India is known for its diverse culture all over the world. Culture is what makes India different from other countries and in a sense special. Greater India which is also called the Indian Cultural Sphere is an area that includes countries from South as well as Southeast Asia that were influenced by Indian Cultural History.
It is a term that was popularized by Bengali scholars in the 1920s. This term is used to describe the countries which have received significant Sanskritization and are culturally linked to India. They also have some significant Indian influence in matters of language and religion.
The main reason for this cultural spread is trade. During that time international trade started to take shape and was growing extensively.
Since 500 BCE, Asia’s increasing land and maritime trade resulted in the development and spread of Indian culture as well as religious beliefs in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
Hinduism and Buddhism were the two religious beliefs that were introduced in this region.
What is the Indian Cultural Extent?
The Indian culture is extended all over South as well as Southeast Asia. This region includes the whole Indian Subcontinent. Countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka constitute the Indian Subcontinent.
Other Southeast countries which are culturally linked to India are Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore, and Thailand. Philippines, Tibet, Yunnan, and historically eastern Afghanistan are the regions with significant Indian cultural influence.
Indianization:
Indianization is different from colonialism. It is different because, in these Indianized lands, the lands were not inhabited by organizations or state elements from the Indian subcontinent.
There were exceptions to this like the Chola invasions in medieval times but on a larger part, it was as stated. Instead of invasions, Indianization was a concept that made cultural influence through trade and language and slowly started to make Indian tradition a part of their traditions.
To date, it is a mystery how the immigration and interaction took place. It is still unknown whether it was the key figures from India or people from Southeast Asia who visited India and took parts of Indian culture with them.
But from what we see today it is more likely that the Hindu and Buddhist priests and traders from India were the ones who went and settled there.
The kingdoms there called these Hindu and Buddhist priests as divinity and royalty were closely connected in these policies. These priests played a key role in supporting dynasties through their exact rituals.
Art and Architecture:
Arts and cultural elements such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata had been adopted in these states. Although there has been customization in regional characters it has been adopted.
The architectural influence can be seen in form of temples. Many Southeast Asian countries have Hindu and Buddhist temples. Angkor Wat, which is the largest Hindu temple in the world, is situated in Cambodia.
Many other countries have temples, like the Ganesha shrine in Bali and the 9th-century Shivaistic temple in Central Java which is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia.
Other examples are the Batu caves in Malaysia, Borobudur in Central Java (the largest Buddhist monument in the world), and Erawan Shrine in Thailand.
Many Southeast Asia kingdoms were Indianized. The mainland kingdoms were Funan (southern part of Indochinese peninsula), Chenla (Successor of Funan), Langasuka (Malay Peninsula), and Champa (central Vietnam).
Also, there were island kingdoms such as Salakanagara, Tarumanagara, Malayu, Singhasari, Galuh, and Sunda which were influenced by Indian culture and were Indianized.
All these kingdoms were at a time part of Indian culture and even today we can see that culture in those countries. The Hindu and Buddhist temples are proof of that.
Indian culture is so precious that it made even people from other countries accept it and have a lifestyle according to that.
Written by: Bhavish Doshi
Edited by: Gourav Chowdhury
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