to be about 250 BCE. As we will see, he 
left us many inscriptions. In one of them, he used the same 
5-100724-v16.indd   78 5-100724-v16.indd   78 11-Jul-24   4:25:00 PM 11-Jul-24   4:25:00 PM
79
5 ? India, That Is Bharat
name ‘Jambudvipa’ to describe the whole of India, which 
at the time included what is today Bangladesh, Pakistan, as 
well as parts of Afghanistan. 
Fig. 5.4. Map of a few regions listed in the Mahabharata. (Many of them are also 
mentioned in the text as kingdoms.) You do not need to remember those regions, but 
notice how they cover the entire geography of the Subcontinent.
5-100724-v16.indd   79 5-100724-v16.indd   79 11-Jul-24   4:25:02 PM 11-Jul-24   4:25:02 PM