These Volumes have been made possible by the Grace oFGANESH THE GOD OF SHUBH ARAMBH- Good Beginnings 1 DEVRAJA Srishti Dokras Dr. Uday Dokras Mysteries of the South Asian Hindu Temples-The Indian Beginning Indo Nordic Author’s Collective-India,Sweden,Finland 2 A yogi perceives God (Siva) within himself, images (temples) are for those who have not reached this knowledge. (Verse 59)— Jabaladarsana Upanishad 3 SRISHTI DOKRAS Dr. Uday Dokras B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India Certificat' en Droit, Queens University, Canada, MBA CALSTATE, USA, Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden, Management and Efficacy Consultant, India B Arch (IDEAS) India Visiting Architect ,DUBAI, USA & AUSTRALIA Consultant Design & Architecture ESSELWORLD 4 Female apparel of Srivijaya empire by Prasanna Wikramasinghe SRISHTI DOKRAS Dr. Uday Dokras B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India Certificat' en Droit, Queens University, Canada, MBA CALSTATE, USA, Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden, Management and Efficacy Consultant, India B Arch (IDEAS) India Visiting Architect ,DUBAI, USA & AUSTRALIA Consultant Design & Architecture ESSELWORLD 5 Indo Nordic Author’s Collective Stockholm Tampere Nagpur Gurugram 1st Edition 2020 Copyright 2020 Uday Dokras. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by means of electronic, mechanical, photocopy, micro-film, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder. ISBN No. applied for. Cost US $150. I N R 1500/- Euro 120. 6 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENT- to all OUR GURUS In Sanskrit, the word for gravity is Gurutvaakrshan. Attraction to the GURU! One day, while Lord Shiva was performing a puja, his consort Parvati saw him bowing his head in reverence. Seeing this, she asks: "You are the Supreme Consciousness, the substratum of entire Creation. Who is it that you bow down to?" Shiva replied: "Dear Parvati, for the benefit of all humanity, I will answer your question. It is to the all-pervading guru- akarshan that I bow down to." The Guru in the physical form is called pratyaksh, Reality. The earth holds on to us with the force of gravity. Without this attraction or love, we would not have a base. Similarly Guru is the guiding light who removes the darkness of ignorance and shows the path to wonderment. When a drop feels connected to the ocean, it feels the strength of the ocean. My strength comes from the knowledge given by our Gurus. They live in our soul and in the mind. Their teachings manifest themselves in our words and deeds. We do not write our words- they do. We through them. Hence, all our literature is theirs and for that we thank them. Srishti Dokras 8 Dr Uday Dokrs 9 10 C O N T E N T S BOOK I CHAPTER CHAPTER I Title Pa ge Acknowledgment Contents Foreword About These books or Volumes In a Nutshell Hinduism and Hinduism in South East Asia and Indo China Introduction to the idea of God King Chronology of Events Farther India Saivite reneissance Yashovarman Jayavarman Universal monarch Yashovarman’s Numberology Art in Bharat (India) Art during Khemer Enormity of Angkor AngkorVat Today Concept of DEVRAJA Mysterious temples of Indo China Purpose of DEVRAJA Parameshwara Sanatan Dharma DEVRAJA concept in India- Tamil Kings Indianized Politics in SE Asia Cambodia and Khemer Thailand or Siam CHAKRAVARTI Mahapurusha CHAKRAVARTI in Hinduism Hindu Temples in South East Asia Site of the temple Plan of the Temple Mandapa Schools of temples Styles of Architecture Champa Khemer Additional Concepts of Greater Bharat Indosphere Sprachbund Sanskritization Sanskritization Theorey 8 11 16 19 23 33 11 44 45 47 50 52 53 53 56 56 57 77 78 82 84 90 97 86 99 99 101 102 104 105 108 109 110 110 113 117 118 119 120 138 139 139 141 142 Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV MURTI Shilpa Shilpa shastra Painting Carpentry Metallurgy Education of Shilpi Shastris in architecture Apprenticeship Guilds Tretise Murti Design Role of Murtis in worship Imprint of the Indian Genius Sinhalese Buddhism Cambodia-Influence of Hinduism Chola Dynesty Gupta Dynesty Hindu temples in cambodia Shaivism Ramayana in Cambodia Remker Tamil Rule of the Cholas Chola Conquests Tamil Merchants Association 500 Lords of the Ayyavole Hindu temple Construction Khemer Empire Yashodharpur How Hinduism Reached Cambodia Power & Prestige of Hinduism in the Region Divinity and Royalty Untold Legend of Rajendra Chola Tamil Chola Dark Age Age of Empires Chola Dynasty Chola Empire Geneology Origins Early Cholas Interregum Imperial Cholas Overseas Conquests 12 143 148 147 148 149 149 150 150 150 151 152 155 158 150 161 164 165 165 166 167 168 168 169 171 171 172 173 175 177 178 178 191 192 184 185 188 190 193 195 196 196 198 202 Chapter V Chapter VI Kedah Invasion of Srivijaya Aftermath Decline Silambum Economy Foreign Trade Chola Art in Greater India Canals and Water Tanks Art and Architecture Rajendra Chola Major Battles Tamil in the Malay world Naval Raids Chola Navy Timeline History Ancient Indian maritime Trade Maritime Silk Road Chola Military Origins Regiments Navy South East Asia Imperial navy Trade Commerce and Diplomacy Combating Piracy Organization and Administration Rank Privateers Vessels Campaigns Recruitment in Services Port and Fleets Political,Cultural and Economic Impact South Indian Maritime Traders Archeology Towards East Arco Polo Source Luxury Goods Early Guilds of Merchants Ancient Tamil Economy Industry in Ancient tamil Times 13 203 206 207 211 216 217 220 222 221 223 224 226 228 228 233 233 237 238 238 240 240 242 245 246 255 259 260 261 263 265 266 268 269 269 270 272 274 289 294 294 294 295 296 Inland Trade Trade Routes Import and Export Role of the State in the Trade Custom Duties Personal Wealth Sangam Changing Character of the Tamil Countries Arceolo Excavations Export Import and Export from Tamil India Merchants Guilds Manigraman Manigraman under the Cholas Ainnurruvur 500 Lords of Ayyavolu Other Guilds Srivijaya Economy and Commerce Chola and Srivijaya Biography Biography INDEX About the Author-Srishti Dokras About the Author- Dr. Uday Dokras 14 298 305 305 307 307 308 308 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 324 326 327 331 333 329 342 343 357 15 FOREWORD Foreword by definition, is a short introductory statement in a published work, as a book, especially when written by someone other than the author. That is so very true, but I know the author since the past 3 books which I have illustrated in various degrees. And I definitely know the subject that is crystallized in these 1,000 page tomes in 3 Volumes. “For more than 1500 years, From the Indian subcontinent to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, the temple has embodied and symbolized the Hindu worldview at its deepest level and inspired the greatest architectural and artistic achievements in Hindu Asia.” Said the review of The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms by George Michell. So very true for this book too, by Dr Uday Dokras and his daughter Srishti, both of whom have grey hair on their head from writing 14 books( This is the third for Srishti and I understand her participation in this literary endeavor has been the mostyet). The expansion of Indian civilization "to those countries and islands of the Orient where Chinese civilization, with strikingly similar aspirations, seemed to arrive ahead of it," is one of the outstanding events in the history of the world, one which has determined the destiny of a good portion of mankind. "Mother of wisdom gave her mythology to her neighbors who went to teach it to the whole world. Mother of law and philosophy, she gave to three-quarters of Asia a god, a religion, a doctrine, an art. She carried her sacred language, her literature, her institutions into Indonesia, to the limits of the known world, and from there they spread back to Madagascar and perhaps to the coast of Africa, where the present flow of Indian immigrants seems to follow the faint traces of the past." Sylvain Levi, L'lnde civilisatrice: Apergu historique (Paris, 1938), p. 136. On this path treed the authors 2, explaining in lucid details the how and why of these magnificent temples that arose so far away from their mother country (philosophically and spiritually) built by Monarchs who vacillated from one religion to another (Buddhism) trying to gain the best of them to cement their hold on their masses as well as their posterity. Profusely illustrated with photographs, maps and pics the authors continue to unravel the mysteries of these structures traversing countries and continents, land and oceans- by ships of the ancient Tamil merchants of the Chola Kingdoms, or Caravans of the Arab traders. The vista is panoramic to say the least and the terrain covered is gargantuan. The reader is the Marco Polo- “I have not told the half of what I saw.” He once said afraid, that the listeners would not believe him. “My heart beats as much as I can breathe.” Yes- you too dear reader - don’t know about your heart but your attention will be grasped. Godspeed. Kerry Penny Contemporary British Artist,U.K. 16 UG 21, 2018RIGINAL: 17 18 DEVRAJA BOOK ONE Mysteries of the South Asian Hindu Temples The Indian Beginning THE STORY BEGINS IN BHARAT(INDIA) THEN MOVES TO SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES ABOUT THIS TRILOGY - DEVRAJA or GODKING India is the land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday's bear date with the modering antiquities for the rest of nations-the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.1 Civilizations have arisen in other parts of the world. In ancient and modern times, wonderful ideas have been carried forward from one race to another...But mark you, my friends, it has been always with the blast of war trumpets and the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea had to be soaked in a deluge of blood.Each word of power had to be 19 followed by the groans of millions, by the wails of orphans, by the tears of widows. This, many other nations have taught; but India for thousands of years peacefully existed. Here activity prevailed when even Greece did not exist.Even earlier, when history has no record, and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past, even from until now, ideas after ideas have marched out from her, but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it and peace before it. We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head, and therefore we live.2 This trilogy is a set of three works of writing connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games. Most trilogies are works of fiction involving the same characters or setting, Ours is scopic review connected by one theme- that of the God Kings of Cambodia which is the spear head to our narration of the story of Hindu religion through its temples and structures through South East Asia and InoChina. I have been taken by a man unknown to me. But he is not the one who holds me captive. Not whose voice commands me. Not who watches me with a storm raging in ocean-blue eyes. It is my captor who knows every inch of my body. Who trains me for another man to ruin. But I am not his. I belong to my requestor. Whoever he is . . . YOU READER, ARE THE REQUESTOR… Our journey of caravans begins in India or Bharat as it was then called in Volume 1and we travel together with the great maritime empires of the South Indian Tamil Kings and merchants to the far east- but only to those lands where Hinduism took hold to investigate how that happened.The wonders that were created in its name in all these 20 lands, distant from its mother-Hindusthan,the then India or Bharat. The expansion of Indian civilization "to those countries is one of the outstanding events in the history of the world, one which has determined the destiny of a good portion of mankind "Hinduism- the Mother of wisdom gave her mythology to her neighbors who went to teach it to the whole world. Mother of law and philosophy, she gave to three-quarters of Asia a god, a religion, a doctrine, an art. She carried her sacred language, her literature, her institutions into Indonesia, to the limits of the known world, and from there they spread back to Madagascar and perhaps to the coast of Africa, where the present flow of Indian immigrants seems to follow the faint traces of the past."3 We have titled this trilogy Devraja or God King because devrāja order grew out of both Hinduism and separate local traditions. It taught that the king was a divine universal ruler, a manifestation of Shri Bhagawan (often attributed to Shiva or Vishnu). The concept viewed the monarch to possess transcendental quality, the king as the living god on earth as the divine justification of a king's rule. This term heavily borrowed from Hinduism by the Rulers of Indo China and other neighbouring countries still exists in Thailand, but earlier it showed how the society of nations, their government, culture,religious and political dynamics were shaped by the idea that people's actions and thoughts directly determine their current life and future lives. And one must achieve dharma, which is a code of living that emphasizes good conduct and morality. The great temples and Stupas arose out of this dogma and coloured the vistas of these nations. In doing so they have tempered the colours of the world. Book II deals with the swell of Hinduism in Indo China and how the great empies there raised amazing buildings and religious monuments in praise of the GOD KING and using the Gods of Hinduism. In the third Volume, we travel to other nations with a similar past-South East Asian nations to examine the gentle spread of that one Religion of the Devaja to these shore. In over a 1000 pages the journey we undertake is vast but with earlier 14 books and 150 21 research ‘papers’ in our luggage we hope the journey you embark on reading these books will enlighgtena dn entertain you as much as it did –us the authors. THE STORY BEGINS IN BHARAT(INDIA) THEN MOVES TO SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES o BOOK I or VOLUME I- Mysteries of the South Asian Hindu Temples The Indian Beginning o BOOK I or VOLUME I -The HINDU Era of Great Civilizations of Khemer o BOOK I or VOLUME I -The HINDU Era of Great Civilizations of South East Asia __________________________________________________________________ REFERENCES 1. Mark Twain 1. Swami Vivekananda 2. 3.Sylvain Levi, L'lnde civilisatrice: Apergu historique (Paris, 1938), p. 136. 