Bhāratavarṣa (English spelling)

Japanese: バーラタバルシャ（英語表記）Bhāratavarṣa

The name "India" has been used since ancient times. In Sanskrit it means "the land of the Bharatas," and Indians still refer to their country by this name today. On Indian postage stamps, along with the English word "India," Bharat is printed in Devanagari script, which is an abbreviation of Bharatavarsha and is also the official name of the country. King Bharata was a legendary emperor who rose to power in northern India long ago during the time of the Rig Veda, and his descendants were called the Bharatas. The Kurus and Pandus, who play leading roles in the great epic poem "Mahabharata," were both royal families belonging to the Bharatas.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

インド古来よりの〈インド〉の呼称。サンスクリットで〈バラタ族の国土〉を意味し，インド人は現在も自国のことをこのように呼んでいる。インドの切手に英語のIndiaとともに，デーバナーガリー文字でバーラトと印刷されているが，これはバーラタバルシャの略で，正式国名ともなっている。バラタ王は《リグ･ベーダ》時代の遠い昔に，北インドに雄飛した伝説的帝王で，その子孫はバラタ族と呼ばれた。大叙事詩《マハーバーラタ》に主役を演ずるクル族とパーンドゥ族は，ともにバラタ族に属する王族である。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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