As per sanatna dharma, religious scriptures like Puranas and Vedas, there were a total of seven islands on the earth, namely Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kush, Kraunch, Shak and Pushkar. Out of these islands, the Jambu Island was located in the middle of all. Earlier the followers of Sanatana Dharma, (Hindus) ruled the island of Jambu. This rule was subsequently reduced to Bharatvarsha or Bharat Khand. Jambu Island had 9 sections :- Ilavrit, Bhadrashva, Kimpurush, Bharat, Hari, Ketumal, Ramyak, Kuru and Hiranyamay. Bharat Khand also had nine sections – Indradweep, Kaseru, Tamraparna, Gabhastimaan, Nagadweep, Saumya, Gandharva and Varuna. Varuna island was surrounded by sea. This entire region was ruled by the great emperor Bharata and descendants of Bharata.
Thus bharat was spread from the Hindukush mountain range of Afghanistan to the mountain range of Arunachal and from the Himalayan peaks of Kashmir to Kanyakumari. On the other hand, it extended from Hindu Kush to Arabian Sea and from Arunachal to Burma. Present-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia etc. came under Bharatvarsha. It’s evidence is still present today.In this section of Bharat, Kurus, Panchala, Pundra, Kalinga, Magadha, Dakshinatya, Aparantadeshavasi, Saurashtragana, Taha Shura, Abhira, Arbudagana, Karusha, Malava, Pariyatra, Sauvira, Sandhava, Huna, Shalva, Kosala, Madra, Aram, Ambastha and Parsi Gana etc. live there. In its eastern part Kirats and in the western part were inhabited by Yavanas.
Thousands of years before the time of Lord Rama, the first Manu, the grandson of Swayambhuva Manu and the son of Priyavrata, had earlier settled in Bharatavarsha. According to Vayu Purana, Maharaj Priyavrat had no son of his own, so he had adopted his daughter’s son Agnindhra whose son was Nabhi. The son born to Meru Devi, a wife of Nabhi, was named Rishabh. Bharata was the son of Rishabh and after this Bharata, this country was named ‘Bharatvarsha’. However, some people believe that Bharatavarsha was named after the Bharatas who were born in Rama’s clan in the past. During ancient times, Jambu island was the only island where there was a suitable climate for living and in that also the climate of Bharatvarsha was the best. Swayambhuva Manu and his wife Shatrupa used to reside near the Vivasta river.
King Priyavrat had seven daughter and he has ten grand sons. He made them kings of the sevey continents of the entire earth and made Agnindhra the king of Jambu Island. King Bharata gave bharatavarsha to his son Sumati. Bharat was a majestic king and a great devotee of sanatana dharma. The description of his life and other births comes in the Pancham Skandha of Shrimad Bhagwat and Jain texts. According to the Mahabharata, Bharata’s empire was spread over the entire Indian subcontinent, which included present-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Persia. After the first king Bharat, there were many more Bharatas. In the 7th Manu Vaivasvat clan, there was a Bharat whose father’s name was Dhruvasandhi . He had a son named Asit. Asit’s son’s name was Sagar. Sagar was a very majestic king of Ayodhya. Bhagirath was born in the family of this Sagar, Yayati was born in the family of Bhagirath. In the family of Yayati, the king was Ramchandra and Ram’s sons Luv and Kush ruled the entire earth. During Mahabharata period, there was another hindu king namely Bharata, a chakravarti king. Bharatavarsha was named after Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta and his wife Shakuntala. Bharat had a son whose name was Bhardwaj. Bharadwaj was a great sage.