22 IN A NUTSHELL The Khmer state (Angkor)- Foundation of the kingdom In 790 a young Cambodian prince, claiming to be descended from the rulers of Funan, was consecrated in eastern Cambodia under the title Jayavarman II. Part of the ceremony involved breaking ties with “Java,” which probably was a reference not to the island of Java but to the kingdom of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra. Over the next 10 years, Jayavarman extended his power northward into the Mekong River valley until, in 802, he was reconsecrated as a chakravartin (the ancient Indian conception of world ruler) in northwestern Cambodia. The capital seems to have been located in the Kulén Hills, north of the present-day provincial capital of Siĕmréab, where he died in 835. Despite the high status accorded him by subsequent Angkorean kings, Jayavarman II seems to have left no inscriptions of his own, and the monuments that can be dated to his reign were small and hastily built. 23 Khmer empire c. 1200.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Jayavarman’s real accomplishment was less tangible and lasted longer, for he appears to have established what came to be called Kambuja-desa, a confident, self-aware kingdom that superseded and came to control a range of smaller states. He was Cambodia’s first nationally oriented king. It is not known whether smaller states were forced into submission or joined of their own volition. Despite the 24 grandeur of the Angkorean temples that were built over the next four centuries, Jayavarman II’s successors were often powerless or constrained by opposing forces. Revolts and usurpations were frequent, as were foreign invasions. Rulers were the object of rival claims by family members, priests, generals, and bureaucrats. Some kings, especially usurpers, had more freedom of action than others. Those who ruled in periods of peace were also in a better position to undertake building programs and public works. Like their counterparts in medieval Europe, Cambodian kings were far removed from ordinary people. The king was perceived primarily in religious terms, and he ensured the fertility of the soil and the well-being of the kingdom through the rituals he performed. In exchange for his protection, the people were subject to intermittent military service and corvée duty and were also called on to provide labour without payment for Buddhist and Hindu religious foundations and for local elites. Toward the end of the 9th century, soon after Jayavarman II’s death, the Cambodian capital shifted to the northern shores of the Tonle Sap, near present-day Phumĭ Rôluŏs. A king named Indravarman I (ruled 877–c. 890) constructed a large reservoir and several temples there, including a pyramidical structure called the Bakong—the first Cambodian temple to be built primarily of stone rather than brick. The so-called “temple mountain” became the model for the many larger royal temples at Angkor that served as monuments to the greatness of their patrons and, subsequently, as their tombs. Angkorean civilization Indravarman’s son and successor, Yaśovarman I (ruled c. 890–c. 910), moved the capital again, now closer to Siĕmréab, to a location that subsequently became Angkor—a name derived from the Sanskrit word nagara, meaning “city”—which has become one of the world’s most-celebrated archaeological sites (as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site), as well as the popular name for Cambodia’s medieval civilization. The city that Yaśovarman founded, Yaśodharapura, retained that name and remained Cambodia’s capital until it was abandoned in the 16th century. His temple mountain, now called Bakheng (literally “Mighty Ancestor”), was built on a natural hill that overlooked a teeming city, the more-distant rice-growing plain, and the Tonle Sap. The mountain occupied the centre of the city, just as Mount Meru, the mythical home in India of the Hindu gods, was said to stand at the centre of the universe. Yaśovarman built a large reservoir nearby. The city wall of Yaśodharapura measured 2.5 miles (4 km) on each side. For such an ambitious building program, the king needed to command a large labour pool. Other evidence suggests that his reign was characterized by tolerance toward a variety of Buddhist and Hindu sects that occasionally blended into local cults 25 honouring ancestral spirits and spirits of the soil. Indeed, for all the apparent absolutism of its kings, a consistent feature of Angkorean civilization unmatched in medieval Europe was religious toleration. After several decades of warfare, dislocations, and disorder—Yaśodharapura itself was abandoned for nearly 30 years—Rajendravarman II (ruled 944–968) restored the capital and set in motion a period of peace and prosperity that lasted nearly a century. During the reign of his successor, Jayavarman V (968–c. 1000), the rose-coloured sandstone shrine of Banteai Srei—arguably the loveliest temple at Angkor—was built on the outskirts of the capital under the patronage of a wealthy priestly family, one of whose members had been Jayavarman’s teacher. In Yaśodharapura itself, Jayavarman V began work on the imposing temple mountain now called Ta Keo, which was completed under his successor, Suryavarman I (ruled c. 1004–c. 1050). Suryavarman I, an innovative and demanding monarch, was a usurper with links to princely families in what is now northeastern Thailand. His rise to power involved the subjugation of many areas that had become semi-independent under his predecessors, and his reign resembled that of Jayavarman II two centuries earlier. Suryavarman extended the Khmer empire westward into present-day Thailand, where he constructed the large mountaintop temple known as PreahVihear. During his reign the number of cities ruled from Yaśodharapura grew from roughly 20 to nearly 50, and foreign trade increased, along with tighter central bureaucratic control. His successor consolidated those gains, put down a dangerous rebellion, and was responsible for the temple mountain known today as the Baphuon. The closing years of the 11th century were ones of turmoil and fragmentation. At different times, two and even three “absolute monarchs” contended simultaneously for the title of chakravartin. At the end of the century, however, a new dynasty—which was to last for more than a century—began to rule at Angkor. Its most powerful monarch took the name of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113–c. 1150), although he probably was not descended from the earlier king of that name. Like his namesake predecessor, Suryavarman II was a formidable military campaigner. He avenged earlier attacks on Angkor by armies launched from the kingdom of Champa, in what is now south-central Vietnam, and led expeditions into northern and southern Thailand. A campaign against Vietnam, which had recently declared its independence from China, was less successful. Suryavarman’s major accomplishment, from a modern perspective, was the Angkor Wat temple complex, still the largest religious structure in the world and one of the most beautiful. The temple, which eventually became his tomb and probably was an astronomical observatory as well, was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Its bas-reliefs, running for nearly a half mile inside its third enclosure, depict events in the well-known Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana—confirming that 26 those texts were widely known at Angkor—as well as Suryavarman himself holding court. The elegance of the carvings, the hundreds of graceful statues of angelic dancers (apsaras) that adorn the temple, and its reflection in the moats that surround it continue to give Angkor Wat an awe-inspiring air; in the 12th century, when its towers were gilded and its moats properly maintained, it must have been even more breathtaking. Jayavarman VII Suryavarman II’s successor, Yaśovarman II (ruled 1160–66), also reached into earlier history for his royal name, tracing his lineage to the Rôluŏs period of the late 9th century. During his reign, several temples begun under Suryavarman were completed. Yaśovarman was overthrown by one of his officials after returning from a military campaign in Thailand. In the aftermath of the coup, a Cambodian prince, later to rule under the name of Jayavarman VII (1181–c. 1220), hurried home from Champa—it is uncertain from his inscriptions why he was there—to vie for the Cambodian throne. He arrived too late, and for the next 10 years he bided his time as the usurper lost control and Angkor was invaded and occupied by the Chams. In 1177, heading an army of his own, the prince attacked Angkor and defeated the Cham forces. The battles are vividly depicted in the bas-reliefs of his temple mountain, the Bayon. To forestall further Cham attacks, Jayavarman annexed the Cham capital, and Angkor controlled Champa until Jayavarman’s death. When his campaign against the Chams was over, the future monarch worked to bring Cambodia under his control. An inscription referred to the kingdom he encountered as being “shaded by many parasols,” a metaphor for a multiplicity of rulers. In 1191, presumably when the process was complete, Jayavarman finally settled in Angkor. He soon embarked on a program of building and public works that was more extensive and grandiose than any in Angkorean history. According to his inscriptions, hundreds of thousands of people were involved in those projects. Numerous temples, statues, stone bridges, and inscriptions in the Angkor region and elsewhere in Cambodia testify to the vigour of Jayavarman VII’s long reign. He rebuilt and refortified the city. He was a fervent Buddhist of the Mahayana school; several larger-than-life-size statues of the monarch depict him in meditation. Like most other Cambodian kings, however, he also tolerated and patronized Hinduism and local ancestor cults. His extraordinary temple, the Bayon, with its multiple towers, each bearing faces of divinities turned in the cardinal directions, is perhaps the most intriguing of the monuments at Angkor. Like Yaśovarman I’s Bakheng, the Bayon stood at the centre of the royal city—which had shifted since Yaśovarman’s time—and symbolized Mount Meru. Many 27 Hindu gods and the Buddha are depicted in the statuary of the temple, while the bas-reliefs depict scenes of ordinary life, providing a picture of 12th-century Cambodians at work, rest, and play that fails to emerge from the religiously oriented inscriptions or from carvings at other temples. The clothing, tools, houses, and oxcarts in the bas-reliefs closely resemble those found in the Cambodian countryside today. The decline of Angkor After Jayavarman’s death (about 1220), few stone monuments were erected at Angkor, and only a few inscriptions were incised. Little by little, the Khmer empire began to contract. Jayavarman’s campaigns neutralized Champa as a threat to Angkor, but, by the early 13th century, vigorous new kingdoms in what is now northern Thailand—centring on the city of Sukhothai—became powerful enough to throw off Angkorean domination, as did some Tai principalities in the south. In the mid-13th century, Tai armies even raided Angkor. For the next 200 years, however, Angkor remained a glittering, crowded, and wealthy city. It impressed a Chinese visitor, Zhou Daguan, who arrived there with a diplomatic mission in 1296. Zhou’s account is the longest and most-detailed extant description of the Khmer capital, supplementing the bas-reliefs of the Bayon. He left a picture of a bustling city in which the king still went forth in great pomp and ceremony. Zhou also saw monks of the Theravada school of Buddhism at Angkor. The more-orthodox and austere school flourished in kingdoms to the west of Cambodia and contrasted sharply with the lavish and elitist rituals associated with Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. When Zhou visited Angkor, Theravada Buddhism was still one religion among many. Soon afterward, however, it began to benefit from royal patronage, and the conversion of the majority of the population probably followed the conversion of members of the elite. Those disadvantaged by the change included the high-ranking Hindu and Mahayana priestly families who had built and maintained the temples at Angkor. Some historians believe that the mass conversion to Theravada Buddhism—by undermining the Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist institutions underpinning the state and by encouraging through its doctrines a more-individualistic attitude among believers—contributed to the decline and gradual abandonment of Angkor, which certainly accompanied the conversion in the 14th and 15th centuries. That view, however, has been challenged by those who, doubting that Theravada Buddhism by itself could have had such a disintegrating influence, note that Thailand, even though it followed Theravada Buddhism, remained united and vigorous enough to conduct repeated military attacks on Angkor and carry away hundreds and perhaps thousands of Cambodians into captivity in Thailand. According to that opposing 28 view, those Tai military campaigns offer a more credible explanation for the collapse of Angkor than does an interpretation identifying Theravada Buddhism as the primary cause. Yet a third explanation that has been proposed as for why Angkor declined is based on archaeological work on the site done in the late 20th and early 21st centuries that found evidence that serious environmental degradation may have undermined the region’s vital irrigation system. Recorded Tai attacks on Angkor occurred in 1369, 1389, and 1431, and there undoubtedly were other attacks as well. In 1351 a Tai kingdom whose court modeled itself culturally on Angkor was founded at Ayutthaya (Ayudhya, or Siam), not far from present-day Bangkok. The Tai capital remained at Ayutthaya for the next 400 years. It is likely that a transfusion of elite culture from Angkor to the moreprosperous, more-secure Tai court began sometime in the mid-14th century. Many of the Khmer who remained at Angkor were probably drawn southward to the vicinity of Phnom Penh (which is thought to have been founded in the mid-15th century) by the region’s commercial possibilities. In any case, the smaller, outward-looking Khmer kingdom that had replaced Angkor in the south by the 16th century earned its wealth primarily from trade rather than from intensive rice cultivation and the mobilization of labour for public works. Thai and Vietnamese hegemony The little that is known of Khmer history in the years following the abandonment of Angkor is a confusing mixture of uncertain dates, mythical figures, and complex dynastic rivalries. Cambodian chronicles for that period, composed several centuries afterward, are impossible to verify against inscriptions or other primary sources. Between the mid-14th century and the end of the 16th, while Angkor was still inhabited, the Tai court of Ayutthaya was most likely absorbing some of its culture and prestige, and the political centre of Cambodia was shifting to the south. Relations between the Tai and the Khmer remained uneasy. In the late 16th century, a period of Tai weakness following wars with Myanmar (Burma) coincided with a time of Cambodian prosperity, and a Khmer monarch, Chan I (ruled 1516–66), reoccupied the Angkor area briefly, restoring some of the temples, adding some bas-reliefs to those at Angkor Wat, and leaving several new inscriptions. When the Tai recovered their strength in the 1590s, however, they invaded Cambodia in force and sacked the Khmer capital at Lovek, north of Phnom Penh, ushering in a period of Cambodian weakness vis-à-vis its neighbours that has endured to the present day. Cambodian political history from the beginning of the 17th century until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1863 is indeed a sorry record of weak kings being undermined by members of 29 their families and forced to seek the protection of their stronger neighbours, Siam (Thailand) and Vietnam. Between 1603 and 1848, 22 monarchs occupied the Cambodian throne. By seeking Tai or Vietnamese protection against their rivals in the royal family and against the foreign power temporarily out of favour, they lost territory and sovereignty. That Cambodia survived at all can be attributed to the fact that in the 18th century the Tai and the Vietnamese had other preoccupations. In the 1750s and ’60s, Tai energies were taken up by wars with Myanmar, whose armies sacked and destroyed Ayutthaya in 1767. Soon afterward the Nguyen rulers of southern Vietnam were engaged in a prolonged campaign to regain power from the usurping Tay Son rebels. Fighting spilled over from Vietnam into Cambodia, and the Cambodian royal family fled to Thailand. By the end of the century, a powerful Tai dynasty had established the kingdom of Siam and had installed itself in its new capital in Bangkok, and at the beginning of the 19th century, the Nguyen founded a dynasty that governed all of Vietnam. A confrontation between the two powers in Cambodia was inevitable. In 1794, in exchange for placing a refugee Cambodian prince, Eng, on the Cambodian throne, the Siamese appropriated two Cambodian provinces, Bătdâmbâng (Battambang) and Siĕmréab (Siem Reap)—the latter including the ruins of Angkor. Those provinces remained in Siamese hands until 1907. When Eng died after a short reign, he was replaced by his young son, who ruled as Chan II under the protection of Thailand. Chan II’s reign confirmed Cambodia’s dual vassalage to Thailand and Vietnam. With three rebellious younger brothers and demanding patrons at the Siamese court, he sought assistance from Vietnam; the Siamese supported his brothers, who took refuge in Bangkok. The uneasy calm that ensued, with Chan acknowledging Siamese and Vietnamese suzerainty, ended with Chan’s death in 1835. Vietnamese pressure was strong enough to ensure that a powerless princess named Mei was then enthroned, permitting the Vietnamese to control most of the country. Not until 1841, when Chan’s brother Duong (Duang; ruled 1848–60) returned from exile in Bangkok supported by Siamese troops, were the Cambodians able to exercise a small degree of independence. Fighting between the Siamese and the Vietnamese continued in Cambodia for several years. Duong was crowned only after Vietnamese troops agreed to leave the country. Cambodia again became a Siamese protectorate. Duong tried hard to revitalize the kingdom’s institutions, but his resources were desperately limited, and his reign was marred by several rebellions. When he died, he was succeeded by his son, Norodom, but conditions were too unstable in the kingdom for Norodom to be crowned. 30 French rule-The protectorate French control over Cambodia was an offshoot of French involvement in the neighbouring provinces of Vietnam. France’s decision to advance into Cambodia came only when it feared that British and Siamese expansion might threaten its access to the largely unmapped Mekong River, which, it assumed (incorrectly), would provide access to central China. In 1863 French naval officers from Vietnam persuaded Norodom to sign a treaty that gave France control of Cambodia’s foreign affairs. The effect of the treaty was to weaken Siamese protection. A French admiral participated in Norodom’s coronation, with Siamese acquiescence, in 1864. Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, CambodiaRoyal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.© Luciano Mortula/Shutterstock.com For the next 15 years or so, the French were not especially demanding, and Norodom benefited from French military help in putting down a series of rebellions. By the late 1870s, however, French officials in Cambodia were pressing for greater control over internal affairs. Shocked by what they regarded as the ineptitude and barbarity of Norodom’s court and eager to turn a profit in Cambodia, they sought to introduce fiscal and judicial reforms. In doing that, the French knew that Norodom’s half 31 brother, Sisowath, who had ambitions for the throne, would cooperate with them. Norodom, however, resisted the reforms, which he correctly perceived as infringements on his power. Exasperated by his intransigence, the French in 1884 forced him at gunpoint to sign a document that virtually transformed Cambodia into a colony. Soon thereafter, provincial officials, feeling threatened, raised guerrilla armies to confront the French. The rebellion, which lasted until mid-1886, was the only anti-French movement in the kingdom until after World War II. The French succeeded in suppressing it after agreeing to some concessions to the king, but Norodom’s apparent victory was hollow. What the French had been unable to achieve by the convention of 1884, they proceeded to gain through piecemeal action. As Norodom’s health declined and as senior Cambodian officials came to see their interests increasingly linked with French power, the way was opened for greater French control. In 1897 the French representative in Phnom Penh assumed executive authority, reducing the king’s power to a minimum. Norodom died, embittered and overtaken by events, in 1904. The first 40 years of the French protectorate—whatever French motives may have been—had guaranteed the survival of the Cambodian state and had saved the kingdom from being divided between its two powerful neighbours. Norodom’s successor, Sisowath (ruled 1904–27), was more cooperative with the French and presided benignly over the partial modernization of the kingdom. The northwestern provinces of Bătdâmbâng and Siĕmréab were returned to Cambodia by the Siamese in 1907. By the time Sisowath died, 20 years later, hundreds of miles of paved roads had been built, and thousands of acres of rubber plantations had been established by the French. Resistance to French rule, in sharp contrast to what was happening in neighbouring Vietnam, was almost nonexistent. Sisowath’s eldest son, Monivong, who reigned until 1941, was even more of a figurehead than his father had been. During the 1930s a railway opened between Phnom Penh and the Siamese (Thai) border, while the first Cambodian-language newspaper, Nagara Vatta (“Angkor Wat”), affiliated with the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh, conveyed a mildly nationalistic message to its readers. 32 CHAPTER I Hinduism and Hinduism in South East Asian Countries a Brief Introduction Hindus (Hindustani: [ˈɦɪndu] ( listen)) are persons who regard themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time. Starting with the Persian and Greek references to the land of the Indus in the 1st millennium BCE through the texts of the medieval era, the term Hindu implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Sindhu (Indus) river. By the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. South Asian population : The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the local South Asian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear. Scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. The word Hindu is an exonym. This word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskritword Sindhu, which means "a large body of water", covering "river, ocean". It was used as the name of the Indus River and also referred to its tributaries. The actual term 'hindu' first occurs, states Gavin Flood, as "a Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus (Sanskrit: Sindhu)", Hindu culture in Bali, Indonesia. The Krishna-Arjuna sculpture inspired by the Bhagavad Gita in Denpasar (top), and Hindu dancers in traditional dress. Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang. The term Hindu was later used occasionally in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts, including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata. These texts used it to contrast Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th33 century Chaitanya Charitamrita text and the 17th-century Bhakta Mala text using the phrase "Hindu dharma". Hindus subscribe to a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but have no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, nor a single founding prophet; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion "defies our desire to define and categorize it". A Hindu may, by his or her choice, draw upon ideas of other Indian or non-Indian religious thought as a resource, follow or evolve his or her personal beliefs, and still identify as a Hindu. In 1995, Chief Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar was quoted in an Indian Supreme Court ruling: When we think of the Hindu religion, unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one god; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more. Although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, Hindus share philosophical concepts, such as but not limiting to dharma, karma, kama, artha, moksha and samsara, even if each subscribes to a diversity of views. Hindus also have shared texts such as the Vedas with embedded Upanishads, and common ritual grammar Hindus in the World (2010) Region Total Population Hindus % total Asia 3,903,418,706 1,014,348,412 26.01% Oceania 36,659,000 616,000 1.78% Europe 728,571,703 2,030,904 0.28% Americas 883,197,750 6,481,937 0.28% Africa 885,103,542 2,013,705 0.23% 34 In more ancient times, Hindu kingdoms arose and spread the religion and traditions across Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Nepal, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, and what is now central Vietnam. Over 3 million Hindus are found in Bali Indonesia, a culture whose origins trace back to ideas brought by Tamil Hindu traders to Indonesian islands in the 1st millennium CE. Their sacred texts are also the Vedas and the Upanishads. The Puranas and the Itihasa (mainly Ramayana and the Mahabharata) are enduring traditions among Indonesian Hindus, expressed in community dances and shadow puppet (wayang) performances. As in India, Indonesian Hindus recognises four paths of spirituality, calling it Catur Marga. Similarly, like Hindus in India, Balinese Hindu believe that there are four proper goals of human life, calling it Catur Purusartha – dharma (pursuit of moral and ethical living), artha (pursuit of wealth and creative activity), kama (pursuit of joy and love) and moksha (pursuit of self-knowledge and liberation). South East Asian Hindus: Hinduism in Southeast Asia has a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from India and Nepal, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscriptions around the 1st to 5th century CE. Today, the only practicing Hindus in Southeast Asia other than Overseas Indians are the Balinese and Tenggerese minorities in Indonesia, and the Cham minority in Cambodia and southern Vietnam. Hindu civilization also transformed and shaped the social construct and statehood of Southeast Asian regional polity. Through the formation of Indianized kingdoms, small indigenous polities led by petty chieftain were transformed into major kingdoms and empires led by a maharaja with statecraft concept akin to those in India. It gave birth to the former Champa civilisation in southern parts of Central Vietnam, Funan in Cambodia, Kedah in the Malay Kingdom, Singhasari and the Khmer Peninsula, the Majapahit Empire in Indochina, Langkasuka Kingdom the Sriwijayan kingdom Empire based on Sumatra, in Java, Bali and and Old the Medang parts of the Philippine archipelago. The civilisation of India influenced the languages, scripts, written tradition, literatures, calendars, beliefs system and artistic aspects of these peoples and nations. Indian scholars wrote about the Dwipantara or Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra around 200 BC. "Yawadvipa" is mentioned in India's earliest epic, 35 the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama's army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita. It was hence referred to by the Sanskrit name "yāvaka dvīpa" (dvīpa = island). Southeast Asia was frequented by traders from eastern India, particularly Kalinga, as well as from the kingdoms of South India. The Indianised Tarumanagara kingdom was established in West Java around 400s, produced among the earliest inscriptions in Indonesian history. There was a marked Buddhist influence starting about 425 in the region. Around the 6th century, Kalingga Indianized kingdom was established on the northern coast of Central Java. The kingdom name was derived from Kalinga east coast of India.[4] These Southeast Asian seafaring peoples engaged in extensive trade with India and China. Which attracted the attention of the Mongols, Chinese and Japanese, as well as Islamic traders, who reached the Aceh area of Sumatra in the 12th century. Examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Chola dynasty. For example, the great temple complex at Prambanan in Indonesia exhibit a number of similarities with the South Indian architecture.[5] According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu, the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola Empire.Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia today as many princes there have names ending with Cholan or Chulan,one such being Raja Chulan, the Raja of Perak. The Chola school of art also spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. Some scholars have pointed out that the legends of Ikshvaku and Sumati may have their origin in the Southeast-Asian myth of the birth of humanity from a bitter gourd. The legend of Sumati, the wife of King Sagar, tells that she produced offspring with the aid of a bitter gourd. Modern era .Today, vibrant Hindu communities remain in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Medan (Indonesia) and the Philippines mainly due to the presence of Indians, such as Tamil people, who migrated from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia in past centuries. One notably Southeast Asian aspect of Tamil Hinduism is the festival of Thaipusam, while other Hindu religious festivals such as Diwali are also well-observed by Hindus in the region. In Thailand and Cambodia, Thai and Khmer people practised Hindu rituals and traditions along with their Buddhist faith, and Hindu gods such as Brahma are still widely revered. 