Uttarakhand's name is derived from the Sanskrit words uttara () meaning 'north', and khaṇḍa () meaning 'land', altogether simply meaning 'Northern Land'. The name finds mention in early Hindu scriptures as the combined region of Kedarkhand (present day Garhwal) and Manaskhand (present day Kumaon). Uttarakhand was also the ancient Puranic () term for the central stretch of the Indian Himalayas.