Greater India

Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, refers to several countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia that were historically shaped by Indian culture. This culture itself grew from many different local traditions of the Indian subcontinent. These areas share cultural ties through the exchange of ideas and practices.

Starting around 500 BCE, trade routes on land and sea helped spread Buddhist and Hindu beliefs across the region, especially in Southeast Asia and far-eastern areas. Over time, many Southeast Asian kingdoms adopted important parts of Indian culture, religion, and government. They often used Sanskrit and other Indian writing systems, similar to the Pallava dynasty and Chalukya dynasty.

In the north, Indian religious ideas mixed with local traditions of peoples in the Himalayas, like in Tibet and Bhutan. Buddhist monasticism also reached places such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and parts of Central Asia. Even in distant lands like China and Japan, Buddhist texts and thoughts were welcomed. To the west, Indian culture met with Greater Persia near the Hindu Kush and the Pamir Mountains.

Evolution of the concept

Geographical designation

Further information: Indies and Geography (Ptolemy)

Long ago, people in Europe talked about three parts of Asia: Greater India, Lesser India, and Middle India. Greater India was the southern part of South Asia. Europeans used many names to talk about South Asia, like High India and Exterior India.

Sometimes, people thought Greater India reached from the Malabar Coast (which is now Kerala) all the way to places we now call the Malay Archipelago. They even used the name Farther India to talk about Southeast Asia. In the past, the word India could also mean places near the Red Sea, like Somalia, South Arabia, and Ethiopia.

In the late 1800s, Greater India was thought to include places like the Himalaya, Punjab, Hindustan, Burma, Indo-China, the Sunda Islands, Borneo, Celebes, and the Philippines.

Geological connotation

Greater India can also talk about a big idea in earth science. It means the Indian Plate and a part that might have been added to it. This idea started before we learned about how the Earth's plates move, but people have used it more since the 1970s. We do not know exactly when or where two big pieces of the Earth, the Indian and Eurasian Plate, came together, but it happened maybe more than 52 million years ago. These pieces have moved together a very long way.

Cultural sphere

Some scholars from Bengal started using the idea of Greater India in the 1920s to talk about how Indian culture spread to other places. They thought ancient Indian culture had a good effect on Southeast Asia, very different from how Western countries controlled places in the early 1900s.

Some people say Greater India includes places like Burma, Java, Cambodia, Bali, and parts of Vietnam. They say Indian culture left marks there, like buildings and writings. Others think many places in the Pacific and most Buddhist areas, like Ceylon, Tibet, Central Asia, and even Japan, were also affected by Indian culture. This idea of Greater India as a way India influenced other cultures was started by a group of Bengali writers and scholars in the 1920s.

Indianization

Main article: Hindu kingship

The idea of "Indianized kingdoms" talks about how some kingdoms in Southeast Asia grew and thrived because they took in many ideas from India. These ideas included ways to run a country, religions, art, writing, and building.

Expansionist and political concept

See also: Akhand Bharat

The idea of Greater India has sometimes been linked to thoughts about India wanting to spread its influence. Some modern leaders in India have thought about India as a friendly and helpful influence in the world. India today sees these areas as close neighbours and has worked to build stronger ties with them, especially through policies like "Look East."

Sri Lanka also has strong ties with Southeast Asia and has worked to build closer links with the region.

Indian cultural influence

Cultural expansion

Culture spread through trade routes connecting India with southern Burma, central and southern Siam, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra to Java, lower Cambodia and Champa. The Pali and Sanskrit languages, Indian writing, and Buddhism, Brahmanism and Hinduism were shared through direct meetings and sacred books. Southeast Asia had powerful empires that helped create art and buildings inspired by Hindu-Buddhist styles. Famous examples include Borobudur in Java and the Angkor monuments in Cambodia. The Srivijaya Empire and the Khmer Empire often competed for control in the area.

