Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.4.9

yeshām khalu mahā-yogī bharato jyeshthah śreshtha-guna āsīd yenedam varsham bhāratam iti vyapadiśanti

SYNONYMS

yeshām — of whom; khalu — indeed; mahā-yogī — a very highly exalted devotee of the Lord; bharatah — Bharata; jyeshthah — the eldest; śreshtha-gunah — qualified with the best attributes; āsīt — was; yena — by whom; idam — this; varsham — planet; bhāratam — Bhārata; iti — thus; vyapadiśanti — people call.

TRANSLATION

Of Rishabhadeva's one hundred sons, the eldest, named Bharata, was a great, exalted devotee qualified with the best attributes. In his honor, this planet has become known as Bhārata-varsha.

PURPORT

This planet known as Bhārata-varsha is also called punya-bhūmi, the pious land. At the present moment Bhārata-bhūmi, or Bhārata-varsha, is a small piece of land extending from the Himalaya Mountains to Cape Comorin. Sometimes this peninsula is called punya-bhūmi. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given special importance to the people of this land.

bhārata-bhūmite haila manushya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India (Bhārata-varsha) should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people." (Cc. Ādi 9.41) The inhabitants of this piece of land are very fortunate. They can purify their existence by accepting this Krishna consciousness movement and go outside Bhārata-bhūmi (India) and preach this cult to benefit the whole world.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness