Often civilizations are known in history by the names they are called by their contemporary civilizations. The sacred land of North-West India that we know as Punjab today has been named with various names over times by the civilization that interacted, communicated, traded, or warred with the people of this sacred land – Sumerian, Persians, Greeks, Chinese, and other regions of India.
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Figure1: Greater India and Punjab |
I am going to go through these names in chronological order that describes this geographic region. Its important here to note that the definitions are not just limited to the Republic of India but also includes neighboring countries as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Tibet, and many countries in Central Asia as well as SE Asia. Most of these political nations were carved out of India fairly recently relative to the history of the region.
Meluhha - Sumerian Name for Indus Valley
The oldest ever identity of this region comes from the ancient Sumerian civilization. Meluḫḫa or Melukhkha (Sumerian: 𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠 Me-luḫ-ḫa) is the Sumerian name of a prominent trading partner during the Middle Bronze Age associated with the Indus Valley civilization.
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Figure 1: Sumerian Seal depicts Translators of Muleha |
Akkadian King Naram-Sin mentions his procurement of
"blocks of Lapis lazuli and bright carnelian from Meluhha". It
is also mentioned in prayer to the mythological legends Enki and Ninhursag:
"May the foreign land of Meluhha load precious desirable cornelian,
perfect mes wood and beautiful aba wood into large ships for you."
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Figure3 : Map of Indus Valley Civilization |
This inscription confirms Meleha's association with Indus Valley based on the fact that prized blue stone of Lapis lazuli, Carnelian beads, and wood were some of the key exports from Indus Valley.
Punjab from Ancient Indian Scriptures
Now look at what our ancestors called this land as recorded in the ancient Indian scriptures. But before we go to this list, we must understand that these names DO NOT represent the entire India but describes a specific region of India – Greater Punjab.
Sapta Sindhu
Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the Rigveda, and consequently in early Vedic religion. The Vedic land is described as a land of the seven rivers (Sapta Sindhavaḥ; Sanskrit: सप्तसिन्धवः) flowing into the ocean.
“He has surveyed eight summits of the Earth, three shore
or desert regions, seven rivers.”
(aṣṭaú
vy àkhyat kakúbhaḥ pr̥thivyā́s trī́ dhánva yójanā saptá síndhūn RV.I.35.8).
It encompasses the northwestern Indian region from Hindukush mountains to Sindh. These seven rivers are Sindhu, Saraswati, and the five rivers of Punjab mentioned in Rigveda as Sutudri, Parusni, Asikni, Vitasta, and Vipasa.
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Figure 2: Seven Rivers of Rig Veda |
Bhārata
The name Bhārata or Bhārata-varṣa (Bharata-varsha) is derived from the name of either Rama's brother Bharata, or Dushyanta's son Bharata or Rishabha's son Bharata. The earliest recorded use of Bhāratavarṣa in a geographical sense is in the Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavela (first century BCE), where it applies only to a restricted area of northern India. The Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata is also composed in the same region of North India. Based on ancient scriptures, the region of Bharata or Bharataa Varsha excludes the eastern, western, and southern parts of India.
ऋषभो मरुदेव्याश्च ऋषभात भरतो भवेत्भरताद
भारतं वर्षं, भरतात सुमतिस्त्वभूत्
Rishabha was born to Marudevi, Bharata was born to Rishabha, Bharatavarsha
(country) arose from Bharata and Sumati arose from Bharata. —Vishnu Purana
उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."—Vishnu Purana
Jambudvīpa
Jambudvīpa (Sanskrit: जम्बुद्वीप, lit. 'berry island') was used in ancient scriptures as a name of Northern India in ancient Jain scriptures. The term is based on Jambu or Jamun a blackberry tree found in India. The derivative Jambu Dwipa was the historical term for India in many Southeast Asian countries before the introduction of the English word "India". This alternate name is still used occasionally in Thailand, Malaysia, Java and Bali to describe the Indian Subcontinent.