A key part of the connection between Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent was adopting ancient Indian Vedic/Hindu and Buddhist culture and ideas in Myanmar, Tibet, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaya, Laos and Cambodia. Indian writing can be found on islands from Sumatra to Java, Bali, South Sulawesi and the Philippines. Stories like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata greatly influenced both South and Southeast Asia. A clear sign of Hindu traditions is the common greeting gesture known as the Añjali Mudrā, seen in India’s namasté and similar gestures like the Cambodian sampeah, the Indonesian sembah, the Japanese gassho and Thai wai.

North of the Himalaya and Hindukush mountains, Indian influence traveled along the Silk Route, linked with Buddhism. Tibet and Khotan were directly influenced by Buddhism from India. Many Tibetan monks knew Sanskrit well. In Khotan, the Ramayana was popular in the Khotanese language. In Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, many Buddhist monasteries were built. These places helped monks bring Indian Buddhist texts and images to China. Farther north, in the Gobi Desert, statues of Ganesha and Kartikeya were found near Buddhist images in the Mogao Caves.

Cultural commonalities

Religion, mythology and folklore

• Hinduism is practiced by most people in Bali. The Cham people of Vietnam also follow Hinduism. Even though they are officially Buddhist, many people in Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma honor Hindu gods.
• Brahmins played a big role in spreading Hinduism in Southeast Asia. Today, many royal courts, like in Thailand, still have Hindu rituals done for the king by Hindu Brahmins.
• Garuda, a Hindu mythological figure, appears on the coats of arms of Indonesia, Thailand and Ulaanbaatar.
• Muay Thai, Thailand’s famous fighting style, comes from the Hindu Musti-yuddha martial art.
• Kaharingan, a belief system of the Dayak people in Borneo, is considered a form of Hinduism in Indonesia.
• Philippine mythology includes the supreme god Bathala and ideas like Diwata and Karma, all from Hindu-Buddhist traditions.
• Malay folklore has many characters influenced by India, such as Bidadari, Jentayu, Garuda and Naga.
• Shadow puppets and classical dances in Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand often tell stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Caste system

Indians brought their religion to Southeast Asia, starting Hindu and Buddhist cultures there. They also introduced the caste system to places like Java, Bali, Madura, and Sumatra. The caste system there was not as strict as in India but still had similar ideas about everyone having a place in society. It helped create well-organized central governments. Indians were able to share their religion, ideas, stories, myths, and art.

Architecture and monuments

• The same style of Hindu temple architecture was used in ancient temples in Southeast Asia, including Angkor Wat, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and shown on the flag of Cambodia. Prambanan in Central Java, Indonesia’s largest Hindu temple, honors Trimurti — Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.
• Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia, is the world’s biggest Buddhist monument. It looks like a giant stone mandala with stupas and mixes Indian Buddhist ideas with older local traditions.
• The towers of 15th- to 16th-century mosques in Indonesia, like the Great Mosque of Demak and Kudus mosque, look like those of Majapahit Hindu temples.
• The Batu Caves in Malaysia are one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India. They are the center of the yearly Thaipusam festival and attract over 1.5 million visitors.
• Erawan Shrine, dedicated to Brahma, is one of Thailand’s most visited shrines.

Sport

Atya patya is a game where players try to cross a narrow field without being tagged.

Some think that traditional Indian games spread to Southeast Asia. Versions of Indian games like atya-patya and gilli danda can be found there. The Indonesian hom pim pa might use a Sanskrit phrase to choose players before a game.

Linguistic influence

See also: Indosphere

Scholars have talked about a place called the "Sanskrit Cosmopolis." This was a region where people shared ideas and culture for a very long time. They didn’t always move there, but they shared stories, writing, and language.

People found old writing in Sanskrit from the early years after Jesus was born. This writing reached all the way to Southeast Asia. It changed many languages from Bangladesh to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and some big islands in Indonesia. Languages like Burmese, Thai, Lao, and Khmer also changed a bit to look more like Indian writing and ideas.

