Contact and Interaction

1
Contact and Interaction

• Relations between India and Southeast Asia, 1
  century AD 15 century AD
• Part II
• Economic and Cultural Interaction

2
Early Seafarers

• People of India and Southeast Asia knew each
  other before the rise of Indianized states
• Suvarna-dvipa (island of gold) and Yava-dvipa
  (island of barley) in Ramayana and in the Puranas
• Suvarna-dvipa Malay Peninsula and parts of
  Burma
• Yava-dvipa (Sumatra and Java)
• Buddhas birth stories (Jataka) refer to
  seafarers operating in this region (600 B.C.)
• Trading between India (and beyond) and Southeast
  Asia increased between 3rd century BC and 1st
  century AD
• Traders from Sri Lanka (and India) came to
  Suvarnabhumi, according to a very old Buddhist
  literary works (2nd century BC)
• The story of Aji Saka, who brought the arts and
  civilization to Java (sometime in 1st century AD)

3
Trade as a Means of Interaction

• Trade was perhaps the most important source of
  interaction
• Indian ports became centres for the products from
  the Malay Archipelago from the 3rd B.C. onwards
• Trade routes as highways of culture
• Ships from the Bay of Bengal arrived at the
  narrowest strip of the Malay Peninsula (1st
  century AD onwards) and traders continued journey
  overland to the east coast to go to Oc-eo by ship
  
• From the 7th century AD, ships arrived at Kedah,
  Jambi and Palembang on their way to China
• Settlements and cities along these trade routes
  and ports played an important role as conveyers
  of cultural influence
• Early ships (from Lau Biang, north Sumatra)
• Large ships (after 600 AD) (from Borobudur)

4
Trade and Spread of Hindu-Buddhist Civilization
5
Centres of Interactions

• Funan the first local political entity which
  became a centre of Indian culture in the region
• Srivijaya a maritime kingdom which fostered
  economic and cultural relations
• Little archaeological evidence, but some good
  historical records (I-Tsing)
• Local people were frequent visitors to India and
  Sri Lanka
• Hindu-Javanese kingdoms in central and east Java
• Influenced by Hinduism first (up to the 7th
  century)
• Buddhism spread from the 5th century onwards
• It spread significantly from the 8th century
  onwards
• The Angkor kingdom reached its apex in the 12th
  and 13th centuries
• A significant centre of Hindu-Buddhist
  civilization

6
Means of Cultural Interactions

• Settlements of foreigners
• A common feature in maritime cities of Funan,
  Srivijaya and Melaka
• Temples built by or for South Asian monks or
  priests
• A Sihala vihara in central Java (792 AD) is
  mentioned in Ratubaka inscription
• Skilled craftsmen imported from South Asia and
  local craftsmen who were trained in South Asia
• Explains similarities in architecture, sculpture
  and paintings
• Transmission of literature
• Use of Pali and Sanskrit
• Traders

7
Influence of Hinduism and Buddhism (500-1400 AD)

• Pre-Angkor Visnu
• Durga
• Krishna on Garuda
• Four deities
• Brahma
• Mon-style Buddha
• Buddha Vairochana
• Dvarapala
• Avalokiteshvara
• Devaraja
• Pagan Buddha

8
A Point of Comparison

• Examples from India and Sri Lanka
• Chakravartin
• Buddha
• Buddha with Maitreya
• Brahma
• Dvarapala
• Buddha from Polonnaruva
• Avalokitesvara
• Apsara

9
The Golden Age of Hindu-Buddhist Culture in Java

• Impressive temples
• Candi Arjuna (central Java)
• Candi Arjuna (inside)
• Candi Sewu complex (central Java) (800 AD)
• Candi Sewu chapel
• Prambanan (800 AD)
• Significance
• A replica of universe
• Mount Meru replicated
• Mixture of Hindu and Buddhist architecture and
  cosmology
• Buddhist stupa is superimposed on a Hindu temple
• Map of Hindu-Buddhist antiquities in Java

10
Triumph of Buddhism in Java

• Spread of Mahayana Buddhism (from the 5th century
  AD)
• Buddhist temples and monasteries for monks from
  India and Sri Lanka
• Buddhism was patronized by the Sailendra rulers
  of Java
• Borobudur is the greatest Buddhist monument in
  Java
• The universe according to Buddhist cosmology
• A mixture of Hindu-Buddhist ideas
• The life of Buddha is depicted in sculpture
• Base relief one and two

11
The Golden Age of Hindu-Buddhist Culture in the
Mainland

• The age of Angkor reflects the golden age of a
  Hindu-Buddhist culture
• Built by Suryavarman II (1113-1150)
• A funerary temple
• A Vishanavite temple
• A view from air
• Layout
• A fine example of Hindu art and architecture as
  adopted by local people
• Apsara
• Ramayana story
• Rama Ravana battle
• Galleries
• A good website
• http//www.cambodia.org.nz/angkorwat.htm

12
Historical Records of Cultural Interaction

• Local sources, either literary or archaeological,
  reveal the influence but do not tell us much
  about interaction
• Burmese and Sri Lankan sources give information
• A mission for Buddhist monks from Burma to Sri
  Lanka in the 12th century AD (Sri Lankan
  chronicle of Mahavamsa)
• This led to Burma obtaining a copy of the
  Tripitaka
• A mission of monks from Sri Lanka to Burma in the
  15th century AD

13
Historical Records of Political Interaction

• Sources are mostly silent
• Exceptions
• The invasion of Srivijaya by Rajendra Cola in
  1025 AD
• Tanjor inscription (1030-31)
• Gives a list of ports attacked by the Cola army
• A Sri Lankan invasion of Burma in the 12th
  century is mentioned in both Burmese and Sri
  Lankan sources
• An invasion of Sri Lanka by Chandrabhanu (King of
  Tambralinga) in 1247 AD
• The king is mentioned in Chaiya inscription
• Sri Lankan sources give details of the invasion

14
Suggestions for Further Study

• Hall and Coedès provide ample information to
  build a good narrative of interactions
• The primary sources are noted by Hall and Coedès,
  but they are in many different languages and some
  publications are extremely difficult to obtain
• Great care is necessary in interpreting the
  primary sources
• Use pictorial evidence as much as possible to
  prove the existence of interactions and their
  nature
• How those interactions took place has to be
  extrapolated with reference to a great deal of
  evidence
• This is where the general works such as Hall,
  Coedès and O.W. Wolters (on Srivijaya) are very
  useful