भारत गणराज्य का गठन 1947 में राज्यों के संघ के रूप में किया गया था। 1956 के राज्यों का पुनर्गठन अधिनियम के बाद, भाषाई लाइनों के साथ राज्य की सीमाओं का पुनर्व्यवस्थापन हुआ, और कई राज्यों को अपनी भाषाओं में नाम दिए गए। कई राज्यों को उनकी भौगोलिक विशेषताओं, अजीब इतिहास या आबादी और औपनिवेशिक प्रभावों के कारण नामित किया गया है।

राज्य 
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! राज्य का नाम (# on map) !! राज्य की भाषा में !! अर्थ !! टिप्पणियाँ

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|आंध्र प्रदेश (1) ||  ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్ (तेलुगू) || Province of Andhras || "Andhra" is the name of a dynasty mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature, later used as a synonym for Telugu people; "Pradesh" means province. The earliest extant text to mention the word Andhra is Aitareya Brahmana. According to the text (7.18), when Vishwamitra's elder sons refused to accept his adoption of Shunahshepa, he cursed their descendants to be exiled from Aryavarta; the Andhras were one of these descendant groups.
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|अरुणाचल प्रदेश (2) || Arunachal Pradesh (English) || State of dawn-lit mountains || In Sanskrit, aruna means "dawn-lit" and achal "mountains". The state is located in the easternmost part of the country and gets first sunrise in the country.
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|असम (3) || অসম (असमिया) || "Uneven" or from "Ahom" ||  Most scholars believe that Assam is derived from the Ahoms, who ruled Assam for six centuries. The word Ahom itself may be derived from Shan (syam in Assamese) or from the Sanskrit word "asama" (uneven, in the sense of "unequal" or "peerless"), referring to its geology which is an equal mix of river valleys and hills. See Etymology of Assam.
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|बिहार (4) || बिहार (Hindi) || Monastery || From Sanskrit Vihara ("Buddhist monastery"). Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as military cantonments; the word Bihar may have come from the large number of viharas thus used in the area. Spelling the name with 'B' instead of 'V' is an East Indian tradition.
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|छत्तीसगढ (5) || छत्तीसगढ़ (Hindi) || Thirty-six forts || Chhattisgarh translates to "Thirty-six forts" in Hindi. There are several theories about what the term "Thirty-six forts" refers to; see Chhattisgarh#Etymology. According to the various theories, the term may refer to the 36 pillars of a temple, 36 former feudal territories or 36 houses. Another theory says that the term is actually a corruption of the word "Chedisgarh" that refers to the Chedi dynasty.
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|गोवा (6) || गोंय (कोंकणी) || Uncertain, probably related to "cow" || The name Goa came to European languages via Portuguese, but its precise origin is unclear. A number of theories about its origin are centered around the Sanskrit word go (cow). For example, the legend of Krishna names a mountain where he saved the cow; the mountain was named "Gomantak", which later became Goa. For other theories, see Goa#Etymology.
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|गुजरात (7) || ગુજરાત (गुजराती) || Land of "Gurjars" || The Gurjars, who ruled the area around the 8th century.
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|हरियाणा (8) || हरियाणा (हिन्दी) || Abode of God or Green forest || One theory is that the name derives from the Sanskrit words Hari (a name of Vishnu) and ayana (home), meaning "the Abode of God". Another theory traces the name to the words hari (green) and aranya (forest).
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|हिमाचल प्रदेश (9) || हिमाचल प्रदेश (हिन्दी) ||Land of the snow-clad mountains || In Sanskrit, hima means "snow" and achal "mountain".
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|जम्मू और कश्मीर (10) || جموں و کشمیر (कश्मीरी) || Jammu and Kashmir regions || The word "Jammu" is possibly named after the king Jambu Lochan. "Kashmir" may mean the "Land desiccated by water" (from Sanskrit Ka, water + shimira, to desiccate) or may be derived from the name of the sage Kashyapa.
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|झारखंड (11) || ᱡᱷᱟᱨᱠᱷᱚᱸᱰ (संताली) || Forest Land || jhari means "dense forest" in Sanskrit. khand means "land."
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|कर्नाटक (12) || ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ (कन्नड) || Lofty Land/ Land of "Kannadiga"s || From karu (great/lofty) + nāḍu (land/country) = karunāḍu, which means "lofty land", referring to the Deccan plateau. karnataka is the Sanskritised adjectival form of karunāḍu, and means "of karunāḍu". In 1947, this state was formed from the princely state of Mysore. In 1956, the Kannada-speaking regions of neighboring states were added to Mysore state. The name was changed to Karnataka in 1973.
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|केरल (13) || കേരളം (मलयालम) || Land added on or Land of "Cheras"  or Land of Coconut Trees|| There are two main theories about the derivation of "Kerala". (1) According to Hindu mythology, parts of Kerala were created by Lord Parasurama, who reclaimed the land from the sea. Hence the name is derived from chernna ("added") and alam ("land"), hence the Sanskrit keralam, "the land added on". (2) The Chera dynasty, which ruled most of Kerala from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, gave its name to the region; chera alam later became Keralam. This is often disputed in academic circles because the word Kerala existed even before the rule of Cheras. One of Ashoka's inscriptions describes Keralaputra as a land on the Mauryan border.
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|मध्य प्रदेश (14) || मध्य प्रदेश (हिन्दी) || Central Province || Prior to independence, the majority of this area was administered by the British as the Central Provinces and the Central Indian States. At independence, several of these districts were joined together as the Central Provinces and Berar. In 1950, these two regions were merged with Makrai and Chhattisgarh and the term "Central Provinces" was translated to Hindi as Madhya Pradesh.
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|महाराष्ट्र (15) || महाराष्ट्र (मराठी) || Uncertain; possibly "Maha" (Great) + Sanskritized form of "Ratta dynasty" || The most widely accepted theory among scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derive from a compound of maha (Sanskrit for "great") and rashtrika. The word rashtrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region. Yet another theory is that the term is derived from maha ("great") and rathi or ratha (charioteer). Another theory states that the term derives from the words maha ("Great") and rashtra ("nation"). However, this theory has not found acceptance among modern scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritized interpretation of later writers.
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|मणिपुर (16) || ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ (मैथिली/मणिपुरी) || Jewelled Land || From Sanskrit, mani ("jewel") + pur ("city"). It seems that naming the said name in account of the past prosperity of land.
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|मेघालय (17) || Meghalaya (खासी) || The abode of clouds || From Sanskrit, megha ("clouds") and alaya ("abode"). The state of Meghalaya has reputation of having highest rainfall as compared to other states of country. The wettest place in the world Mawsynram, is located in Meghalaya; said feature of the land is reflected in its name.
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|मिज़ोरम (18) || Mizoram (मिज़ो) || Land of the highlanders || mi means "people" and zo means "hill" and "ram" means country. The states of Nagaland and Mizoram are exceptions where Sanskrit words are not used in the state name. Mizoram was named after the Mizo tribal dialect and refers to their land.
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|नागालैण्ड (19) || Nagaland (English) || Land of the Nagas. || Naga is an exonym used to describe several tribes in the region. The origin of the word "Naga" is uncertain, but one theory states that it originated from the Burmese word Naka, meaning people with earrings or pierced noses. The British explorers which comes into contact with Myanma in 1795 and with Nagas since 1832, heard about Na-Ka group and anglicised it as Naga, as found in British anthropological and official records. Another theory points to the usage by people of Assam where Naga meaning 'naked', is used for 'primitive man living in natural surroundings in uncorrupted form'.
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|ओडिशा (20) || ଓଡ଼ିଶା (उडिया) || Land of the "Odias" || The name of the state is derived from the Sanskrit odra vishaya or odra desha that referred to the Odra people who inhabited the central part of the region. Sanskrit and Pali literatures mention the Odra people as odrah and oddaka.
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|पंजाब (21) || ਪੰਜਾਬ (पंजाबी) || Land of five rivers || A combination of the Persian words punj ("five") and ab ("water"). The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.
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|राजस्थान (22) || राजस्थान (हिन्दी) || Land of Kings || From raja "king" and -sthan land, abode" from Sanskrit sthā́na).Charles Rockwell Lanman, A Sanskrit Reader: Text and Vocabulary and Notes, Harvard University Press, 1884, pp. 229 and 273, .
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|सिक्किम (23) || सिक्किम (नेपाली) || New Palace || The most widely accepted origin of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two words in Limbu: su ("new") and khyim ("palace" or "house"), in reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Denjong, which means "valley of rice".
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|तमिलनाडू (24) || தமிழ்நாடு (तमिल) || Homeland of "Tamils" || nadu in the Tamil language means "homeland" or "nation" hence Tamil Nadu means "homeland of Tamils". The origin of the world "Tamil" itself is uncertain: theories range from "self speech" to "sweet sound" (see Tamil language#Etymology).
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|तेलंगाना (25) || తెలంగాణ (तेलुगू)|| Land of Telugus || A popular etymology derives the word "Telangana" from Trilinga desa ("land of three lingas"), a region so called because three important Shaivite shrines were located here: Kaleshwaram, Srisailam and Draksharama. Other theories also exists: see Telangana#Etymology.
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|त्रिपुरा (26) || ত্রিপুরা (बंगाली) || Three cities || Several theories exist pertaining to the origin of Tripura's name (see Tripura#Name). Possible origins are from Kokborok (tui, "water" + pra, "near") and Sanskrit (tri, "three" + pura, "city"). The Sanskrit name is linked to Tripura Sundari, the presiding deity of the Tripura Sundari Temple at Udaipur, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas (pilgrimage centres of Shaktism), and to the legendary tyrant king Tripur, who reigned in the region. Tripur was the 39th descendant of Druhyu, who belonged to the lineage of Yayati, a king of the Lunar Dynasty.
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|उत्तर प्रदेश (27)|| उत्तर प्रदेश (हिन्दी) || Northern Province || Prior to independence, the majority of the territory now comprising Uttar Pradesh was administered by the British under various names—the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the United Provinces of British India, and simply United Provinces. The latter name was retained at independence. In 1950, the commonly used initials U.P. were preserved by adoption of the name Uttar Pradesh, meaning "Northern Province."
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|उत्तराखंड (28) || उत्तराखण्ड (हिन्दी) || Northern Land || In 2000, the new state of Uttaranchal ("northern mountains") was split from Uttar Pradesh. In 2007, the name was changed to Uttarakhand ("northern land").
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|पश्चिम बंगाल (29) || পশ্চিমবঙ্গ (बंगाली) || West part of Bengal || The term West Bengal originated after the Partition of Bengal province in 1905 by the colonial administration. The origin of the word "Bengal" itself is uncertain (see Etymology of Bengal). Possible origins include the name of a tribe that settled in the area around 1000 BCE and the Austric word for the sun god. Another theory states that the word "Bengal" is derived from the words Bonga (God of the [Santals]) + Aal (Device used in Agriculture).
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केंद्र शासित प्रदेश