Sanskrit also helped change languages north of India. When Buddhism spread to places like Tibet and China, people used Sanskrit books. They translated these books into Tibetan and Chinese, and some words from Sanskrit are still used there today.

In Southeast Asia, languages like Thai and Lao have many words that came from Sanskrit. Even Khmer, which is from Cambodia, has some. For example, in Thai, the name of a famous story character, Rāvaṇa, is called 'Thosakanth.' This comes from his Sanskrit name, which means "having ten necks."

Many words from Sanskrit are also used in languages from island nations. In Javanese, almost half of the old words came from Sanskrit. In Malay and Indonesian, many words also came from Sanskrit. Even some languages from the Philippines, like Tagalog, have words from Sanskrit.

One Sanskrit word used in many Southeast Asian languages is bhāṣā. This word means "spoken language." You can see it in words like bahasa in Malay and Indonesian, basa in Javanese and Sundanese, phasa in Thai and Lao, bhasa in Burmese, and phiesa in Khmer.

Literature

See also: Literature about Southeast Asia and South Asian literature

Sanskrit was not just for writing — it was used in everyday life, even in courts and laws. Kings in Southeast Asia often used ideas from Indian stories and laws. Some kings even thought they were like gods from Indian stories. Later, when Buddhism arrived, some of these ideas changed.

Linguistic commonalities

• In the Malay Archipelago: Indonesian, Javanese and Malay have taken many words from Sanskrit. Many languages of native lowland Filipinos such as Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan also have many words from Sanskrit.
• In Mainland Southeast Asia: Thai, Lao, Burmese, and Khmer languages have taken in a lot of words from Sanskrit and Pali.
• Many Indonesian names come from Sanskrit (for example, Dewi Sartika, Megawati Sukarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Teuku Wisnu).
• Southeast Asian languages often use letters from Indian writing systems. This means they have extra letters that are not usually spoken in the local language, so the original Sanskrit spelling stays the same. For example, the name of the late King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is spelled in Sanskrit as "Bhumibol"ภูมิพล, but in Thai it sounds like "Phumipon" พูมิพน because Thai does not have the same sounds as Sanskrit.

Toponyms

• Suvarnabhumi is an old name that means "The Land of Gold" in Sanskrit. Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport is named after this.
• Several places in Indonesia have names that come from India, like Madura from Mathura, Serayu from the Sarayu river, Semeru from Sumeru mountain, Kalingga from the Kalinga Kingdom, and Ngayogyakarta from Ayodhya.
• The old Siamese city of Ayutthaya also gets its name from the Ramayana story’s Ayodhya.
• Some place names simply show their Sanskrit roots, like Singapore, which comes from Singapura (Singha-pura), meaning "lion city," and Jakarta from Jaya and kreta ("complete victory").
• Some areas in Indonesia, such as Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir, are named after the Indragiri River, which means "mountain of Indra."
• Thai place names also often come from India or Sanskrit, even if the spelling is changed to fit Thai sounds, like Ratchaburi from Raja-puri ("king's city"), and Nakhon Si Thammarat from Nagara Sri Dharmaraja.
• Even today, new words are made using Sanskrit. In 1962, Indonesia changed the name of a city in New Guinean from Hollandia to Jayapura ("glorious city"), and a mountain range from Orange to Jayawijaya Mountains.
• Malaysia named its new government seat Putrajaya ("prince of glory") in 1999.

Indianization of Southeast Asia

Further information: Austronesian maritime trade network, Maritime silk road, Indian maritime history, Indian Ocean trade, Hinduism in Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Balinese Hinduism, and History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia

Indianization means the spread of Indian culture to Southeast Asia, but it was not like colonization. Indian culture slowly spread through trade and language, becoming part of the region. India and Southeast Asia shared influences and dominance at different times. Sometimes Indian culture spread on its own, and other times it helped control the area.

Southeast Asia was important because it sat between Indian and East Asian trade routes, helping both economies and cultures grow. Early Hindu kingdoms appeared in places like Sumatra and Java, and later in areas such as Funan and Champa. Local leaders saw the value in Hindu ideas, Indian ways of ruling, culture, and writing. Ruling in line with moral principles, like the idea of the devaraja, was more attractive than other styles of leadership.