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Figure 3 Prakrit Incription - Jambu Dwipa |
Markandeya Purana portrays Jambu dvipa as being depressed on its south and north and elevated and broad in the middle. The term Jambu dvipa is used by Ashoka to represent his realm in 3rd century BC on the Mysorean inscription from the tenth century AD which also describes the region, India, as Jambu dvipa. The Jammu region in Greater Punjab derives its name from ‘Jambu Dwipa’.
Chinese and Tibetan Names for Punjab
Phagpay Yul - Tibetan Names of Punjab
Tibet is inextricably linked to India through geography, history, culture, and spiritually, Tibetans refer North India as Phagpay Yul (Land of the Aryan) and Mid to South India as Gyagar.
Tianzhu - Chinese Name for India
Tiānzhú or Tenjiku (Chinese and Japanese: 天竺) is used since ancient times to designate India as their "spiritual centre", The term comes from the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit Sindhu, the native name of the Indus River.
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Figure 4 Fan Ye Route to India via Punjab |
A detailed reference to North-West India as Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) compiled by Fan Ye (398–445):
"The state of Tianzhu: Also named Shendu, lies several thousand li southeast of Yuezhi. Its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi, and it is low, damp, and very hot. It borders a large river. The inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare; they are stronger than the Yuezhi. They practise the way of Futu (the Buddha). From west of the states Yuezhi and Gaofu, and south until the Western Sea, and east until the state of Panqi, all is the territory of Shendu. Shendu has several hundred separate towns, with a governor, and separate states which can be numbered in the tens, each with its own king. Although there are small differences among them, they all come under the general name of Shendu, and at this time all are subject to Yuezhi. Yuezhi have killed their kings and established a general in order to rule over their people. The land produces elephants, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin."
The current Chinese word for India is Yìndù (印度), first used by the seventh-century monk and traveller Xuanzang. The term is derrived from Sanskrit Sindhu, and its Persian equivalent term Hindu.
Hind/Hindustan - Persian Name for Punjab
Avesta, the scriptures of the ancient Persians refers to the region as Hapta Həndu which is equivalent of the Vedic Sapta Sindhavahá. in Vendidad 1.18 these are described to be the fifteenth of the sixteen lands created by Mazda, the creator.
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Figure 5: Sacred Avestan - Ancient Persian |
The Achemenid equivalent of Sindhu is "Hindush" (𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, H-i-du-u-š) was used for the Indus basin. The Achemenid conquest of the Indus Valley occurred from the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and saw the Persian Achemenid Empire led by Cyrus II and Darius I take control of regions in the northwestern region of Pakistan.
The inscription on the tomb of Darius I depicts Punjabis in three groups - Hindush from Indus basin, Sattagydia from SW Punjab, and Gandhara from Hindukush in NW Frontiers.
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Figure 6: Three Punjabis on Darius Tomb - Hindush-Sattagydia-Gandar |
The words Hindū (Persian: هندو) and Hind (Persian: هند) came from
Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit Sindhu (the Indus River and its region). In middle Persian or Farsi, the suffix -istān (Persian:
ستان) was added, indicative
of a country or region and equivalent of Sanskrit term -sthan, forming the name
Hindūstān.
Hindu were also used by the Persian speaking Islamic invasions from 11th
century: the rulers in the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods
called their Indian dominion, centered around Delhi, "Hindustan"
(ہندوستان; हिन्दुस्तान).
The term "Punjab" was first used in the Book "Tarikh-e-Sher Shah" in 1580. This historical context highlights the region's significance in the broader narrative of India's history.
India - Greek Name for Punjab
The English term India is from Greek Indos Ἰνδική / Indikē (cf. Megasthenes' work Indica) or Indía (Ἰνδία), via Latin transliteration. When Greeks arrived in India, they adopted the Persian name for the region as India and the mighty Sindhu river as Indus. The loss of the aspirate /h/ was due to the dialects of Greek spoken in Asia Minor.
Scylax of Caryanda who explored the Indus river for the Persian emperor Darius I probably took over the Persian name and passed it into Greek. The terms Indos (Ἰνδός) for the Indus river as well as "an Indian" are found in Herodotus's Geography. Herodotus also generalized the term "Indian" from the people of lower Indus basin, to all the people living to the east of Persia.