अंडमान व नोकोबार द्वीप समूह (A):
 Andaman: Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1440) mentioned the word Andaman meant "Island of Gold". A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th century and has since gained momentum is that the name of the islands derives from Sanskrit via the Malay Handuman, named for the deity Hanuman.
 Nicobar: The name "Nicobar" is probably derived from the Chola dynasty name for the islands, Nakkavaram (literally, "naked man" in Tamil) which is inscribed on a Tanjore inscription of 1050 CE.
चण्डीगढ़ (B): "Chandi's fort". No actual fort ever existed; a large Chandi temple "protected" the locals, hence the name. The goddess Chandi appears as a form of the goddess Kali or Parvati.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli (C): From the towns of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Daman and Diu (D): From the towns of Daman and Diu.
Jammu & Kashmir
Lakshadweep (E): "Hundred Thousand Islands". In Sanskrit, laksha means "a hundred thousand" and dweep means "island".
Leh-Ladakh
National Capital Territory Delhi (F): The etymology of "Delhi" is uncertain. The very common view is that its eponym is Dhillu or Dilu, a king of the Mauryan dynasty, who built the city in 50 BC and named it after himself. The Hindi/Prakrit word dhili ("loose") was used by the Tomaras to refer to the city because the Iron Pillar built by Raja Dhava had a weak foundation and was replaced. Coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal. Some other historians believe that the name is derived from Dilli, a corruption of dehleez   () or dehali (). Both terms mean "threshold" or "gateway" and are symbolic of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain. Another theory suggests that the city's original name was Dhillika.

Puducherry (G): formerly known as Pondicherry: from Puducheri, from Tamil pudu "new" + cheri'' "settlement" or "camp".

संदर्भ 

India
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Etymologies of names of country subdivisions
State