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Indeed. The word Hindu does not occur in native literature, its an exonym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endonym_and_exonym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endonym
by srean 5y ago
Indeed. The word Hindu does not occur in native literature, its an exonym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endonym_and_exonym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endonym_and_exonym
If I remember correctly earliest recorded use of the word is in Persian/Zoroastrian text. There it's used not as a name of a religion but as a name for people living on the other side of the Indus river (called Sindhu in Sanskrit)
- db1234 5y agoCorrect. The right name is 'sanaatana dharma' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San%C4%81tan%C4%AB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San%C4%81tan%C4%AB
- unmole 5y agoCalling it the right name is excessive. The term is of fairly recent origin and motivated by a desire to avoid using a Persian loanword.