The earliest Hindu kingdoms emerged in Sumatra and Java, followed by mainland polities such as Funan and Champa. Adoption of Indian civilization elements and individual adaptation stimulated the emergence of centralized states and localized caste systems in Southeast Asia.

Theories of Indianization of Southeast Asia

Further information: Indianization of Southeast Asia and History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia

Because we lack clear evidence, many theories about how Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia have developed since the early 1900s. The main question is who brought Indian ideas and traditions to the region.

Trade during the Iron Age changed the area. Austronesian sailors from Island Southeast Asia first traded with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 500 BCE. This brought Southeast Asian items like catamarans, outrigger boats, sewn-plank boats, and paan to South Asia, and connected India with China. These trade routes also linked to the wider spice trade network, used later by Tamil and Arab traders. This contact led to cultural exchange along with trade.

One theory says that Vaishya traders spread Indian culture through trade. They came to Southeast Asia for gold, which was plentiful there when India had little. But trade alone doesn’t explain how Indian culture reached all levels of society.

Another theory suggests that Kshatriya warriors came to conquer local peoples and set up their own rule. However, historians find little evidence to support this idea.

The most accepted theory is that Brahman scholars brought Hindu traditions to Southeast Asia. They shared these ideas with leaders, who then spread them to everyone. Brahmans were also skilled in art, architecture, and politics, which helped shape Southeast Asian societies.

Adaption and adoption

We don’t know exactly how Indian culture mixed with Southeast Asian life, whether through key figures from India or Southeast Asians visiting India. It’s likely that Hindu and Buddhist traders, priests, and princes from India came to Southeast Asia in the first few centuries and settled there. Local rulers often invited Brahmans to serve as priests, advisors, and astrologers. Hindu rituals helped support these rulers, linking divinity and royalty.

Arts, architecture, rituals, and stories like the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata were adopted and given local flavors. The caste system was used but not everywhere, mainly for nobles. It’s hard to know exactly when Indian culture spread because ruins in Southeast Asia look similar to those in India.

Big states like Srivijaya, Mataram, Majapahit, and the Khmer empire had strong populations and economies. Places like Borobudur, Prambanan in Java, and Angkor in Cambodia show a unique regional style.

Southeast Asia was called Suvarnabhumi or Sovannah Phoum – the golden land – and Suvarnadvipa – the golden islands. Traders from eastern India, especially Kalinga, visited often. Trade and culture tied the Chola dynasty of South India to Southeast Asian kingdoms. The Pala dynasty of Bengal also kept close ties, especially with Srivijaya.

Religion, authority and legitimacy

Before Indian influence, Southeast Asian societies didn’t focus much on family lines for leadership. Hindu ideas of god-kings let rulers create larger empires and mix local worship with Hindu gods like Shiva and Vishnu. This helped leaders claim they were almost divine. Hindu traditions, including ideas about land and social order, fit well with local customs. Stories from the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa helped rulers show they fought for good against evil.

Hinduism didn’t have one leader or central authority, which gave rulers freedom. It also allowed many forms of gods, like the Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who create, protect, and destroy the world.

Hinduism and Buddhism greatly shaped Southeast Asian civilizations, giving structure to their writing and traditions. These religions spread mainly through trade in the third and fourth centuries. Buddhist monks and Hindu priests traveled with merchants to share their beliefs. Along the Mekong River, early Indian-style religious marks can be seen in Funan, with stones from the early third century showing Buddhist ideas and South Indian writing.

Champa, Dvaravati, Funan, Gangga Negara, Kadaram, Kalingga, Kutai, Langkasuka, Pagan, Pan Pan, Po-ni, and Tarumanagara adopted Hindu cosmology, the devaraja idea of kingship, and Sanskrit writing by the 1st to 4th centuries CE. Even with these shared ideas, each kingdom stayed independent.

