Names for India
Historical definitions of India
Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below.

Names for India

Section Title: Historical definitions of India
Table Section Text: Some historical definitions prior to 1500 are presented below.

Year	Name	Source	Definition

c. 440 BCE	India	Herodotus	"Eastward of India lies a tract which is entirely sand. Indeed, of all the inhabitants of Asia, concerning whom anything is known, the Indians dwell nearest to the east and the rising of the Sun."

c.400-300 BCE	Hodu	Book of Esther (Bible)	"Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from Hodu (India) to Cush (Ethiopia) over 127 provinces"

300 BCE	Aryavarta	Vashistha, Vashistha Dharmasutra	"In the west [for Aryavarta]_ the boundary-river (Indus), in the east the region where the sun rises (Himalayas),—as far as the black antelopes wander (between these two limits.)"

c. 300 BC	India/Indikē	Megasthenes	"India then being four-sided in plan, the side which looks to the Orient and that to the South, the Great Sea compasseth; that towards the Arctic is divided by the mountain chain of Hēmōdus from Scythia, inhabited by that tribe of Scythians who are called Sakai; and on the fourth side, turned towards the West, the Indus marks the boundary, the biggest or nearly so of all rivers after the Nile."

200 BCE	Jambudvipa	Chanakya Arthashastra	"This (Brahmaputra) is the eastern boundary of Jambudvipa, its western boundary being the mouths of the Indus and its southern boundary being the Indian Ocean or Rama Sethu."

Between first century BCE and Ninth century CE	Bhāratavarṣa (realm of Bhārata)	Vishnu Purana	"उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" i.e. "The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."

100 CE or later	Bhāratam	Vishnu Purana	"उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।" i.e. "The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."

c. 140.	Indoi, Indou	Arrian	"The boundary of the land of India towards the north is Mount Taurus. It is not still called Taurus in this land; but Taurus begins from the sea over against Pamphylia and Lycia and Cilicia; and reaches as far as the Eastern Ocean, running right across Asia.

c. 650	Five Indies	Xuanzang	"The circumference of 五印 (Modern Chinese: Wǔ Yìn, the Five Indies) is about 90,000 li; on three sides it is bounded by a great sea; on the north it is backed by snowy mountains.

c. 950.	Hind	Istakhri	"As for the land of the Hind it is bounded on the East by the Persian Sea (i.e. the Indian Ocean), on the W.

c. 1020	Hind	Al-Birūnī	"Hind is surrounded on the East by Chín and Máchín, on the West by Sind (Baluchistan) and Kábul and on the South by the Sea."

Hindustan	John Richardson, A Smaller Manual of Modern Geography. Physical and Political	"The boundaries of Hindustan are marked on every side by natural features; e.g., the Himalayas, on the N.; the Patkoi Mountains, Tippera Hills, &c., on the N.E.; the Sea, on the E., S., and W.; and the Hala, and Sulaiman Mountains, on the N.W."

Sentence(s)

In Esther, Ahasuerus as King ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.
In Esther, Ahasuerus had been ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.
Esther Ahasuerus had 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.

final_sentence: In Esther, Ahasuerus as King ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.
final_sentence: In Esther, Ahasuerus had been ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.
final_sentence: Esther Ahasuerus had 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia.