Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is the most iconic Hindu temple and the largest religious monument ever constructed.
Between 3rd century BCE to 14th century AD influence of the Indian civilization in whole of Asia was profound. Kingdoms in the southeast coast of the Indian Subcontinent had established trade, cultural and political relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Champa and the Philippines. This led to Indianization and Sanskritization of Southeast Asia within Indosphere. Southeast Asian polities were the Indianized Hindu-Buddhist Mandala. Pallava and Chola Empires in south India played a critical role in this process. Indian influence covered many aspects including the religious beliefs, language, art, customs, architecture and health and education system. Angkor Wat is an excellent example of this influence in the southeast Asia. The contact between South India and Cambodia was mostly through the sea. From the mouth of the Cauvery and the Krishna, people travelled along the coast to the Gulf of Thailand and landed in Cambodia. Merchants from India came to Cambodia — attested by potteries belonging to 1st century AD from India. They carried the Brahmi script from India to Thailand, Cambodia and other south east Asian countries. These contacts led to introduction of Hinduism and subsequently Buddhism in these countries. The earliest inscriptions — 3rd and 4th century CE — are in Sanskrit in Pallava Grantha. The earliest written inscriptions relate to a Cambodian queen, Kula Prabhavati, who established a temple to Vishnu in the kingdom. Another inscription pertains to a prince named Gunavarman, who established another temple to Vishnu where he consecrated Vishnu Pada as advised by Brahmanas. Khmer religious beliefs, iconography, art and architecture all stemmed directly from India.
In the 6th century AD, there is a record of a city called Bhavapura with its King called Bhavavarman I extending his rule from the present-day Kampong Thom to Battambang. He was succeeded by his brother Mahendravarman who in turn was succeeded by his son Isanavarman I. Many rulers of this dynasty continued to rule for over a century. During 790 – 835 AD, Jayavarman II emerged as a powerful ruler who constructed many temples dedicated to Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva. His successors continued to rule the country for over 500 years until 1335. All of them made their contribution towards construction of magnificent temples in different parts of their empire. These temples included Bakong, Phnom Krom, Angkor Thom, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei, Kravan, Koh Ker, Banteay Kdei, Preah Khan, Bapuon and many more. While most of these temples were dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, some of the later temples were dedicated to Buddha. Lord Shiva, however, remains the most dominant figure in most temples. A 600-year-old inscription shows how the same astronomical calculation practiced in India was also practiced in the Khmer empire (Cambodia). In Khmer, they consecrated the Ramayana and the Mahabharata — and the chapters were recited daily in the temples. The devas and asuras of Devasur Sangram still exist in the form of gigantic sculptures of the former Khmer Empire. They stand, enormous legs braced on the ground, as they pull the serpent Vasuki as a rope, and churn away at the Ocean of milk with the help of Mount Mandara. They live in an eternal tug-of-war in the temples of Angkor Wat, Banteay Samre, and Bayon. The galleries and the empty spaces that they created between one another and the moat are envisioned as the mountain ranges and oceans that surround Mount Meru. The scenes of samudra manthana, the churning of the ocean, is the highlight of several Khmer temples and cities, that enthral the visitors. Angkor Thom was the capital and walled city built in the late 12th to early 13th century by Jayavarman VII, the greatest of the Khmer rulers. Within its boundaries are enclosed temples such as Bayon and Ta Prohm.
The grandest of all Khmer temples – Angkor Wat – dedicate to Lord Vishnu, was constructed between 1113 and 1150 during the reign of Suryavarman II. Angkor Wat near present day Siem Reap, is also the largest religious monument anywhere in the world. Angkor Wat, translated from Khmer literally means “City Temple.” This is a city in its own right with a total area of over 200 hectares. The temple represents the microcosm of the Hindu universe. The moat represents the ocean surrounding the earth and the succession of concentric galleries represent the mountain ranges that surround Mount Meru. The entrance leading to the main temple passes over 350m causeway. The balustrades of the causeway are in the form of Naga serpents. The five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru, which according to Hindu belief is the dwelling place of the gods. The temple is reached by passing through three galleries, each separated by a paved walkway. In designing Angkor Wat in this way, King Suryavarman II and his architects intended for the temple to serve as the supreme abode for Vishnu. For many, the piece de resistance at the Angkor Wat temple comprises the twin bas reliefs, hundreds of metres long, depicting sculpted scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata representing the lives of Rama and Krishna who are considered incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The chisel appears to have magically turned into a brush that painted simian movements representing all the fury and the excitement of the vanaras as they threw themselves into the great battle to help Rama. On another wall, we are taken straight into the Kurukshetra war. Elaborate carvings of devas and apsaras can be seen in many places. In addition to envisioning Angkor Wat as Mount Meru on earth, the temple’s architects, also ingeniously designed the temple so that embedded in the temple’s construction is a map of the cosmos (mandala) as well as a historical record of the temple’s patron. There are hundreds of scenes of daily life of the people and several inscriptions in Sanskrit describing religious events.
The architecture of these temples is marvellous to say the least. When I saw them in 2018, I was completely stunned. Made exclusively in bricks and sand-stone they contain no plaster of any nature anywhere. Each stone has been intricately carved out and arranged in an unbelievable jigsaw puzzle. The restorations teams from India, France, China and other nations are still struggling to understand these jigsaw puzzles so that the stones could be rearranged. The drainage system is highly intricate with no seepage of water inside. In the literary sphere, the works of Kalidasa, Bhairavi, Patanjali, and the Natya Sastra all travelled to Cambodia. From the sixth century onwards, both Sanskrit and Tamil were used in government documents in Khmer. Bilingual inscriptions are seen in Khmer from the 6th century — in the regional language of Khmer and in Sanskrit. The regional language became classical because of contact with Sanskrit. Hanuman is regarded as a god in Cambodia and the Hanuman dance is spellbinding. The symbolism of Angkor Wat serving as an axis-mundi was intended to demonstrate the Angkor Kingdom’s and the king’s central place in the universe. There is so much evidence of Indian cultural influence in Cambodia that one needs to study it in greater detail.
9th Century Shiva Temple in Prambanan in Central Java
Extensive Indian influence can also be seen in Indonesia. South Indian origin rouletted ware at the site of Simberan, Bali has produced a carbon dating of 660 BCE (+/- 100). The population exchanges and intermarriages in the island of Bali between Indonesians and Indians has been archaeologically dated to 2nd century BCE. “Yawadvipa” (Java Island) has been mentioned in the Ramayana. Indonesia entered its historical period after the adoption of Pallava script and Sanskrit language from India as evidence in some of earliest inscriptions dated from Indonesia’s oldest kingdoms such as the Yupa of Kutai, Tugu of Tarumanagara and the historical records of Kalinga. Indian Epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata – play an important role in Indonesian culture and history, and are popular amongst Indonesians to this day. Indonesian airlines is called Garuda. Throughout Indonesia one can see many statues on large Boulevards depicting the scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Bali and Borobudur provide a glimpse of this profound Indian influence on all aspects of life including language, religion, art, architecture, customs and festivities. Shailendra Kingdom, Mataram Kingdom, Kediri Kingdom and Singhasari Kingdom in the present-day Indionesia are some of the well-known kingdoms substantially influenced by Hinduism-Budhism.
Similar influence with varying degrees could also be seen in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia. Indian influence could be seen even in the Philippines and Brunei. Historians believe that there was a forerunner Indianised Hindu-Buddhist state to the present-day Brunei Sultanate. One predecessor state was called Vijayapura, which possibly existed in northwest Borneo in the 7th century AD. It was probably a subject state of the powerful Indianized Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. The Mons in Burma strongly influenced by their contacts with Indian traders during the 3rd century BC adopted Indian literature and art and the Buddhist religion. The Mons were the earliest known civilization in Southeast Asia. Champa Kingdom in present-day Vietnam and Chelna Kingdom in Laos were substantially influenced by ancient Indian civilization. There are hundreds of sites in these countries where Indian influence is clearly visible even today. Thus, ancient Indian heritage continues to be a reality in many parts of Asia despite the ravage of time and tide.
Similar influence could be seen in Tibet, China and Mongolia. In a lesser degree India’s influence could be seen in Persia, Arab nations and many countries of Central Asia. Of course, Afghanistan and Pakistan formed part of India in those days. It is not my intention to go into these details. My intention is only to provide a glimpse of the influence of ancient Indian heritage in different parts of Asia.
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