Waning of Indianization

Khmer Kingdom

Indian culture changed many parts of life in Southeast Asia, including spiritual beliefs, leading to a new Northern Culture in the early 14th century. The rise of Buddhist kingdoms and the growth of Buddhism helped reduce the influence of Indian culture. Places like Sukhothai and Ceylon became centers for Buddhism, which became more popular than Hinduism.

Rise of Islam

Besides Buddhism, Islam also began to replace Hindu influence in the 13th century. As Islam spread, Indian traders became more common in Southeast Asia. Trade grew in areas where Indian culture was strong, and these places became more Muslim. Islamic influence spread across many trading centers in Southeast Asia, including important places like Malacca, leading to widespread Islamization.

Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia

Further information: List of Hindu empires and dynasties

Mainland kingdoms

• Funan: Funan was a group of people in the southern part of the Indochinese peninsula from the 1st to 6th centuries. Its name comes from Chinese travelers’ accounts. Funan was an early Hindu culture in the area, linked to India through trade in the Indian Ocean.

• Chenla: Chenla followed Funan and lasted from the late 6th to early 9th century in Indochina. It was influenced by Indian culture and trade routes, adopting ideas like divine kingship.
• Langkasuka: Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu kingdom in the Malay Peninsula, possibly founded in the 2nd century.
• Champa: The Champa kingdoms were in what is now south and central Vietnam. They followed Hinduism and were heavily influenced by Indian culture until the Vietnamese took over in the late 15th century.
• Kambuja: The Khmer Empire began in the early 9th century. Its leaders followed Hindu traditions, and later introduced Buddhism. The empire made big advances in areas like farming, buildings, and arts.
• Mon kingdoms: From the 9th to mid-16th century, Mon kingdoms such as Dvaravati helped spread Indian culture in lower Burma, especially through ties with Sri Lanka.
• Sukhothai: Sukhothai was the first kingdom started by Tai peoples after leaving the Khmer Empire in the 13th century. It was influenced by nearby Buddhist cultures.

Island kingdoms

• Salakanagara: Salakanagara was the first known Indian-influenced kingdom in Western Java, existing from 130 to 362 CE.
• Tarumanagara: Tarumanagara was an early Sundanese kingdom near modern Jakarta. Its ruler built a canal for farming.
• Kalingga: Kalingga was a 6th century Hindu-Buddhist kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, one of the oldest there.
• Malayu: Malayu was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom. It was later absorbed by Srivijaya but became independent again later.
• Srivijaya: From the 7th to 13th centuries, Srivijaya was a Buddhist maritime empire based on Sumatra. It attracted scholars and was friendly with China and Bengal.
• Tambralinga: Tambralinga was a kingdom on the Malay Peninsula influenced by Srivijaya. Its name means “red symbol” in Sanskrit.
• Mataram: The Mataram Kingdom lasted from the 8th to 11th centuries. It built many Hindu-Buddhist temples like Borobudur and Prambanan.
• Kadiri: After Mataram was destroyed, King Airlangga restored power and later the kingdom split. Kediri became a strong trading nation because of spices from the Maluku Islands.
• Singhasari: In the 13th century, Singhasari replaced Kediri in east Java. Its ruler Kertanegara expanded the kingdom until he was killed, leading to the rise of Majapahit.
• Majapahit: Majapahit succeeded Singhasari and ruled much of the Indonesian archipelago from the 13th to 15th centuries. It was a major Hindu empire and influenced Bali.
• Galuh: Galuh was an ancient Hindu kingdom in eastern West Java, established after Tarumanagara fell in the 7th century.
• Sunda: The Sunda Kingdom was in western Java from 669 to around 1579 CE, covering areas like Banten and Jakarta.

