Manusmriti says – “Yetat desa prasootasya – sakaasaat agrajanmanh; swam swam charitram siksheran – prithivyah sarva manavah.” It means that from the best people born in this country, all people in this world received their respective dharmas. Nokak who made a good study of the ancient world, wrote like this. Our poeple used to leave our country and go to Sri Lanka in south and to various countries, by crossing the Himalayas in the north. Those sciences and arts which were taken along with those people, had only become the seeds for the development of people in Europe in the fields of arts, ethics and sciences. Agastya maharshi was the first person who took the Hindu culture to the south – east Asia. In Malaya peninsula there are idols of Agastya maharishi. Island countries like Java, Sumitra, Baligormia, Cambodia and others had followed Hindu culture only.
[wp_campaign_1]
Asian continent
Combodia: Today’s cambodia is once Kambhojadesa. This kingdom was established by koundinya in the fourth century. Here there used to be several temples of Buddist, Vishnu and Siva. The edicts which reveal their history of four to five centuries are in sanskrit language. Bhadreswara swamy temple which was constructed by Bhadravarma of first century, has been a great tourist spot.
Thailand: Thailand has connection with our country since the first century. In the fourth and fifth century, Hindus got settled there. In the royal court the influence of Hindu dharma used to be more. One king Surya varma who ruled this present Siam in those times, described him self as a vaishnavaite who belonged to Surya vamsa. The then ambassadoe of Thailand in our country Sri Sukich man Hamind, while speeking in ‘Vyasa vidwat’ conference held in Madhura on 23-09-1962, spoke like this. “It is 2000 years since the Hindu culture from India entered Thailand. In Siam language sanskrit words are there to the extent of 30%. They take equivalents words from sanskrit only, for translating the technical words form the English. They call television as ‘Doordarsan’. In Thai land there are cities with the names of Mithila, Kousambi, andhara, Ayodhya, vishnu loka,Rajapuri and Swarna puri. On the towers of temples in that country, there are figures of vishunumoorti mounted on Garuda vahana. In three universities of Thailand, sanskrit is being taught. “ Bharatadesa is treated as our mother land ”. When Ravindranath Tagore visitd Thailand some decades back, he said that Indian culture would be more clearly visible in Thailand than in India.
[wp_campaign_2]
Burma: In Burma idols belonging to Brahma,vishnu, Maheswara, Hanuman, Surya, Durga, Matsya, Varaha, Lakshmi,Varuna, Indra and Kubera, remains of idols of Avakaleswara,Bodhisatva and their edicts in Pali language were recovered. From the edicts, it is known that in Borneo and Malaya islands sanskrit language spread very widely between the fourth and fifth centuries. In Java the oldest book is the one which was written during the rule of kings belonging to Jitendra and Sailendra dynasties. Puranas like Ramayanam and Bharata yuddha were written . Idols of deities and rock pillars declere the spread of Hindu dharma there. People in that country have the habits of suryopasana and Gayatri mantra pathanam. One chinese traveller wrote that there was no diference in the culture, custom and tradition between India and Java and sumitra. The Island of Bali got influenced by Hindu dharma even in the first and second centuries. Only the Hindu deities were used to be worshipped here. There was hospitality and respect for the Hindu routine rituals. About 3400 years back in Mesoptomia of Iraq, Hindu religion was widely spread. When there was a class between the two communities, and while a truce was arranged. The names of Varuna and Indra, the Hindu Gods were written on a plaque as the witness for this truce. The number of Hindus was used to be more in Malayasia and Srilanka. In Indonasia Indian culture was widely spread. Several of the traditions in that country are ours. In that country, in the printed books, the word ‘Avighna mastu’ is printed and by this we can understand as to how much Hindu influence is there. In Thailand even to day also brahmin priest conducts the ceremony of coronattion of king. In Bali island country, even today the entire method of worship in temples (like offering arghyam, padyam, dhoopam, deepam, naivedya and neerajanam and mantra pushpam) is done as per the Hindu tradition. In Sumitra island, it is a well known thing that by the 4th century A.D it self, there was a Bharateeya kingdom with the name Sri Vijaya. There Salivahana era time is followed . In Asian countries, before they accepted Buddhist religion, there was only Hindu religion. Professor Hiren wrote that not only the Asian continent even the entire western world received their knowledge from India only. To day’s Afghanistan was once Gandhara country which was a part of India.In Indonesia we can see the continuation of Hindu culture which has been coming from a very long time and this can be verified from the names like Garuda Air lines and Sukarno. In Baghdad museum we can see the idols of Lakshimi, Durga and Saraswati seated on the lion vehicle which indicate the existence of our Hindu culture in Iraq. (To be Continued…)
[wp_campaign_3]
Be First to Comment