It will be very clear here that, various historians and scholars have different opinions about ancient name of India - 'Bharatvarsha'. There are different approaches and concepts to learn about ancient name used for India at different time space. Other than Bharatvarsha, this land was known by Jambudvipa, Aryavarta, Hind, Hindustan, India, Sapta Sindhu.
Bharatvarsha was the one of the ancient and most prominently used name in ancient time for India. As mentioned earlier that there are various approaches and opinions, the term Bharatvarsha had different origins. For our convince we can classify them into two broader prospectives:
1. Geographical & Political Prospective
2. Personification of Bharata
1. Geographical & Political Prospective
We have various literary historical sources that mention about term Bharatvarsha. As per the contents of various Puranas, Bharatvarsha was the land which formed the part of a larger unit called Jambudvipa. Annular in its form, the island of Jambudvipa is itself surrounded by six other similarly annular- shaped continents that are concentrically organized around Mount Meru, the Axis mundi situated just beneath the polar star.
Also in Epics and some of the Puranas, the whole Jambudvipa is called the Bharatvarsha. According to Vishnu Purana,
"The Country that lies north of the ocean and the south of the snowy mountains is called Bharat for there dwell the descendants of the Bharat."
So, the large countries are named after its citizens and race. In this context, it could be said that the name Bharatvarsha had been derived from the Bharata race of Vedic Aryans. The Bharata's were a venerable and ancient tribe who were mentioned in the Rig Veda also, specially in Mandala 3 of Bharata Rishi Vishwamitra, as well as in other ancient texts. In Mandala 7, it is stated that, the Bharatas were Victorious in the Battle of Ten Kings. This is supported by historical evidences too.
According to the Aitareya Brahmana, Bharata was a universal monarch who had built a vast empire winning vast areas of land spread all over the four directions.
2. Personifications of Bharata
As we knew, there are four yugas or time cycles of the Universe, according to Hindu tradition or Sanatan Dharma namely Satyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparyuga and Kalyuga. There were three personifications of Bharata in Sanatan Dharma, one in each first three yugas, that is:
I. Bharata of Satyuga
II. Bharata of Tretayuga
III. Bharata of Dwaparyuga
They all three exemplified ideals which permeated Hindu civilization and form its core values to this day.
I. Bharata of Satyuga
The first personifications of Bharata was seen in Satyuga and born as the son of Rishabdeva, who was the first of the ancient sagas to be recognised by the Jainas. The Adipurana of Jinasena tells that Rishabdeva attained enlightenment and became the first Jina. The Chakra appeared in the armoury of his son Bharata and proclaimed him a Cakravartin Samrat of Bharat Bhumi.
He exemplified the Daya, Karuna, Brahma Gyana and Tapas in his actions and words.
II. Bharata of Tretayuga
The second personifications of Bharata was seen in Tretayuga and born as the son of King Dasaratha of Ayodhya and the younger brother of Shri Rama.
He exemplified the virtue of Love (Prem), Devotion (Bhakti) and Brotherhood (Bandhutva) in his actions and words.
III. Bharata of Dwaparyuga
The third personifications of Bharata was seen in Dwaparyuga and born as the son of Shakuntala and king Dushyant. Their story was the part of Mahabharat narrative, but it was Kalidasa who immortalized their love in his masterpiece - Abhijanashakuntalam. Shakuntala did gandharva vivah to king Dushyant and gave birth to Bharata, who grew up so bold and fearless that he played with lions. He is regarded as greatest king of India, who lent his name to the country.
He exemplified the values of Service (Sewa), Valour (Shaurya) and Charity (Dana).
Conclusion
As we read, there are various sources and their interpretations regards term Bharatvarsha and the historical story of this name given to this land which know today as India. However, we have a number of etymology but we cannot deny that all sources tell us about indigenous kings and persons, by whom's greatest actions this land was known by the name of Bharatvarsha (as the large countries are named after its citizens and race).
References
7. Rig Veda
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