CBSE Class 6 Social Science India That Is Bharat Worksheet Set 01

Fill in the Blanks

Question. This led to titles like _________ and _________.
Answer: Hindu, Indoi
Explanation: The word Sindhu changed slowly into Hindu in Persian and Indoi in Greek.

Question. Names bestowed by ancient Indians was _________ and _________.
Answer: Jambudvipa and Bharata
Explanation: These were two of the earliest native names used by our ancestors.

Question. The name '__________' is still used nowadays in North India.
Answer: Bharat
Explanation: Bharat is an ancient and proud name for our country that people still use in their everyday speech today.

Question. Emperor __________ utilized the term 'Jambudvipa' in his inscriptions.
Answer: Ashoka
Explanation: Ashoka was a famous ancient emperor who had the name Jambudvipa carved onto stone pillars across his vast empire.

Question. The term '__________' refers to the land of India as described in the Mahabharata.
Answer: Bharatavarsha
Explanation: In the great ancient story of the Mahabharata, the entire subcontinent is called Bharatavarsha, meaning the country of the Bharatas.

Question. The __________ Veda is considered India's oldest scripture.
Answer: Rig
Explanation: The Rig Veda is one of the oldest sacred books in the world, written thousands of years ago in ancient India.

Question. The ancient Chinese called the region as '__________' or 'Yindu.'
Answer: Yintu
Explanation: Ancient Chinese travelers heard the word 'Sindhu' and pronounced it in their own language as 'Yintu' or 'Yindu'.

True or False

Question. 'Bhāratavarsha' refers strictly to the region of Kashmir.
Answer: False
Explanation: Bharatavarsha did not mean just one small place like Kashmir; it meant the entire giant land from the Himalayas to the oceans.

Question. 'Sapta Sindhava' refers to the realm of ten rivers.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Sanskrit word 'Sapta' means seven, so 'Sapta Sindhava' actually means the land of seven rivers, not ten.

Question. Xuanzang was a Chinese scholar who journeyed to India.
Answer: True
Explanation: Xuanzang walked all the way across deserts and mountains from China to India to study at Nalanda University and learn about Buddhism.

Question. According to the Vishnu Purana, Bharata is described as the land between the two major rivers Ganga and Yamuna. 
Answer: False
Explanation: The Vishnu Purana describes Bharata as the entire land between the southern ocean and the northern snowy mountains.

Question. The current name ‘India’ is derived from the Latin form of the word ‘Sindhu’.
Answer: True
Explanation: The word traveled from Sanskrit 'Sindhu' to Persian, then Greek and Latin, before becoming 'India' in English.

Questions / Short Question Answers

Question. When was the term ‘Hindustan’ first used to denote India?
Answer: 1800 years ago, the term Hindustan was used in a Persian Inscription to describe India.
Explanation: Nearly two thousand years ago, an ancient Persian ruler had the name Hindustan carved into a stone monument.

Question. What does the term 'Bharatavarsha' signify?
Answer: The country of the Bharatas.
Explanation: It signifies that this great land was the homeland of the ancient Bharata clan.

Question. Which Indian emperor used the term ‘Jambudvipa’ to label India? What does this term mean for him?
Answer: (i) Emperor Ashoka used the term ‘Jambudvipa’ in many inscriptions.
(ii) He used the term to describe present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan.
Explanation: Ashoka used Jambudvipa to show the massive territory he ruled, stretching across India and nearby lands.

Question. What did the ancient Greeks call India?
Answer: The ancient Greeks adopted the Persian name and called India ‘Indoi’ or ‘Indike’. They dropped the letter ‘H’ as it didn’t exist in their language, evolving the term from Sindhu to Hindhu to Indoi/Indike.
Explanation: Greek travelers heard the Persian word Hindu, dropped the letter H, and called the people Indoi.

Question. What titles did the Persians use to refer to India?
Answer: The Persians referred to India as ‘Hind’, ‘Hidu’ or ‘Hindu’ which are adaptations in their language of the term ‘Sindhu’ which was what region of the Indus River was called.
Explanation: The Persians substituted their 'H' sound for the Sanskrit 'S', turning Sindhu into Hind and Hindu.