36 In Indonesia, it is not only people of Indian descent who practice Hinduism; Hinduism still survives as the major religion in Bali, where native Indonesians, the Balinese people, adheres to Agama Hindu Dharma, a variant of Hinduism derived from ancient Java-Bali Hindu traditions developed in the island for almost two millennia that often incorporates native spiritual elements. Other than the Balinese, a small enclave of Javanese Hindu minorities are also can be found in Java, such as around Tengger mountain ranges near Bromo and Semeru volcanoes, Karanganyar Regency in Central Java, and near Prambanan, Yogyakarta. Similarly, Hinduism is also found among the Cham minority in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia: just like the Javanese, the majority of them are Muslims but a minority are Hindu. In other parts of Indonesia, the term Hindu Dharma is often loosely used as an umbrella category to identify native spiritual beliefs and indigenous religions such as Hindu Kaharingan professed by Dayak of Kalimantan The resurgence of Hinduism in Indonesia is occurring in all parts of the country. In the early 1970s, the Toraja people of Sulawesi were the first to be identified under the umbrella of 'Hinduism', followed by the Karo Batak of Sumatra in 1977 and the Ngaju Dayak of Kalimantan in 1980. In an unpublished report in 1999, the National Indonesian Bureau of Statistics admitted that around 100,000 people had officially converted or 'reconverted' from Islam to Hinduism over the previous two decades. The Ministry of Religious Affairs, as of 2007 estimates there to be at least 10 million Hindus in Indonesia. The growth of Hinduism has been driven also by the famous Javanese prophecies of Sabdapalon and Jayabaya. Many recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the families of Sukarno's PNI, and now support Megawati Sukarnoputri. This return to the 'religion of Majapahit' (Hinduism) is a matter of nationalist pride. Next to Indonesian Balinese, today, the Balamon Cham are the only surviving native (non-Indic) Hindus in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam there are roughly 160,000 members of the Cham ethnic minority, majority of them adheres Hinduism while some are Muslims. After centuries being dominated by Kinh (Vietnamese), today there are some effort to revive Cham culture. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions. Cambodia is the home of the holy temple of Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world. The main religion adhered to in Khmer kingdom was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism in popularity. Initially, the kingdom revered Hinduism as the main 37 state religion. Vishnu and Shiva were the most revered deities, worshipped in Khmer Hindu temples. Temples such as Angkor Wat are actually known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit) or the realm of Vishnu, to honour the posthumous King Suryavarman II as Vishnu. Hindu ceremonies and rituals performed by Brahmins (Hindu priests), usually only held among the ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. The Khmer Empire has developed a complex society where sophisticated culture, art, and architecture flourish. The Khmer king and his officials were in charge of irrigation management and water distribution, which consisted of an intricate series of hydraulics infrastructure, such as canals, moats, and massive reservoirs called barays. Society was arranged in a hierarchy reflecting the Hindu caste system, where the commoners — rice farmers and fishermen — formed the large majority of the population. The kshatriyas — royalty, nobles, warlords, soldiers, and warriors — formed a governing elite and authorities. Other social classes included brahmins (priests), traders, artisans such as carpenters and stonemasons, potters, metalworkers, goldsmiths, and textile weavers, while on the lowest social level are slaves. The extensive irrigation projects provided rice surpluses that could support a large population. The state religion was Hinduism but influenced by the cult of Devaraja, elevating the Khmer kings as possessing the divine quality of living gods on earth, attributed to the incarnation of Vishnu or Shiva. In politics, this status was viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The cult enabled the Khmer kings to embark on massive architectural projects, constructing majestic monuments such as Angkor Wat and Bayon to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Since then, Hinduism slowly declined in Cambodia, and finally being replaced by Theravadan Buddhist as the major faith in the kingdom. Despite this, Hindu rituals continue to play an important role in the kingdom. Like in neighboring Thailand, the ceremony of coronation is conducted mostly by royal brahmins, during which the sovereign swears in front of the idols of gods Vishnu and Shiva to maintain the ancient national traditions. However, the gradual shift to Buddhism had started, with Jayavarman VII sending his son to Sri Lanka for 10 years to be ordained as a Buddhist monk and study Theravada Buddhism. This, combined with Buddhist missionaries travelling from Siam, Burma, Cambodia and Sri Lanka helped influence the change to the widely spread Theravada Buddhism that continues to be practiced in Cambodia today. 38 Today in Indonesia, Hinduism is practised by 1.7% of the total population. Hindus constitute 83.29% of the population of Bali and 5.75% of the population of Central Kalimantan, as of the 2010 census. However, between the 4th century to 15th century, Hinduism and Buddhism was adhered by the majority of the population, along with native indigenous animism and dynamism beliefs that venerated natural and ancestral spirits. By 15th to 16th-century Islam had supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism as the majority religion in the Indonesian archipelago. The influence of Hinduism has profoundly left its marks on the culture of Bali, Java, and Sumatra. Bali has become the last remnant of once Hindu dominated region. Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as first century. In 4th-century, the kingdom of Kutai in East Kalimantan, Tarumanagara in West Java, and Holing (Kalingga) in Central Java, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. The notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms are Medang i Bhumi Mataram (famous for the construction of the majestic 9thcentury Trimurti Prambanan temple) followed by Kediri, Singhasari and the 14th-century Majapahit, the last and largest among Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires. The Hindu civilisations have left their marks on Indonesian culture. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, became enduring traditions among Indonesian art forms, expressed in wayang shadow puppet and dance performances. Many Indonesian names are Sanskrit-based, and Bahasa Indonesia contains loads of loandwords of Sanskrit origin. The vehicle of Vishnu, Garuda, was adopted as both national emblem Garuda Pancasila and flag carrier national airline named Garuda Indonesia. Today, the Indonesian government has recognised Hinduism as one of the country's six officially sanctioned religions, along with Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The Hindu communities in Java tend to be concentrated around built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (candi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. An important Hindu temple in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru, Java's highest mountain. Another Hindu temple, built on a site with minor archaeological remnants attributed to the Kingdom of Blambangan, the last Hindu polity on Java, and Pura Loka Moksa Jayabaya (in the village of Menang near Kediri), where the Hindu king and prophet Jayabaya is said to have achieved spiritual liberation (moksa). Another site is the new Pura Pucak Raung in East 39 Java, which is mentioned in Balinese literature as the place from where Maharishi Markandeya took Hinduism to Bali in the 14th century. An example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan near Mojokerto, the capital of the legendary Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to gain control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu kingdom of Majapahit into an empire. Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, Hindu communities are also expanding in Central Java near the ancient Hindu monuments of Prambanan. On 9 to 12 November 2019, the grand Abhiṣeka sacred ceremony was performed in this temple compound. This Hindu ritual was held for the first time after 1,163 years after the Prambanan temple was founded on 856. The Abhiṣeka ceremony was meant to cleanse, sanctify and purify the temple, thus signify that the temple is not merely an archaeological and tourism site, but also restored to its original function as a focus of Hindu religious activity. Hinduism in Laos Hinduism makes up less than 0.1% of the population of Laos. Approximately 7,000 People of Laos are Hindus. Ancient Laos used to be a part of Hindu Khmer Empire. The Wat Phou is one of the last influences of that period. The Laotian adaptation of the Ramayana is called Phra Lak Phra Lam. Malaysia: Hinduism is the fourth largest religion in Malaysia. About 2.78 million Malaysian residents (9.3% of the total population) are Hindus, according to 2010 Census of Malaysia. Most Malaysian Hindus are settled in western parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Indian Hindus and Buddhists began arriving in Malaysia during the ancient and medieval era. A large number of Hindus from South India were brought to Malaysia by British colonial empire during the 19th and 20th century, as indentured labourers to work on coffee and sugarcane plantations and tin mining; later they were deployed in large numbers, along with Chinese Buddhists, on rubber plantations. The British kangani system of recruitment, designed to reduce labour turnover and enhance labour stability, encouraged Hindu workers to recruit friends and family from India to work in British operations in Malaysia. The kangani system brought numerous Tamil Hindus into Malaysia by early 1900s.[25] By 1950s, about 12.8% of Malaysian population professed to be a Hindu. 40 After Malaysia gained its independence from British colonial empire in 1957, it declared its official state religion as Islam and adopted a discriminatory constitution as well as the Sedition Act of 1971 which limited public debate on Malaysia's treatment of religion, language and citizenship policies. In recent decades, there have been increasing reports of religious persecution of Hindus, along with other minority religions, by various state governments of Malaysia and its Sharia courts. Hindu temples built on private property, and built long before Malaysian independence, have been demolished by Malaysian government officials in recent years. Since the 1970s, there has been large scale emigration of Hindus (along with Buddhists and Christians) from Malaysia. Malaysian Hindus celebrate Deepavali (festival of lights), Thaipusam (Lord Murugan festival), Pongal (harvest festival) and Navaratri (Durga festival). Hinduism in Myanmar Hinduism in Burma is practised by about 840,000 people, though a reliable census data is not vailable[34] Most Hindus in Myanmar are Burmese Indians. In modern Myanmar, most Hindus are found in the urban centres of Yangon and Mandalay. Ancient Hindu temples are present in other parts of Burma, such as the 11th century Nathlaung Kyaung Temple dedicated to Vishnu in Bagan. Hinduism in Myanmar has also been influenced by Buddhism with many Hindu temples in Myanmar housing statues of the Buddha. Aspects of Hinduism continue in Burma today, even in the majority Buddhist culture. For example, Thagyamin is worshipped whose origins are in the Hindu god Indra. Burmese literature has also been enriched by Hinduism, including the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana, called Yama Zatdaw. Many Hindu gods are likewise worshipped by many Burmese people, such as Saraswati (known as Thuyathadi in Burmese), the goddess of knowledge, who is often worshipped before examinations; Shiva is called Paramizwa; Vishnu is called Withano, and others. Many of these ideas are part of thirty-seven Nat or deities found in Burmese culture. Phillipines: Before the arrival of an Arab trader to Sulu Island in 1450 and Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed in behalf of Spain in 1521, the chiefs of many Philippine islands were called Rajas, and the script was derived from Brahmi. Karma, a Hindu concept is understood as part of the traditional view of the universe by many Philippine peoples, and have counterparts such as kalma in the Pampangan language, and Gabâ in Visayan languages. The vocabulary in all Philippine languages reflect Hindu influences. There are smaller number of followers of Hinduism today at 0.1% of the Philippine population. 