State name (#

on map)
In State Language Meaning Notes
Seemandhra(1)
(Telugu)
Southern Proviince
Andhra denotes "south" in Sanskrit (citation? Mahabharata refers to
Andhras as the name of a specific tribe of people), while Pradesh means
Province. The ancient Indian epics such as the Mahabharata, mention the
Andhra as a tribe whose members fought on the side of
both Pandavas and Kauravas (see Andhra in Indian epic literature). The
earliest mention of the Andhras is said to be in Aitareya Brahmana, which
mentions Andhras as sons of the sage Vishwamitra.
[citation
needed]
Satavahanas were Maurya officials titled Andhra-Bhartyah (officers
of South).
Arunachal
Pradesh (2)

(Hindi)
Land of the dawn-lit
mountains.
In Sanskrit, aruna means "dawn-lit" and achal "mountains".
Assam (3)

(Assamese/Bodo)
"Uneven" or from
"Ahom"
Indo-Aryan word asama means "uneven". However, most scholars believe
that Assam is derived from the Ahoms, who ruled Assam for six centuries.
The word Ahom itself may be derived from Shan (Syam in Assamese) or
from the Indo-Aryan word "Asama" (uneven, in the sense of "unequal" or
"peerless").
[1]
See Etymology of Assam.
Bihar (4)
(Hindi)
From vihara ("Buddhist
monastery")
Foreign invaders often used abandoned viharas as military cantonments;
the word Bihar may have come from the large number of viharas thus used
in the area. Originally Bihar was name of a town, which was the medieval
headquarters of the Muslim invaders in the Magadha region.
[citation
needed]
The town still exists and is called Bihar or Bihar Sharif (Nalanda
District). Later on the headquarters was shifted from Bihar to Patana
(current Patna) by Sher Shah Suri and the whole Magadha region was
called Bihar.
Chhattisgarh(5)
(Hindi)
possibly "Thirty-six
forts"
Chhatisgarh translates to "36 forts" in Hindi. There are several theories
about what the term "36 forts" refers to; see Chhattisgarh#Etymology.
According to the various theories, the term may refer to the 36 pillars of a
temple, 36 former feudal territories or 36 houses. Another theory says that
the term is actually a corruption of the word "Chedisgarh" that refers to the
Chedi dynasty.
Goa (6)
(Konkani)
Uncertain, probably
related to "cow"
The name Goa came to European languages via Portuguese, but its
precise origin is unclear. A number of theories about its origin are centered
around the Sanskrit word go (cow).
[2]
For example, the legend of Krishna
names a mountain where he saved the cow; the mountain was named
"Gomantak", which later became Goa. For other theories,
see Goa#Etymology.
Gujarat (7)
(Gujarati)
Land of "Gurjars" The Gujjars, who ruled the area around the 8th century.
[3][4]

Haryana (8)
(Hindi)
"Abode of God" or
"Green forest"
Hari refers to the Hindu deity Vishnu or Krishna, ana means "to come". It
potentially refers to the coming of Krishna during theMahabharata war.
Another theory traces the name to the words hari (green)
and aranya (forest).
[5]

Himachal
Pradesh (9)
(Hindi)
Land of the snow clad
mountains
In Sanskrit, hima means "snow" and achal "mountain".
Jammu and
Kashmir (10)

(Kashmiri)
Jammu andKashmirregi
ons
The word "Jammu" is possibly named after the king Jambu Lochan.
"Kashmir" may mean the "Land desiccated by water" (from SanskritKa,
water + shimeera, to desiccate) or may be derived from the name of the
sage Kashyapa.
Jharkhand(11)
(Hindi)
Land ofjhari or low
forest
Jhari means "dense forest" in Sanskrit. Khand means "land." Another term
for this area is Vananchal.
Karnataka(12)
(Kannada)
Lofty Land
From karu + naad = Karnaad, which means "lofty land", referring to
the Deccan plateau. Karnatik is the adjectival form of Karnaad, and means
"of Karnaad". In 1947, this state was formed from the princely state of
Mysore. In 1956, the Kannada-speaking regions of neighboring states
were added to Mysore state. The name was changed to Karnataka in
1973.
Kerala (13)

