Indian Colonies in the Far East

“Explore the fascinating history of Indian colonies in the Far East, including cultural exchanges, trade networks, and the spread of Indian religions, arts, and architecture in Southeast Asia. Discover how ancient Indian influence shaped regions like Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, creating a lasting legacy in the region.”

Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East

Indian Colonies in the Far East

Introduction

The artistic genius of India was carried far beyond her shore to her distant colonies, to which we may now briefly refer. It is a curious fact that while India lost her independence by the Muhammadan invasion, Indian kingdoms continued to flourish in the Far East. We have already referred to the origin of Indian colonies in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula, Annam, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. During the period under review, powerful kingdoms were established in these places, some of which survived till quite recent times.

Impossible to deal with the history of these kingdoms

It is obviously impossible to deal with the history of these kingdoms separately in a handbook on the history of India, but it is interesting to note that cities and kingdoms with Indian names such as Champa, Dvaravati, Vijayapura, Amaravati, Kamboja, Kalinga, and Ayodhya flourished on all sides and were ruled by Hindu kings long after the Muhammadans had firmly settled themselves in India. As noticed above, the cultural conquest of India in these regions was far more complete and far more important than political or commercial conquest, and this is testified to even today by the number of religious monuments built on Indian models.

Most notable monuments

The most notable of the groups of monuments that still adorn these far-off colonies of ancient Indians are the temples of Angkor-Vat in Cambodia and the famous Boro-Budur in Java.

Angkor-Vat

It is impossible to convey an adequate idea of the grandeur and magnitude of these wonderful works of art without a detailed description accompanied by profuse illustrations, such as is out of question here. The temple of Angkor-Vat “is almost an exact square and measures nearly an English mile each way. ” Its general plan is “that of a series of courts each rising within and above the last, and this gradual rise, by which the pilgrim is led not only through colonnade after colonnade but up flight after flight of stairs, each leading to something higher but invisible from the base, imparts to the Cambodian temples a sublimity and aspiring grandeur which is absent from the mysterious halls of Dravidian shrines.”

Boro-Budur

The Boro-Budur monument, it has been aptly remarked, “deserves to be included in any list of the wonders of the world.” “It is a seven-story structure, the basement measuring over 400 feet across. It is not, however, either for its dimensions or the beauty of its architectural design that Boro-Budur is so remarkable, as for the sculptures that line its galleries, which, if arranged consecutively in a row, would extend over nearly three miles of ground.”

Conclusion

It is admitted on all hands that the inspiration of these monuments is purely Indian, and this is amply evidenced by the fact that the sculptures depict scenes from Buddhist or Brahmaņical books. Fergusson held that the builders of Boro-Budur migrated from Western India. According to him, “the character of the sculptures and the details of the ornamentation in caves at Ajanta, Nasik, and other places are so nearly identical with what is found in the Javan monument that the identity of the workmanship is unmistakable.”