41 Today, there is a "Hindu Temple" (attended mostly by Sindhīs) on Mahatma Gandhi Street and a "Khalsa Diwan Indian Sikh Temple" (attended mostly by Sikhs) on United Nations Avenue. Both are in Manila city's Paco-Pandacan area, the traditional Indian enclave, and are about 15 minutes walk away from each other. As per estimate there are 22 gurudwāras all over the Philippines today, although most of the adherents are Indians, Sri Lankans and Nepalese. There are various Hare Krishna groups in the country that are gaining in popularity. Hinduism in Singapore The introduction of Hinduism into Singapore dates back to the early 10th century, during the Chola period. Immigrants from southern India, mostly Tamils, arrived as labourers for the British East India Company, bringing with them their religion and culture. Their arrival saw the building of Dravidian temples throughout the island, and the beginnings of a vibrant Hindu culture. The first temple, Sri Mariamman Temple in Singapore's Chinatown. There are currently about thirty main temples in Singapore, dedicated to various gods and goddesses from the Hindu pantheon. Today, two government bodies deal with all Hindu affairs: The Hindu Endowments Board and The Hindu Advisory Board. Hindus are a minority in Singapore, comprising about 10.1 percent of its citizens and permanent residents in 2010. Among 15 years or older population, there were about 558,000 Hindus; 37% of all Hindus in Singapore speak Tamil at home, another 42% speak English. Deepavali is a major Hindu festival and a public holiday observed in Singapore. Hinduism in Thailand A number of Hindus remain in Thailand. They are mostly located in the cities. In the past, the nation came under the influence of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots. Despite the fact that today Thailand is a Buddhist majority nation, many elements of Thai culture and symbolism demonstrates Hindu influences and heritage. For example, the popular epic, Ramakien, is based on the Ramayana. The Royal emblem of Thailand depicted Garuda, the vahana (vehicle) of Vishnu. The Thai city, Ayutthaya near Bangkok, is named after Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama. Numerous rituals derived from Brahmanism are preserved in rituals, such as the use of holy strings and pouring of water from conch shells. Furthermore, Hindu deities are worshipped by many Thais alongside Buddhism, such as Brahma at the famous Erawan Shrine, and statues of Ganesh, Indra, and Shiva, as well as numerous symbols relating to Hindu deities are found, e.g., Garuda, a symbol of the monarchy. 42 Reliefs in temple walls, such as the 12th-century Prasat Sikhoraphum near Surin (Thailand), show a dancing Shiva, with smaller images of Parvati, Vishnu, Brahma and Ganesha. The Devasathan is a Hindu temple established in 1784 by King Rama I. The temple is the centre of Brahminism in Thailand. The royal court Brahmins operate the temple, they perform several royal ceremonies per year. An annual Giant Swing ceremony known as Triyampavai-Tripavai was held in major cities of Thailand until 1935, when it was abolished for safety reasons. The name of the ceremony was derived from the names of two Tamil language Hindu chants: Thiruvempavai and Thiruppavai. It is known that Tamil verses from Thiruvempavai — poet pratu sivalai ("opening the portals of Shiva's home") — were recited at this ceremony, as well as the coronation ceremony of the Thai king. According to T.P. Meenakshisundaram, the name of the festival indicates that Thiruppavai might have been recited as well. The swinging ceremony depicted a legend about how the god created the world. Outside shops, particularly in towns and rural areas, statues of Nang Kwak as the deity of wealth, fortune and prosperity (version of Lakshmi) are found. The elite, and the royal household, often employ Brahmins to mark funerals and state ceremonies such as the Royal Ploughing Ceremony to ensure a good harvest. The importance of Hinduism cannot be denied, even though much of the rituals has been combined with Buddhism. According to the Thai Census of 2005, there are 52,631 Hindus living in Thailand, making up just 0.09% of the total population. Vietnam: The first recorded religion of the Champa was a form of Shaiva Hinduism, brought by sea from India. Hinduism was a important religion among the Cham people (along with Buddhism, Islam, and indigenous beliefs) until the sixteenth century. Numerous temples dedicated to Shiva were constructed in the central part of what is now Vietnam. The mainly Hindu Óc Eo archeological site in Mekong River Delta in southern Vietnam, dates back to the 7th century and earlier. The Champa civilisation was located in the more southern part of what is today Central Vietnam, and was a highly Indianized Hindu Kingdom, practising a form of Shaivite Hinduism brought by sea from India. Mỹ Sơn, a Hindu temple complex in central Vietnam built by the Cham people is still standing albeit in ruins in Quảng Nam Province, in Vietnam. Since the 15th century under the growing Vietnamese kingdom from the north, Champa was conquered and reduced as a polity. The Chams were subsequently absorbed by the Vietnamese and today are recognised as one of the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. 43 The Chams Balamon (Hindu Brahmin Chams) form a majority of the Cham population in Vietnam while most of the remainder are Cham Bani followers of Islam. The term Balamon is considered to have been derived from Brahmin, however, another study suggests that 70% are considered to descend from the Nagavamshi Kshatriya caste (pronounced in Cham(?) as "Satrias"), and claim to be the descendants of the Champa Empire. In any case a sizeable proportion of the Balamon Hindu Cham are considered Brahmins. Hindu temples are called Bimong in the Cham language and the priests are called Halau Tamunay Ahier. The exact number of Hindus in Vietnam are not published in Government census, but there are estimated to be at least 50,000 Balamon Hindus, with another 4,000 Hindus living in Ho Chi Minh City; most of whom are of Indian (Tamil) or of mixed Indian-Vietnamese descent. The Mariamman Temple is one of the most notable Tamil Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh City. Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan Provinces are where most of the Cham ethnic group (~65%) in Vietnam reside according to the last population census. Cham Balamon (Hindu Cham) in Ninh Thuan numbered 32,000 in 2002 inhabiting 15 of 22 Cham villages. If this population composition is typical for the Cham population of Vietnam as a whole then approximately 40% of Chams in Vietnam are Hindu. Hinduism is practised by the ethnic Cham people of Vietnam, particularly in the Ninh Thuan province (22%) and Binh Thuan (4.8%) DEVRAJA Introduction to the ideas of the God King FEB 28, 2018 ART OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: THE KHMER EMPIRE HINDU Date Name Notes 50/68 AD – 550 AD Funan Empire Nokor Phnom – (alternate name) 550–802 Chenla Empire Division of Land Chenla and Water Chenla in the 8th cent 44 802–1431 Khmer Empire One of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. 1431–1863 Cambodia Middle Period (Chaktomuk era, Longvek era, Oudong era) 1863–1941, 1945– Kingdom of Cambodia (French 1953 Protectorate) II. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 300 CBE Chola Empire 100 CBE evidence of contact between India and Cambodia 100AD potteries state merchant contacts between the two AD 314-543 Gupta empire 300- 400 AD - Inscriptions in Sanskrit in Pallavagrantha, relate to a Cambodian queen, Kula Prabhavati, who established a temple to Vishnu in the kingdom. 400AD Inscriptions testified to Vedic sacrifices by Brahmans 600 AD onwards, both Sanskrit and Tamil were used in government documents in Khmer. Bilingual inscriptions are seen in Khmer and in Sanskrit 690 AD Jayavarman I of Chenla empire in Cambodia died around 690 790-850 AD Jayavarman II reigned; declares independance from Java 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla 802 Cambodia formed by name Kampuchia 881 AD Bakong built by Indravarman I 900 AD to1400 splendid temples built in Cambodia 900 Ninth Century.The Capital city of Yashodharpur established by Yashodharman I AD 890, King Yashodharman I moved his capital to Angkor, till 1210, Trilogy of temples built a) 889-910 Phnom Bok b) 889- 910 Phnom Krom between c) end of 900 Phnom Bakeng 900ADThe 500 Lords of Ayyavole- Tamil merchants associations that sailed to cambodia 900 AD-1500AD period of temple construction in Cambodia 900 to 1400 successive kings built splendid temples to Siva and Vishnu. 20. 928 Reign of King Isanavarman II 21. 921 to 928 AD. Angkor and Koh Ker, existed simultaneously as 2 capitals 22. AD 921-944 Koh Ker temples 23. 24. 25. 26. 1000 AD. BanteaySrei, temple built by Yagnavaraha, priest to Rajendravarman II 1000 Shaivanism 1002 Maritime conquests of RajendraChola 985- 1014 RajarajaChola reign 45 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. Rajendra chola1014 son of RajarajaChola reign starts 1025 CE, Rajendra led Chola forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded Srivijaya 1070 – 1122 AD. Kulothunga I Son of RajendraChola In India and Suryavarman II in Cambodia 1000 AD YashovarmanI in Angkor 1025,GangaikondaCholapuram capital of the Chola dynasty during the reign of RajendraChola I, and served as the Chola capital for around 250 years. 1025 Chola Invasion of Sri Vijaya in South Sumtra. Cptured by RajendraChola 1116-1150 timeline for Angkor wat construction 1181-1218AD Yasodharapura a parallel capital set up by King Jayavarman VII 1181-1218AD King Jayavarman VII Angkor being build. 13th to 14th century, some Brahmanas went from Rameswaram to Cambodia 1113 AD to 1145-1150 AD Khmer King Suryavarman II who built Angkor was a descendant of Cholas 1300 ADS monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. 1295 Buddhism Official state religion when Indravarman III took power. 1200 Angkor Thom established by King Jayavarman VII Magna India, Indosphere, Farther India, Greater India, Akhand Bharat,a sprachbund, Indianization,Hindicisation’ Sanskritization, Prachanda Bharat,Akhil Bharat,Hindusthan,Bharat Desh, Bharat Bhoomi Are all terms used to explain the wonderment of the reach of the Hindu religion and its culture to the far reaches of the East Asian Countries. The powerful and rich Hindu civilization of the Gupta era couldn’t extend its influence to the West because it stumbled upon the barrier of Iran that was experiencing its peak period under the militarized state of the Sassanids. Sassanid Iran acted as a wall that forced the Indian trade to take the sea route of the Southeast and the result was the spread of Indian culture in that area of the Asian continent. From the 4th century onward a kind of “Magna India” was gradually established throughout Southeast Asia. The Hindu kingdoms never practiced a political colonization: the religion, culture and language of India spread parallel to its commercial contacts and the travel of its merchants. Thus, without ever using force, the powerful intellectual influence of Hindu culture imposed Sanskrit as the sacred language of the literature and the court of those countries while the people continued to speak the local languages. FARTHER INDIA This book is not only about Angkor Vat or Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, Bali, Cambodia and Bharata. It is about Indianization. The concept of Akhand Bharat or Greater Bharat( Hindu subcontinent or what one may call today-India.. The Vedic sages had devised a monarchical system, whereby the king was at the top, but could be constitutionally challenged. In fact, it even allowed for men’s inclination to war, but made sure that it 46 never went beyond a certain stage, for only professional armies fought and the majority of the population remained untouched. Indeed, at no time in ancient India, were there great fratricidal wars, like those between the British and the French, or even the Protestants and the Catholics within France itself. Moreover, the system allowed for a great federalism: for instance, a long time after the Vedic fathers, the real power lay in the village panchayats. Sri Aurobindo refutes the charge (which Basham levels), that India has always shown an incompetence for any free and sound political organisation and has been constantly a divided nation. « There always was a strong democratic element in pre-Muslim India, which certainly showed a certain similarity with Western parliamentary forms, but these institutions were Indian. The early Indian system was that of the clan, or tribal system, founded upon the equality of all members of the tribe. In the same way, the village community had its own assembly, the “visah”, with only the king above this democratic body. The priests, who acted as the sacrifice makers and were poets, occultists and yogis, had no other occupation in life and their positions were thus not hereditary but depended on their inner abilities. And it was the same thing with warriors, merchants, or lower class people. “Even when these classes became hereditary, remarks Sri Aurobindo, from the king downwards to the Shudra, the predominance, say of the Brahmins, did not result in a theocracy, because the Brahmins in spite of their ever-increasing and finally predominant authority, did not and could not usurp in India the political power”. The Rishi had a peculiar place, he was the sage, born from any caste, who was often counsellor to the King, of whom he was also the religious preceptor. The imprint of the Indian genius, gives these countries a family likeness. Religious, literature and law; underneath the diversity of the civilizations of Farther India, underneath their apparent uniqueness, lies this imprint. Farther India: Although Farther India was the theater of revolutionary changes, these changes had no notable effects on the history of the world, and, except in the realm of the arts, the area did not enrich the intellectual patrimony of humanity with any masterpieces. It is because of this purely receptive character that Farther India was so long ignored. It has not entered history except to the extent that it was civilized by India. Without India, its past would be almost unknown; we would know scarcely more about it than we know about the past of New Guinea or Australia. Even though the countries whose history is outlined in this work owe everything from their titles of nobility to their privilege of possessing a history to India, it would be unjust to pass silently over what Farther India contributed indirectly in exchange. 47 First of all, the region gave the Indians the feeling of having been, in the noblest sense of the term, a great colonizing people, in spite of all the ritual obstacles and racial prejudices that would seem to have prohibited them from playing such a role. The expansive power of their culture and the dynamism of their civilization, of which the Indians seem never to have been completely conscious, manifested themselves in all the countries to which they emigrated. Study of Farther India, then, provides very valuable documentation that cannot help but further our knowledge of ancient India. General observation shows us that colonies preserve in their customs, beliefs, and language many archaic traits that date back to the origin of colonization and fall into disuse in the mother country. Farther India has been no exception to this rule, and the study of ancient India "viewed from the East," which has scarcely begun, seems to promise rich results. But the importance of studying the Indianized countries of Southeast Asia—which, let us repeat, were never political dependencies of India, but rather cultural colonies— lies above all in the observation of the impact of Indian civilization on the primitive civilizations. The present work has no other object than to provide the historical and chronological framework of the implantation of Indian culture and its continued transformation on contact with the native societies. We can measure the power of penetration of this culture by the importance of that which remains of it in these countries even though all of them except Siam passed sooner or later under European domination and a great part of the area was converted to Islam. Except on the island of Bali and among some Cham groups, the Indian cults in their old form—Sivaism, Vishnuism, the Theravada Buddhism that used the Sanskrit language, and Mahayana Buddhism—have disappeared, but not without leaving traces. In Phnom Penh and Bangkok, Brahmans of very mixed blood, Brahmans who follow Buddhism but wear chignons and the Brahman thread, officiate at all the great royal ceremonies, the ritual of which is an inheritance from the Indian epoch. But these ceremonies are holdovers that interest only the court and do not affect the general population. Singhalese Buddhism: Between 1200 and 1300 AD the common people of in Cambodia, Siam, Laos, and Burma, Buddhist received a new contribution from India in the form of Singhalese Buddhism. 