(Malayalam)
Land Added on or Land
of Cheras
There are two main theories about the derivation of "Kerala". (1) Parts of
Kerala were created by Lord Parasurama, who reclaimed the land from the
sea. Hence the name is derived from chernna ("added") and alam ("land"),
hence the Sanskrit keralam, "the land added on". (2) The Chera dynasty,
which ruled most of Kerala from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD, gave its
name to the region; Chera alamlater became Keralam. This is often
disputed in academic circles because the word Kerala existed even before
the rule of Cheras. One of Ashoka's inscriptions describes Keralaputhra as
a land on the Mauryan border. At independence, this territory was divided
between several jurisdictions: primarily the territories of Travancore and
Cochin, though the northern part was under the direct rule of Madras
Presidency. In 1949, the state of Travancore-Cochin was created. In 1956,
this area, with further boundary changes, was renamed Kerala.
Madhya
Pradesh(14)
(Hindi)
Middle Province
Prior to independence, the majority of this area was administered by the
British as the Central Provinces and the Central Indian States. At
independence, several of these districts were joined together as the
Central Provinces and Berar. In 1950, these two regions were merged with
Makrai and Chhatisgarh and the term "Central Provinces" was translated
to Hindi as Madhya Pradesh ("Middle Province").
Maharashtra(15)
(Marathi)
Uncertain; possibly
Maha-(Great) +
Sanskritized form of
Ratta dynasty
The most widely accepted theory among scholars is that the words
Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derive from a compound
ofmaha (Sanskrit for "great") and rashtrika.
[6]
The word rashtrika is a
Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs
ruling in the Deccan region.
[7]
Yet another theory is that the term is derived
from maha ("great") and rathi or ratha (charioteer).
[7]
Another theory states
that the term derives from the words maha ("Great")
and rashtra ("nation/dominion"). However, this theory has not found
acceptance among modern scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritized
interpretation of later writers.
[6]

Manipur (16)
(Manipuri)
Jewelled Land Mani ("jewel") + pur ("city")
Meghalaya(17)
Megahalaya
(Khasi)
The abode of clouds From Sanskrit, Megha ("clouds") and alaya ("abode").
Mizoram (18) Mizoram (Mizo) Land of the highlanders Mi means "people" and zo means "hill" and "ram" means country
Nagaland(19) Nagaland (English) Land of theNagas

Odisha (20)
(Oriya)
Land of theOriyas
The name of the state is derived from the Sanskrit Odra Vishaya or Odra
Desa that referred to the Odra people who inhabited the central part of the
region. Sanskrit and Pali literatures mention the Odra people
as Odrah and Oddaka.
West Bengal(21)
(Bengali)
West part ofBengal
The term West Bengal originated after the Partition of Bengal province in
1905 by the colonial administration. The origin of the word "Bengal" itself is
uncertain (see Bengal#Etymology). Possible origins include the name of a
tribe that settled in the area around 1000 BCE and the Austric word for the
sun god.Another theory states that the word "Bengal" is derived from the
Hindi term for the region "bangal".The word Bangal(or bongal)=Bonga(God
of the [santals])+Aal(Device used in Agriculture)
Punjab (22)

(Punjabi/Gurmukhi)
Land of five rivers
A combination of the Indo-Iranian words punj ("five") and b ("water"). The
five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.
Rajasthan(23)
(Hindi)
Land of Kings
Raja means King in Sanskrit. During British rule, this area was known as
Rajputana, "land of the Rajputs".
[8]

Sikkim (24)
(Limbu)
New Palace
The most widely accepted origin of the name Sikkim is that it is a
combination of two words in Limbu: su ("new") and khyim ("palace" or
"house"), in reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog
Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Denjong, which means "valley of
rice".
Tamil Nadu(25)
(Tamil)
Tamil country
Nadu in the Tamil language means "homeland" or "nation" hence Tamil
Nadu means "homeland of Tamils". The origin of the world "Tamil" itself is
uncertain: theories range from "self speech" to "sweet sound" (see Tamil
language#Etymology).
Tripura (26)
(Bengali)
Uncertain
Several theories exist pertaining to the origin of Tripura's name
(see Tripura#Name). Possible origins are from Kokborok (tui, "water" +pra,
"near") and Sanskrit (tri, "three" + pur, "city").
Uttar
Pradesh(27)
(Hindi)
Northern Province
Prior to independence, the majority of the territory now comprising Uttar
Pradesh was administered by the British under various namesthe United
Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the United Provinces of British India, and
simply United Provinces. The latter name was retained at independence.
In 1950, the commonly used initials U.P. were preserved by adoption of
the name Uttar Pradesh, meaning "Northern Province."
Uttarakhand(28)
(Hindi)
North Section
In 2000, the new state of Uttaranchal ("northern mountains") was split from
Uttar Pradesh. In 2007, the name was changed to Uttarakhand
("northland").