Figure 7: Ancient Greek Map of Pentootamia
By the time of Alexander, Punjab was denoted as the the region beyond the Indus. They named the region "Pentopotamia" or the land of five rivers. Alexander's companions were also aware of at least North India up to the Ganges delta as Gangaridai.
Hodu - Hebrew Name for India
The Indus region or Punjab continued to denote India and Indians broadly for a long period. Hodu (Hebrew: הֹדּוּ Hoddû) is the Biblical Hebrew name for India mentioned in the Book of Esther part of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament. In the Book of Esther, 1:1 and 8.9, Ahasuerus had been described as King ruling 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Ethiopia. The term seemingly derives from Sanskrit Sindhu, the Indus River, via Old Persian Hiñdu.
Al-Hind - The Arabic Name for India
The Arabic mentions of India borrows the term from Persians and uses the Indus region as Al-Hind to describe India. Prophet Mohammad (ﷺ) had a keen interest in India, This mention comes from the Hadith narrated that Abu Hurairah said:
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) promised that we would invade India, ghazwa al-hind). If I live to see that I will sacrifice myself and my wealth. If I am killed, I will be one of the best of the martyrs, and if I come back, I will be Abu Hurairah Al-Muharrar."
Second Hadith was narrated that Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'There are two groups of my Ummah whom Allah will free from the Fire: The group that invades India (Taghzoo al-hind), and the group that will be with 'Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him.'"
The term, Ghazwa al-Hind (غزوة الهند) means Ghazwa or military conquest; "-e-" meaning "of"; Hind means India. The conquerer is known as the "Ghazi" and these two terms have inspired countles military expeditions and invasions of India by Islamic zealots in history, as well as the anti-Indian polemicists living in Pakistan.
The name "al-Hind" (here لهند l'Hind) on an Umayyad coin minted in India, from the time of the first invader of Sindh and Multan, Muhammad ibn Qasim in 715 CE.
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Figure 8: Coins of Mohammad bin Qasim - al Hind |
How Punjab's Current Name was Chosen?
Though the name Punjab is of Persian origin, its two parts (پنج, panj, 'five' and آب, āb, 'water') are cognates of the Sanskrit words, पञ्च, pañca, 'five' and अप्, áp, 'water', of the same meaning. The word Pañjāb thus means 'The Land of Five Waters', referring to the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. All are tributaries of the Indus River, the Sutlej being the largest.
References to a land of five rivers may be found in the Mahabharata, which calls one of the regions in Aryavarta Panchanada (Sanskrit: पञ्चनद, romanized: pañca-nada, lit. 'Aryan land of five rivers').
The ancient Greeks referred to the region as Pentapotamía (Greek: Πενταποταμία),[17][18] which has the same meaning as the Persian word.
The term "Punjab" was first used in the Book "Tarikh-e-Sher Shah" in 1580. This historical context highlights the region's significance in the broader narrative of India's history.
My Conclusion
Its incredible that the Indus civilization of Punjab region has survived thousands of invasions and conquests for over 5,000 years and still breathes young in freedom. The fact is that India owes its name to this region of Indus Valley in Punjab. Its trading partners and conquerors called it by different names from Sumerian Muleha, Aryan Sapta Sindhu, Phagyul, Tianzhu, Hodu, Hind, al-Hind, and Hindustan; but were never able to alter the core heritage of the people.
Punjab is equally divided by India and Pakistan as East and West Punjab. In both counties, the political leaders have further divided the land. They even spell the name differently – Panjab vs, Punjab.
India carved out two states out of the East Punjab – Haryana and Himachal. The Jammu region was carved out by the British from Punjab and added to Kashmir. There is a deliberate attempt to break these regions from Punjabi heritage and link them to Hindi. Himachali, Dogri, and Haryanvi are dialects of Punjabi language with little in common with Hindi. Similarly in Pakistan, the South-West region has been carved out of West Punjab and Siraiki is labelled as the language of the new state which in fact is a dialect of Punjabi language.
So what should be the name of this region that accurately describes us all? Punjab, Panjab, Panchnad, Sapta Sindhu, Meluhha, or Pentopotamia?
I would love to see your preference in the comments .. thanks.
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