Contact With Southeast Asia
Indians have been moving out from ancient
time to different parts of the world for trade and
other activities. As far as the Indian contact with
Southeast Asia is concerned, it appears to be as
old as fifth century B.C. Jatakas the Buddhist
texts belonging to this period refer to Indians
visiting Suvarnadvipa (island of gold), which is
identified with Java. Such early contacts with
Southeast Asia are confirmed by the recent
archeological finds of pearls and ornaments of
agate and carnelian, the semi-precious stones of
Indian origin, from the coastal sites in Thailand,
Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. These finds belong to
as far back as first century BC. According to the
Chinese traditions, the first kingdom in South
east Asia was founded at Funan (Cambodia) in
the fourth century AD by a brahman known as
Kaundinya who had come from India and had
married the local princess. However, Indian and
Southeast Asian contacts became closer from 5th
century AD onwards when inscriptions in
Sanskrit language start appearing in many areas.
It reached its peak during AD 800–AD 1300
when many kings and dynasties with Indian
names emerge all over Southeast Asia The
Southeast contact was largely on account of
trade. Southeast Asia is rich in cardamom,
sandal wood, camphor, cloves etc. which formed
important items of trade between India and the
West. Initially, the Indian traders appear to have
settled along the coast, but gradually they shifted
their network to the interior. Along with the
traders came the priests particularly the
Buddhist and brahmanas, to meet the ritual
requirements of the Indian settlers. It thus
created a situation for the spread of Indian social
and cultural ideas in South east Asia. But it must
be noted that Indian contact did not uproot the
local culture. It was rather a case of peaceful
intermixing of Indian concepts with local
cultural features. Therefore, for example, while
Sanskrit was accepted as a language of court and
religion in Southeast Asia the regional languages
continued to be used side by side , and we find
many inscriptions in mixed Sanskrit and local
language. Similarly, the concept of varna was
known to the south east Asians and brahmanas
were respected in society, but social divisions
were not rigid as it was in India.
The most important empire which come to
be founded in South east Asia in the 8th Century
AD was the Shailendra empire. It comprised
Java, Sumatra, Malay- Pennisula and other parts
of the Southeast Asian region. They were a
leading naval power and on account of their
geographical position controlled the trade
between China and India as well as other
countries in the west. The Shailendra kings were
followers of Buddhism and had close contact
with the Indian rulers. One of the kings of this
empire, built a monastery at Nalanda in the ninth
century, and at his request the Pala king
Devapala of Bengal granted five villages for its
upkeep. Similarly in the eleventh century
another king was permitted by the Chola king
Rajaraja I to build a Buddhist monastery at
Nagapattam on the Tamil Coast. The Shailendras
also built a beautiful temple dedicated to Buddha
at Barabudur in Java. It is situated on the top of
a hillock and consists of nine gradually receding
terraces.
Besides Buddhism, the worship of Hindu
gods such as Vishnu and Siva was also quite
popular in southeast Asia. The temples dedicated
to them have been found at various places. They
show distinct traces of Indian influence and
inspiration. One of the most famous temples,
dedicated to Vishnu, is Angkorvat temple built
in the 12th century by Surya Varman II, the king
of Kambuja (Cambodia). It is surrounded by a
moat, filled with water. It has a huge gopuram
(gateway) and number of galleries, the walls of
which are decorated with sculptures based on
themes drawn from Mahabharat and
Ramayana.
