Chapter 5 Solutions — India, That is Bharat

The quotation is by Sri Aurobindo: 'In India at a very early time the spiritual and cultural unity was made complete and became the very stuff of the life of all this great surge of humanity between the Himalayas and the two seas.'

It means that, long ago, the people living in the Indian Subcontinent — between the Himalayas in the north and the seas on the east and west — were bound together by a shared spiritual and cultural life.

Even though India had many different regions and names, this inner unity ran through all its people and became part of their everyday existence.

Sri Aurobindo is saying that India's unity is very ancient and goes beyond political boundaries.

This is an open-ended question — your answer may differ. Here is a model answer based on the chapter's discussion of naming:

2,000 years ago I might have chosen 'Jambudvipa' — the name Ashoka himself used around 250 BCE.

Reason: The jamun (jambul) tree was native to the land and familiar to everyone from the northwest to the south. Naming the country after such a common, beloved tree would feel natural and unifying.

Alternatively, I might have chosen 'Bharatavarsha' — 'the country of the Bharatas' — because by that time it was already used in the Mahabharata and described the whole Subcontinent from the Himalayas to the seas.

The chapter shows that both names were used around 2,000 years ago, so either would be a well-reasoned choice. What matters is giving a reason connected to geography, nature, or the people of the land.

The chapter mentions several reasons why people came to India from other parts of the world:

1. Military campaigns: Persian emperors sent armies to gain control of the region of the Indus River.

2. Religion and pilgrimage: Scholars and pilgrims came to India for its religious and spiritual traditions. Xuanzang, the Chinese traveller, visited India in the 7th century CE to collect Buddhist texts and meet scholars.

3. Scholarly exchange: Xuanzang and other Chinese scholars came to learn from Indian knowledge traditions and translate manuscripts.

4. Trade: India was a land of great resources and goods, making trade a likely motivation for many ancient travellers.

5. India's reputation: The Chinese word 'Tianzhu' (another name for India) could mean 'heavenly master', reflecting the respect for India as the land of the Buddha — drawing people for spiritual reasons.