Question. Examine the physical map of the Indian Sub-continent at the start of the chapter. What are its natural boundaries that you can make out?
Answer: I can make out the following natural boundaries from the physical map of the Indian sub-continent at the start of the chapter:
• Northern and North-Eastern Boundary: This boundary is made by the Himalayas.
• North Western Boundary: The Hindukush mountains form the North-Western boundary of the Indian sub-continent.
• Eastern Boundary: Bay of Bengal forms the Eastern boundary of the sub-continent.
• Western Boundary: Arabian Sea forms the Western boundary of the Indian sub-continent.
Explanation: India is naturally guarded by gigantic mountain ranges on top and vast blue seas on its sides.

Question. Name any three provinces mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Answer: Kashmira, Vanga and Kaccha were three regions mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Explanation: These ancient places are the same areas we know today as Kashmir, Bengal, and Kutch in Gujarat.

Question. What does ‘Sapta Sindhava’ translate to?
Answer: ‘Sapta Sindhava’ means the land of the seven rivers. In the Rigveda, it refers to the North-West region of the Indian sub-continent. The term signifies the importance of rivers in ancient Indian geography and culture.
Explanation: In Sanskrit, 'Sapta' means seven and 'Sindhu' means river, reminding us how life-giving rivers were to our ancestors.

Question. What names did the historical Chinese use to refer to India?
Answer: The ancient Chinese used multiple names to refer to India, including ‘Yintu’ or ‘Yindu’, derived from ‘Sindhu’. Additionally, they employed ‘Tianzhu’, meaning ‘heavenly master’, demonstrating respect for India as the land of Buddha.
Explanation: Chinese visitors honored India as the sacred homeland of Buddhism using names like Yindu and Tianzhu.

Question. Why are names valuable?
Answer: Names are important as they provide a unique label and are the fundamental identities that are carried over years or even ages. They further reflect cultural and historical contexts, facilitate communication, and symbolise deeper meanings.
Explanation: A name tells everyone who you are, where you come from, and what your special history is.

Question. How do we describe India?
Answer: India can be defined as a country which has a rich cultural and spiritual history that dates back to thousands of years to ancient civilizations like the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Vedic Period.
Explanation: India is an ancient nation with a long, beautiful history of art, diverse festivals, and great thinkers.

Question. What does 'Jambudvipa' indicate?
Answer: The island of the fruit of the jamun tree.
Explanation: It poetically describes our land as a fertile island filled with sweet, dark jamun fruit trees.

Question. What are the two expressions used in the Mahabharata to describe the Indian Subcontinent?
Answer: The Mahabharata has used the terms ‘Bharatavarsha’ and ‘Jambudvipa’ to describe the Indian Subcontinent.
Explanation: The great epic uses both Bharatavarsha and Jambudvipa to talk about our entire country.

Question. In the Rig Veda, what does the term ‘Sapta Sindhava’ point to?
Answer: ‘Sapta Sindhava’ refers to the land of the seven rivers, particularly referring to the northwest region of the Indian subcontinent.
Explanation: It points to the fertile northern river valley where the early Vedic people lived and farmed.

Question. What name does the Constitution use to denote India?
Answer: The Constitution refers to India as Bharat.
Explanation: Our country's supreme book of law recognizes both 'India' and 'Bharat' as official names.

Question. Have you identified the ‘snowy mountains’? Do you think this short description of Bharata is correct?
Answer: Yes, I have identified the 'snowy mountains'. It is used for the Himalayan mountain which is snow laden in most part of the year. Yes, I think this brief description of Bharata is correct to a huge extent as the natural Southern boundary of India is made by the Indian ocean and the Northern boundary is made by the snow laden Himalayas.
Explanation: Yes, the snowy peaks are the Himalayas up north, and the vast Indian Ocean sits at the south, framing our country perfectly.

Question. What were the historical names for India?
Answer: The ancient names for India were ‘Bharatavarsha’, ‘Jambudvipa’ and Bharata.
Explanation: Down through history, our ancestors gave our land meaningful names like Bharata, Bharatavarsha, and Jambudvipa.

Question. What is the definition of ‘Bharatavarsha’?
Answer: ‘Bharatavarsha’ refers to the entire Indian sub-continent, named after the ancient Vedic tribe ‘Bharatas’. It means the country of the Bharatas, encompassing present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Explanation: It means the land of the Bharatas, covering the vast region where our ancient ancestors lived together.