1. The penetration of this new faith to the masses cannot be doubted: in Cambodia, Siam, Laos, and Burma, Buddhist cosmogony and cosmology and the doctrines of retribution for one's acts 48 and of transmigration have been deeply implanted in the humblest classes by the teaching of the Buddhist monks. 2. This influence of Indian religions exercised over the character of the inhabitants of the island for more than ten centuries. The literary heritage from ancient India is even more apparent than the religious heritage. 3. Throughout the entire Indian period, the Rämäyana and the Mahäbhärata, the Harivamsa, and the Puränas were the principal, if not the only, sources of inspiration for local literature. 4. In all of the Indianized mainland, in Malaysia, and on Java, this epic and legendary literature, to which was added the Buddhist folklore of the Jätakas, still makes up the substance of the classical theater, of the dances, and of the shadow-plays and puppet theater. 5. From one end of Farther India to the other, spectators continue to weep over the misfortunes of Rama and Sitä 6. Virtues of the Bodhisattva have retained their original character in the pantomime performances : the positions and the movements of the arms and legs and the gestures of the hands constitute a silent language capable of suggesting a subject, evoking an action, or expressing a sentiment, exactly as in Indian choreography. 7. The influence of Indian law has been no less profound. The dharmaSastras, and especially the most famous of them known as the "laws of Manu," have formed the framework for the ordering of local customs of the Indianized countries. 8. The arthafastras, or political treatises, have also had an influence. They have contributed to the fashioning of the hierarchical administration of the states of Farther India, 9. The administration was dominated by the person of the king, whose conduct was theoretically guided by the precepts of the räjaniti, or "royal conduct." 10. Language: Although the Indian colonists undoubtedly spoke Prakrit dialects or Dravidian languages, it was the scholarly language, Sanskrit, that served and still serves to enrich the vocabulary of the native languages with a considerable number of words. 11. Technical terms referring to the material world were also borrowed as were the grammatical particles, which had the important effect of making the native isolating languages more flexible, enabling them to express thoughts natural to the vehicle of flexible languages. 12. The common origin of the Mon, Bur mese, Thai, Khmer, Cham, Javanese, and Balinese systems of writing is still recognizable as coming from Sanskrit. 49 13. The native languages have not only been enriched and made more flexible by India; they have above all been stabilized, thanks to the use of Indian script. Sivaite renaissance in the center of the island, a renaissance that had its origin in the east, to which the princes of the former Sivaite dynasty had retired. The decline of the Buddhist dynasty of Java was accompanied by this Sivaite renaissance that had its origin in the east, to which the princes of the former Sivaite dynasty had retired. The Sailendras did not disappear, however; they established a new center of power in Sumatra at ^rivijaya, which they had governed in the middle of the ninth century as a dependency, and their power there was to last for many centuries. The two future protagonists of Burmese history, the Mon kingdom of Pegu and the Burmese kingdom of Pagan, founded their respective capitals within the space of a few years during the first quarter of the ninth century. (Chapter VII) At the end of the ninth century and during the tenth, Angkorian civilization flowered, the center of the Cham kingdom was re-established in the Quang-nam region by the Indrapura dynasty, and the maritime power of Srivijaya was built up as a result of its complete mastery of the straits. These developments coincided with the weakening of the authority of China toward the end of the T'ang and during the Five Dynasties. Near the end of the tenth century, China, restored by the accession of the Sung, was once more in a position to interfere in the southern seas and it played a part in the quarrels between the 3ailendras of Sumatra and the Javanese sovereigns of the kingdom of Mataräm that had been established in the east of the island. The first three-quarters of the eleventh century was a period rich in strong personalities and events of great consequence. In Cambodia, Süryavarman I, the founder of a new dynasty in 1002, extended his sovereignty to the Menam at the expense of the Mons who had previously occupied the valley. Flis reign corresponds almost exactly with that of Airlanga, who drew Java out of the anarchy into which the aggressive policy of ^rivijaya had plunged it, enlarged the territory of his reconquered states, and took advantage of the temporary weakness of Srivijaya following a Chola raid around 1025 to confine his old rival to Sumatra and force it to accede to an alliance. Just at the time when Süryavarman I and Airlanga disappeared from the scene in the middle of the eleventh century. The weakening of the Chinese Sung dynasty at the end of the eleventh century favored the ambitions of the Khmer, Cham, and Burmese sovereigns. In Cambodia, a new dynasty founded in 1080 by the conquering king Süryavarman II, the builder of Angkor Wat, brought the country to a peak of power for the first time, but the troubles that followed SGryavarman's death led the country to the brink of 50 ruin and resulted in the seizure of Angkor by the Chams in 1177. In Burma, the successors of Anöratha enlarged their state and covered the capital with monuments. In Indonesia, the Sumatran kingdom continued to play the role of a great maritime power, while the kingdom of Kadiri in Java, heir of the states of Airlanga, pursued a relatively peaceful policy. At the end of the twelfth century, Cambodia, in an almost miraculous recovery, reached a second peak under the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII, the great builder of temples; it annexed Champa for about twenty years and then, after the exertion of this immense effort, began to decline. In Burma, the cultural influence was felt through the intermediary of Ceylon: Singhalese Buddhism, revived in the island by King Paräkramabähu in the twelfth century, penetrated to Burma, a center from which it was to radiate over the Indochinese Peninsula. In Indonesia, Maläyu (Jambi) prepared to assume the inheritance of 3rivijaya (Palem- bang), which was beginning to show signs of age and disintegration. On Java, the advent of the kingdom of Singhasäri, which succeeded Kadiri in 1222, marked the beginning of the retreat of Indian culture before the resurgence of the Indonesian substratum. To turn to another area of knowledge: in spite of the virtually universal adoption of the Gregorian calendar for official purposes, the Indian lunar-solar year is still in popular use; and the dating systems in use, including both the Buddhist era system based on 543 B.C. and the "little era" system based on A.D. 638, are also of Indian origin. Finally, the beneficial influence of a superior civilization freely accepted was strikingly felt in the realm of the arts. In fact, as Sylvain Levi has said,9 India "produced its definitive master- works only through the activity of the foreigner or on foreign soil. ... In architecture, it is in distant Cambodia and Java that we must seek the two marvels born of the Indian genius: Angkor and the Borobudur." How did the Indian aesthetic, transplanted to Cambodia, Java, and the other countries of Farther India, give birth to Khmer art, Javanese art, and the other Indian arts of the Far East? This is one of the most delicate problems facing archaeologists.10 In the study of the common Indian origin of these arts, we must not forget that there is an enormous gap in documentation for the period from the start of Indianization around the beginning of the Christian Era to the first known monuments, which do not date back any farther than the sixth century. The very remarkable differences that clearly distinguish the oldest architectural and sculptural monuments of Champa, Cambodia, and Java from those of India proper would undoubtedly surprise us much less if we had the intermediaries we lack, intermediaries that in architecture were undoubtedly made of perishable materials. 51 The influence on the native substratum of Indian art was striking to say the least. There are few monuments in India resembling even remotely the Bayon of Angkor Thom or the Borobudur of Java.” And yet these monuments are pure productions of the Indian genius, the deep meaning of which is apparent only to the eyes of the Indianist.” Yasovarman was a son of King Indravarman I and his wife Indradevi. His teacher was the Brahman Vamasiva, part of the Devaraja cult priesthood. Vamasiva's master, Sivasoma, was connected to the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. After the death of Indravarman, a succession war was fought by his two sons, Yasovarman and his brother. It is believed that the war was fought on land and on sea by the Tonlé Sap. In the end Yasovarman prevailed. Because of his father had sought to deny his accession, according to inscriptions cited by L.P. Briggs, "Yasovarman I ignored his claim to the throne through his father, Indravarman I, or through Jayavarman II, the founder of Angkor dynasty, and built up an elaborate family tree, connecting himself through his mother with ancient kings of Funan and Chenla.” Yasovarman I led a failed invasion of Champa, as documented at Banteay Chmar. Jayavarman II (c. 770–835) was a 9th-century king of Cambodia, widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, the dominant civilisation on the Southeast Asian mainland until the mid 15th century. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 835 AD. Before Jayavarman II came to power, there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia. The country was not unified under one ruler. Universal monarch Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of the Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with the grandiose consecration ritual conducted by Jayavarman II (reign 790-835) in 802 on sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion (presumably the "neighboring Chams", or chvea). At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch (Kamraten jagad ta Raja in Cambodian) or God King (Deva Raja in Sanskrit). According to some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign of Sailendras, or "The Lords of Mountains", hence the concept of Devaraja or God King was ostensibly imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia.[5] An 52 inscription from the Sdok Kak Thom temple recounts that at Mahendraparvata, Jayavarman II took part in a ritual by the Brahman Hiranyadama, and his chief priest Lord Sivakaivalya, known as devaraja which placed him as a chakravartin, Lord of the Universe. The foundation of Hariharalaya near present-day Roluos was the first settlement in what would later become the empire of Angkor. Despite this key role in Khmer history, few firm facts survive about Jayavarman. No inscriptions authored by him have been found, but he is mentioned in numerous others, some of them written long after his death. He appears to have been of aristocratic birth, beginning his career of conquest in the southeast of present-day Cambodia. He may have been known as Jayavarman Ibis at that time. “For the prosperity of the people in this perfectly pure royal race, great lotus which no longer has a stalk, he rose like a new flower,” declares one inscription. Various other details are recounted in inscriptions: he married a woman named Hyang Amrita and he dedicated a foundation at Lobok Srot, in the southeast. Taken in sum, the record suggests that Jayavarman and his followers moved over the course of some years from southeast Cambodia to the northwest, subduing various principalities along the way. Historian Claude Jacques writes that he first seized the city of Vyadhapura in the southeast, then pushed up the Mekong River to take Sambhupura. He later installed himself at another city state, now known as Banteay Prei Nokor, near present-day Kompong Cham. Jacques believes that from there he pressed on to Wat Pu, seat of a city-state in present-day southern Laos, then moved along the Dangrek Mountains to arrive in the Angkor region. Later he brought pressure on local Khmer leaders located to the west, but they fought back and drove him to seek refuge on the summit of present-day Phnom Kulen, about 50 kilometers east of Angkor, where the Brahman declared the independent state. Jacques suggests that this step might have been intended to affirm Jayavarman's authority in the face of strong resistance. Once established in the Angkor region, he appears to have reigned not only in Hariharalaya, located just north of the Tonle Sap lake, but also at a place that inscriptions call Amarendrapura. It has not been positively identified, though some historians believe it to be a now lost settlement at the western end of the West Baray, the eight kilometer-long holy reservoir that was built about two centuries after his death. No single temple is positively associated with Jayavarman, but some historians suggest he may 53 have built Ak Yum, a brick stepped pyramid, now largely ruined, at the southern edge of the West Baray. The temple was a forerunner to the mountain-temple architectural form of later Khmer kings. Sdok Kak Thom The most valuable inscription concerning Jayavarman II is the one dated in 1052 AD, two centuries after his death, and found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand.. “When His Majesty Paramesvara came from Java to reign in the royal city of Indrapura,…Sivakaivalya, the family’s learned patriarch, was serving as his guru and held the post of royal chaplain to His Majesty,” states the inscription, using the king’s posthumous name. In a later passage, the text says that a Brahman named Hiranyadama, “proficient in the lore of magic power, came from Janapada in response to His Majesty’s having invited him to perform a sublime rite which would release Kambujadesa [the kingdom] from being any longer subject to Java.” The text also recounts the creation of the cult of the devaraja, the key religious ceremony in the court of Jayavarman and subsequent Khmer people. Interpretations on "Java" The word in the inscription that has often been translated as "Java" has caused endless debate. Some early scholars, such as George Coedès and Lawrence Palmer Briggs, have established the notion that it refers to the island of Java in present-day Indonesia. The mythical stories of battles between the Khmers and Javanese correspond in their view to Sailendras that ruled both Java and Sumatran Srivijaya. Later scholars such as Charles Higham doubt that the word refers to the island. Michael Vickery has reinterpreted the word to mean "the Chams", the Khmers' neighbors to the east, described a chvea.