Hinduism in South-East Asia
Author Name
Dr. Sukhdeep Singh
Author Address
Assistant Professor, Punjabi University Guru Kashi College, Damdama Sahib, Bathinda
Keywords
Hinduism in South-East Asia
Abstract
India had established trade, cultural and political relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Cambodia etc. During the height of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia, animism was an important alternative that appealed to ordinary people. Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, is one of hundreds of Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions.Many of the early kingdoms in Southeast Asia, starting in the first half of the first millennium, adopted and adapted the specific Hindu texts, theologies, rituals, architecture, and forms of social organization that were suitable to their times and conditions.
The present paper focuses on Hinduism spread over mainland Southeast Asia. Mahabharata, Ramayana, Sanskrit, Ayurveda, Hindu values, meditation, Hindu festivals, Hindu almanac, our puranas, dance, music, sculpture and arts remain the bedrock of the culture and existence of South East and Far East Asian countries for the past two thousand years.
The whole of South East Asia as a region has evidence of Brahmic scripts being used at various times during their history, the languages full of loan words from Sanskrit and other Indian languages, and there remain Hindu minorities all over the region. As the story became embedded into the life and culture of Southeast Asia peoples, they created their own versions that reflected their own social aspirations and ideological concerns. The majority Buddhist and Hindu societies of Southeast Asia are not traditionally associated with conflict and intolerance. Yet recent years have seen a surge in international reports of religious tensions and violence by Buddhist and Hindu majorities towards Muslim minorities in the region. This cult was finally abandoned when the countries of South-east Asia were converted to Theravada Buddhism or to Islam. But Thailand and Cambodia have continued to appoint groups of brahmans for Royal and State Ceremonies.
Conference
International Conference on "Global Migration: Rethinking Skills, Knowledge and Culture"