The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition, by Antarctica. It is named after India.The Indian Ocean is known as Ratnakara, "the mine of gems", in ancient Sanskrit literature and as Hind Mahasagar in Hindi.