[1]:56 Other scholars like Takashi Suzuki suggest that Java is on the Malaysia Peninsula instead, or particularly Kedah which has been the center of Srivijaya's realm under Sailendra. Historical assessment More broadly, debate continues as to whether Jayavarman II’s rule truly represented a seminal turning point in Khmer history, the creation of an independent unified state from small feuding principalities, or was instead part of a long process toward that end. Certainly inscriptions indicate that later Khmer kings treated him as the august first in their line and font of their own legitimacy. But Hindu civilization had existed already for centuries in the region; the fact that Jayavarman was the second monarch to carry that name is a sign that there was already long line of kings of significant states in the region. 54 Posthumous Name Jayavarman II died in 835 AD and received the posthumous name of Parameshwara, the supreme ruler," an epithet of Sri Shiva. After him, the throne was held by his son Jayavarman III and two other kings of the family into which he had married. He was formally honored along with these two kings and their wives in the Preah Ko temple in Roulous, built by King Indravarman I and inaugurated in 880 AD. Name Yashovarman Religion Hindu Gender Boy Add to favourite 9 Numerology details of name Yashovarman Numerology Number 2 Destiny Number 11 Inner Dream Number 11 Soul Urge Number (Heart's Desire or Motivation Number) 9 Personality Number 11 Astrology details of name Yashovarman Nakshatra Jyeshta (No, Ya, Yi, Yu) Scorpio / Vrishchik (To, Tho, Na, Nau, Ni, Nee, Nu, Noo, Ne, Nay, No, Rasi Nau, Ya, Yi, Yee, Yu, Yoo) Personality details of name Yashovarman Ruling Planet Moon Positive Nature Loving and Persuasive Negative Traits Mood Swings 55 Lucky Colours White, green, cream and lavender Lucky Days Sunday and Monday Lucky Stones White Pearl Harmony Numbers 1,2,4 7 Problematic Numbers 8 Best Suited Professions A gym trainer, motivational trainer Health Issues Sleep issues due to heavy unrest in mind What people would generally like about you? Can understand people’s minds while talking What people would Pessimistic and gets depressed fast generally dislike about you? Names Similar to Yashovarman/Yaashvardhan, Ashavari Yashovardhana ART IN Bharat and Other Hindu States In general terms Southeast Asia and its ART included the artistic production of 3 different focal points: the Khmer civilization that developed in the territory of modern Cambodia from the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 14th century, the art of the island of Java about the same time, and the art of Thailand the country of the Thai from the 14th century. Miriam Stark the famous Cambodia oriented Archeologist opined that” to synthesize some of the huge quantity of data which has been acquired recently; to highlight some new perspectives which have been opened by this data; and to describe how archaeology has been integrated into Asian societies, often to the point where it has been coopted and politicized. Prehistory is not neglected, but the main subject covered by most authors is the story of the formation and development of modern Asian cultures. The relationship between history and archaeology thus is frequently raised.” Archaeology indicates that Asia has undergone long cycles of transformation and incorporation of regions which have maintained distinct identities, rather than triumphant absorption of minority cultures by dominant majorities. Art during the Khmer Empire The Khmer empire (from 802 to the fall of Angkor in the 15th century) was the predecessor state to modern Cambodia. At the height of its power, the Khmer empire ruled over most of mainland Southeast Asia and parts of Southern China, from the tip of the Indochinese Peninsula northward to modern Yunnan province (China) and from Vietnam westward to Myanmar. During its peak in the 11th 56 to 13th centuries, Angkor (the capital of the empire) was the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world. The art of the Khmer empire which includes the Temples or Mandirs and the Stupas but does not exclude other art forms is divided by specialists into three periods called Archaic, Classical and Baroque. The first (or Archaic period) was cemented before the middle of the 7th century under the reign of Isanavarman I who founded Sambor Prei Kuk, the kingdom’s capital, whose ruins today are inside an impenetrable jungle. There are remains of temples with a square floor plan most of them built with bricks and with polygonal towers reminiscent of the Indian shikhara. But the clearest influence of Hindu art, especially that of the Gupta period, can be seen in the Buddha statues very similar to those of Sarnath from the Gupta period and a famous figure of Lakshmi* now in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh which can be considered as the prototype of the female figures sculpted during the first Khmer style (or Archaic period). This statue directly derived from the Indian canon of female beauty and the splendid way of representing her hair, the rich decoration of her belt, her naked body and the serenity of her face make it an unforgettable work of art. Pictured above, a temple in Sambor Prei Kuk (Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia). The complex dates back to the late 6th to 9th century). The central part of Sambor Prei Kuk is divided into three main groups. Each group has a square layout surrounded by a brick wall. 57 Sculpture from the Sambor Prei Kuk period. Left: A sandstone sculpture from the 7th century depicting the goddess Uma or Sakti (consort) of Shiva. She wears the Jata, elaborately braided, piled, and looped coiffure. Right: A female divinity, probably Lakshmi in sandstone from the 7th century (National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh). The constructions ordered under the reign of Jayavarman II (802-850) date towards the end of the Archaic period. Jayavarman II was a prince who lived in the court of the Shailendra (in Java) and who later returned to his home country impregnated with the Javanese culture and certainly was eager to imitate it (his reign was contemporary with the artistic masterpiece of the art of Java: the Borobudur temple). It seems that it was during his reign that the formula that constitutes the most characteristic feature of Khmer architecture was invented: the mountain-temple. Indeed, the temple of Ak Yum in the western Baray is like a three-floor brick pyramid crowned by five towers arranged in quincunx. 58 The temple mountain of Baksei Chamkrong in Ak Yum (Siem Reap, Cambodia). It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and used to hold a golden image of him. Ak Yum dates from the 8th century and includes the oldest known example of “temple mountain” in Southeast Asia. The Classical period began at the end of the 9th century under the reign of Yasovarman I (889-910) and lasted until the middle of the 12th century. Yasovarman I founded Angkor, the world-famous capital of the Khmer empire “discovered” in the jungle of Cambodia in 1860 by the French naturalist Henri Mouhot who actually didn’t discover it (it was always known to the Khmer people and by some westerners) but who did popularize it in the West. Yashovarman I built a gigantic artificial lake, the eastern Baray seven kilometers long by 1,800 meters wide to provide water for the city as well as irrigation for the rice fields. At the center of this large water surface was a hill, the Phnom Bakheng on top of which was built a mountain temple with five overlapping terraces in the shape of a pyramid 13 meters high crowned by four towers at the corners and one at the center. A view of the Hindu and Buddhist temple of Phnom Bakheng (Angkor, Cambodia). The temple has the form of 59 a temple mountain and was dedicated to Shiva. It was built at the end of the 9th century during the reign of King Yasovarman. In 967 was built the temple of Banteay Srei which, by exception in the Khmer art, was not linked to a king’s name but to the Brahmin Yajnavaraha a fervent follower of the cult of Shiva, whose immense culture was sustained by an insatiable curiosity. Located 20 kilometers northwest of Angkor, the Banteay Srei reveals the personality of its founder in every detail. Formed by several concentric quadrangular enclosures in which the typical access pavilions are opened, it seduces the visitor above all by the thousand small figures that twist between the foliage of the architraves and the decoration. The pink sandstone of the walls was chiseled like a jewel and hold pediments of a very original profile. These pediments contain narrative reliefs with characters that illustrate episodes of the sacred legend. A view inside the complex of Banteay Srei (Angkor, Cambodia), a temple from the 10th century dedicated to the god Shiva. Banteay Srei was built largely of red sandstone. 60 The Cambodian temple of Banteay Srei is known for the intricacy of its carvings like those pictured above.Many niches in the walls of the Banteay Srei temple contain carvings of devatas* or dvarapalas*. ( Explained later at end of chapter) Picture above is a devata carved into the red sandstone walls. The widespread use of devatas as a motif for decorating the walls and pillars of temples and other religious buildings was an innovation of Khmer art. Other example of an intricate pediment at Banteay Srei. 61 Four examples of the elaborately carved pediments at Banteay Srei. Top left and right: A pediment representing the burning of Khāṇḍava Forest. Middle left: the pediment over the main entrance. Bottom left: the pediment of the western gopuram representing the combat between Vali and. Sugriva But the highlight of the second Khmer style (or Classical period) was during the reign of Suryavarman II (1113-1150), the king who built Angkor-Wat the huge Vishnu-inspired temple that covers an area of ca. 163 hectares and that served simultaneously as a sepulcher to its founder reason why it is oriented towards the setting sun. Its rectangular enclosure is 1,000 meters long by 800 meters wide. The doors, covered by monumental pavilions, open at the ends of the axes of each of the rectangles that constitute the successive enclosures. The towers of Angkor-Wat are shikharas similar to those of the north of India, but whose square floor plan becomes star-like thanks to the curvature of its edges that gives these towers their characteristic profile. These towers’ moldings and horizontal elements harmoniously overlap. But perhaps the most surprising thing about Angkor-Wat is the enormous amount of low reliefs that together sum up several kilometers in length and that represent men and women, animals, geniuses, titans and gods reflecting the great drama of the cosmic manifestation. It is an endless tapestry in stone with a great power of magic-religious suggestion. Its extraordinary artistic quality is reminiscent of certain precious ivories. In the reliefs of Angkor-Wat the delicate modeling of the living 62 flesh is combined with the grand hieratic immobility that evokes the Egyptian sculpture of the Old Kingdom period. A general view of the temple complex at Angkor Wat (Cambodia) one of the largest religious monuments in the world. The temple was originally dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, but later it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. The temple was designed to represent Mount Meru. 63 An aerial view of the Angkor Wat temple (Cambodia). 64 A close up of the towers at Angkor Wat. These towers were built forming a quincunx pattern located at the center of the temple. An internal view of the Angkor Wat temple with a tower, galleries and inner courtyard. 65 The extensive bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat (some shown above) are admired for their grandeur and harmony. The Devatas (pictured above and below) are a recurring theme in the bas-relief decoration of Angkor Wat. 66 The exempt sculpture of the Khmer Classical period doesn’t even come close to the unique beauty of the Angkor-Wat reliefs. The almost square faces, the body represented by conventional modeling, and the lips appeared tight in a characteristic grin. Typical of this time are the statues of sitting Buddha in a meditative attitude protected by the Naga serpent. Left: An Angkor Wat style sculpture of Buddha with the Naga serpent. In this sculpture Buddha was 67 represented seated on a three-tired throne formed by the coiled body of the giant Naga serpent with its flaring head rising behind protecting him. The hands of Buddha are in the Dhyana mudra, the gesture of Meditation, his head is topped by a detailed ushnisha, in the Angkor style (ca. 1181-1218 CE). Right: The Ta Reach Statue at Angkor Wat. This 16 ½ foot statue stands beneath a parasol at the western entrance of the temple. When Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple in the late 13th century, the statue’s head of Vishnu was replaced with a Buddha image. The sculpture is known as Ta Reach or the King of the Ancestors and is still revered by Cambodians. A giant Naga and a lion statue located at the start of the way leading to the entrance of Angkor.. 