Indianized kingdoms of Southwest Asia

See also: Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan and Muslim conquests of Afghanistan

The eastern parts of Afghanistan were once thought of as part of India and were ruled by the Mauryan Empire. Buddhism and Hinduism were strong there until Muslim rulers came. Places like Kabul and Zabulistan, which followed these beliefs, resisted the Muslim leaders for over two hundred years. The Kabul Shahi and Zunbils kept their independence until they were finally taken over.

Historian André Wink explained that in southern and eastern Afghanistan, areas such as Zamindawar, Zabulistan, and Kabul, were long held back the Muslim advance by local leaders like the Zunbils and the Kabul-Shahs. These areas were more connected to Indian culture than to Persian culture.

Old sites like Tapa Sardar and Gardez show a mix of Buddhist and Hindu styles. The Chinese traveler Xuanzang visited Zabul in the 600s and described it as mostly following old traditions but also supporting Buddhism.

The leader Al-Ma'mun led the last big Muslim attacks on Kabul and Zabul. After many years of fighting, the local leaders had to accept Muslim rule. The last Zunbil leader was killed, and the king of Kabul was forced to change his beliefs. Later, the Hindu Shahi leaders were also defeated.

Zabulistan

Zabulistan, in southern Afghanistan, was once ruled by Hindu leaders. It was divided into smaller parts, with links to both Kabul and Zabul.

The Zunbils were a royal family in what is now southern Afghanistan. They honored a god named Zhuna, possibly linked to the sun god Surya. Their temples were important places, and they had strong connections to old Hindu and Tibetan traditions.

Buddhist Turk Shahi dynasty of Kabul

Kabul was ruled by the Turk Shahi leaders in the 600s to 800s. They were Buddhists and were later replaced by Hindu leaders before Muslim rulers took over.

The Turk Shahi were from Turkey and ruled from Kabul and Kapisa. They took over from the Nezak leaders. Kabulistan was the main part of their land, which also included Zabulistan and Gandhara at times. The last Turk Shahi leader was removed by a Hindu minister around 850, ending their rule and starting the Hindu Shahi dynasty.

Hindu Shahis

The Hindu Shahi ruled from 850 to 1026. They controlled the Kabul Valley, Gandhara (now parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan), and parts of northwest India. They followed Hindu traditions and had two groups of leaders. Not much detailed history exists, but we know some names from old writings and coins.

Some leaders were Vakkadeva, Kamalavarman, Bhimadeva, Jayapala, Anandapala, Trilochanapala, and Bhimpala.

• Vakkadeva: He ruled parts of northern Afghanistan and built a temple there.
• Kamalavarman: During his time, the Muslim control weakened, and the Shahi leaders grew stronger.
• Jayapala: He started a new group of leaders and added the name Deva to his title.

Balkh

From what we know, Tokharistan (Bactria) was a place where Buddhism stayed strong even after Muslim leaders took over. Balkh was taken by Muslim leader Qutayba ibn Muslim in 705. One big Buddhist temple there was called Nava Vihara, later known as Naw Bahara. We don’t know how long it kept its old purpose after the Muslim conquest.

Ghur

Amir Suri, a leader from the Ghurid dynasty in central Afghanistan, and his son Muhammad ibn Suri were followers of old traditions, not Islam, even though they had Arabic names. They ruled from the 800s to the 900s and were seen as pagans by their Muslim neighbors. It was only later that the Ghurid leaders turned to Islam. The area became fully Muslim by the 1100s.

Nuristan

The area from modern Nuristan to Kashmir was home to many cultures and languages. It was once surrounded by Buddhist areas but later turned to Islam over many years. The original people, called Kafirs, had their own mix of old Hindu beliefs and local traditions. They were finally brought under Muslim rule in the late 1800s.

Land area

The area known as Greater India includes many countries and regions. These places were influenced by Indian culture over time. The countries and regions include:

• India
• Bangladesh
• Pakistan
• Afghanistan
• Sri Lanka
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Myanmar
• Maldives
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Singapore
• Brunei
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Cham (nowadays in the southern portion of Vietnam)
• Philippines
• Timor-Leste
• China (Tibet and Yunnan Province)