68 Jayavarman VII head in the Bayon style (Musée Guimet, Paris). The Baroque period or third Khmer style was centered on the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1218), a fascinating character, a fervent Buddhist against the Brahmanism of all his predecessors. His portrait statues express the strength and energy radiating from his forehead and tight lips, but his strength and energy seem veiled behind his drooping eyelids as if he was in meditation. Jayavarman VII rebuilt Angkor, then ravaged by the invasion of the Cham, and restored most of the monuments of the country. At the same time he covered his kingdom with Buddhist temples, monasteries, shelters for pilgrims and hospitals for his subjects. But his most extraordinary work was the urban complex of Angkor-Thom (“The Great Capital”) surrounded by a square enclosure of 3 kilometers on each side and centered around the world-famous Bayon temple with its enormous towers with sculpted human faces representing the king as Bodhisattva dominating the four cardinal directions. They are four gigantic faces in each tower that appear as gentle protectors of the universe. AngkorThom was a temple-monastery in which thousands of monks lived and whose immense concentric enclosures contained the king’s palaces and the government’s administrative centers. In these buildings of the Baroque period are the statues and reliefs of Buddhist themes in which the famous “Khmer smile” is featured. They are all faces with narrowed eyes that express the calm and strong serenity of one who is detached from all things and feels a sweet compassion for the suffering of all beings. 69 70 Angkor Thom (meaning “Great City”, Cambodia) was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII includes the temple of Bayon. The Bayon temple at Angkor Thom is considered as the most striking expression of the baroque style of Khmer architecture in contrast with the classical style of the temple at Angkor Wat. Top: a general view of the Bayon. Middle: The gateway entrance to Angkor Thom. Bottom: Inside the terraces of the 71 Bayon. Examples of the sculptured bridges leading to the gates of Angkor Thom. Top left: the Southern gate entrance. Top right: a sculptured bridge leading to one of Angkor Thom’s gates. Bottom left: The sculptures adorning the north gate bridge to Angkor Thom. Bottom right: other sculptured gate. In the 14th century the Thai looted Angkor which was then abandoned by its inhabitants. The tropical climate favored the rapid growth of the surrounding vegetation and a dense jungle quickly covered all buildings to the point that the knowledge of the place or its location were practically lost. Its “discovery” for the Western world in 1860 attracted the attention of the French School of the Far East (École Française d’Extrême-Orient) which began its restoration, a task that since 1898 has been continuing almost with no interruption. 72 The Bayon’s most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces sculpted on the many towers jutting out from the upper terrace and clustered around its central peak (above and below). 73 The revered Buddha statue located among the Bayon temple. Explainations: Devata: A smaller deity in the Hindu tradition. There are male and female devatas. In Hinduism, the devatas that guard the eight, nine and ten cardinal points are called Lokapala (Guardians of the Directions) or, more specifically in ancient Java tradition, Guardians of Nine Directions. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect. 74 Dvarapala: (From the Sanskrit meaning “door guard”). A door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon, the most common being the gada (mace). The dvarapala statue is a widespread architectural element throughout Hindu and Buddhist cultures, as well as in areas influenced by them like Java. Exempt Sculpture: A sculpture that has no contact with any wall. It is independent of any surface, except for the base on which it sits, and because of that, it can be seen from any angle. Exempt sculpture has aesthetic value in itself, unlike the monumental or relief sculpture which are adhered to some vertical element and whose function is mainly ornamental. Lakshmi: The Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. She is the wife and shakti (energy) of Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Lakshmi is also an important deity in Jainism and found in Jain temples. 75 Mudra: (From the Sanskrit meaning “seal”, “mark”, or “gesture”). A symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. A mudra is a spiritual gesture and an energetic seal of authenticity employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions. Quincunx: A geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. Sanskrit: A language of ancient India with a history going back about 3,500 years. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Sanskrit, in its variants and numerous dialects, was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India. Temple Mountain: The dominant scheme for the construction of state temples in the Angkorian period. This style of temples was an architectural representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Hinduism. The style was influenced by Indian temple architecture. Enclosures represented the mountain chains surrounding Mount Meru, while a moat represented the ocean. The temple itself took shape as a pyramid of several levels, and the home of the gods was represented by the elevated sanctuary at the center of the temple. 76 Enormity: Angkor Wat the enormous Buddhist temple complex located in northern Cambodia. It was originally built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu temple. Spread across more than 400 acres, Angkor Wat is said to be the largest religious monument in the world. Its name, which translates to “temple city” in the Khmer language of the region, references the fact it was built by Emperor Suryavarman II, who ruled the region from 1113 to 1150, as the state temple and political center of his empire. Many Buddhists believe the temple’s construction was ordered by the god Indra, and that the work was accomplished in one night. Originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple by the end of the 12th century.Angkor Wat is located roughly five miles north of the modern Cambodian city of Siem Reap, which has a population of more than 200,000 people. However, when it was built, it served as the capital of the Khmer empire, which ruled the region at the time. The word “Angkor” means “capital city” in the Khmer language, while the word “Wat” means “temple.”Initially, Angkor Wat was designed as a Hindu temple, as that was the religion of the region’s ruler at the time, Suryavarman II. However, by the end of the 12th century, it was considered a Buddhist site. Unfortunately, by then, Angkor Wat had been sacked by a rival tribe to the Khmer, who in turn, at the direction of the new emperor, Jayavarman VII, moved their capital to Angkor Thom and their state temple to Bayon, both of which are a few miles to the north of the historic site. As Angkor Wat’s significance within the Buddhist religion of the region increased, so too did the legend surrounding the site. However, scholars now know it took several decades to build Angkor Wat, from the design phase to completion.Although Angkor Wat was no longer a site of political, cultural or commercial significance by the 13th century, it remained an important monument for the Buddhist religion into the 1800s.Indeed, unlike many historical sites, Angkor Wat was never truly abandoned. Rather, it fell gradually into disuse and disrepair. Nonetheless, it remained an architectural marvel unlike anything else. It was “rediscovered” in 1840s by the French explorer Henri Mouhot, who wrote that the site was “grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome. The compliment can likely be attributed to the temple’s design, which is supposed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods, according to tenets of both the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Its five towers are intended to recreate the five peaks of Mount Meru, while the walls and moat below 77 honor the surrounding mountain ranges and the sea. By the time of the site’s construction, the Khmer had developed and refined their own architectural style, which relied on sandstone. As a result, Angkor Wat was constructed with blocks of sandstone. A 15-foot high wall, surrounded by a wide moat, protected the city, the temple and residents from invasion, and much of that fortification is still standing. A sandstone causeway served as the main access point for the temple. However, in keeping with tradition at the time, only the city’s outer walls and the temple were made of sandstone, with the rest of the structures built from wood and other, less durable materials. Hence, only portions of the temple and city wall remain. Inside these walls, Angkor Wat stretches across more than 200 acres. It’s believed that this area included the city, the temple structure and the emperor’s palace, which was just north of the temple. Even so, the temple is still a majestic structure: At its highest point—the tower above the main shrine— it reaches nearly 70 feet into the air. The temple walls are decorated with thousands of bas-reliefs representing important deities and figures in the Hindu and Buddhist religions as well as key events in its narrative tradition. There is also a bas-relief depicting Emperor Suryavarman II entering the city, perhaps for the first time following its construction. Angkor Wat Today Unfortunately, although Angkor Wat remained in use until fairly recently—into the 1800s—the site has sustained significant damage, from forest overgrowth to earthquakes to war. The French, who ruled what is now known as Cambodia for much of the 20th century, established a commission to restore the site for tourism purposes in the early 1900s. This group also oversaw ongoing archeological projects there.While restoration work was accomplished in bits and pieces under French rule, major efforts didn’t begin in earnest until the 1960s. By then, Cambodia was a country transitioning from colonial rule to a limited form of constitutional monarchy.When Cambodia fell into a brutal civil war in the 1970s, Angkor Wat, somewhat miraculously, sustained relatively minimal damage. The autocratic and barbarous Khmer Rouge regime did battle troops from neighboring Vietnam in the area near the ancient city, and there are bullet holes marking its outer walls as a result.Since then, with the Cambodian government undergoing numerous changes, the international community, including representatives of India, Germany and France, among others, have contributed to the ongoing restoration efforts. The site remains an important source of national pride for Cambodians. 78 In 1992, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Although visitors to Angkor Wat numbered in just the few thousands at the time, the landmark now welcomes some 500,000 visitors each year— many of whom arrive early in the morning to capture images of the sunrise over what still is a very magical, spiritual place.Although it is no longer an active temple, it serves as an important tourist attraction in Cambodia, despite the fact it sustained significant damage during the autocratic rule of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s and in earlier regional conflicts. For centuries, travelers and explorers were captivated by the beauty of the Angkor Wat, and they mostly reported on the mysterious site. One of the most interesting accounts come from the Chinese traveler Zhou Daguan , who was sent as a diplomat under the Emperor Chengzong of Yuan of China. Zhou had arrived at the temple complex in August 1296 and remained at the court of King Indravarman III, until July 1297. Zhou’s insights on the life and times of the early Angkor Wat are noted in “The Customs of Cambodia” a book written during his diplomatic visit. He writes about the fascinating customs, religious practices and the role of women and slaves in this society. According to some of the unusual tales, he had also reported, it was believed by some, that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. Zhou would write on the Royal Palace, “Official buildings and homes of the aristocracy, including the Royal Palace, face the east. The Royal Palace stands north of the Golden Tower and the Bridge of Gold: it is one and a half mile in circumference. The titles of the main dwelling are of lead. Other dwellings are covered with yellow-coloured pottery tiles. Carved or painted Buddhas decorate all the immense columns and lintels. The roofs are impressive too. Open corridors and long colonnades, arranged in harmonious patterns, stretch away on all sides.” He also depicts the royal procession of Indravarman III, descendant of the Angkor Wat creator, “When the King goes out, troops are at the head of [his] escort; then come flags, banners, and music. Palace women, numbering from three to five hundred, wearing flowered cloth, with flowers in their hair, hold candles in their hands, and form a troupe. Even in broad daylight, the candles are lighted.” The Chinese diplomat further describes how the King and the women of Angkor looked. Only the ruler was able to be dressed in clothes that had an all-over floral design. The King also wore about three pounds of Photo pearls around his neck, and gold bracelets and rings all set with cat’s eyes at his wrists, ankles, and fingers. At public appearances, he would always hold a sword made of gold. 79 Customs of Cambodia, an account by Zhou Daguan of his travel in Cambodia in the late 13th century. Seems like there is no person alive on the planet who would not be in awe of the grandeur of the Angkor Wat, The Angkor Wat is a vast temple complex, originally constructed as a Hindu worship site for the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire. Allegedly, the Angkor is the architectural manifestation of the sacred Mountain Meru of Hindu mythology, or what would be the equivalent to Mountain Olympus in Greek mythology. The temple complex gazes upon the West, which has created divided opinions among scholars concerning its symbolism. In Hindu, the West designates the direction of death, which has led some to consider the Angkor’s first purpose as a tomb. At the end of the 12th century, the site had gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. Zhou continues on the processions, “Ministers and princes are mounted on elephants, and in front of them one can see, from afar, their innumerable red umbrellas. After them, come the wives and concubines of the King, in palanquins, carriages, on horseback, and on elephants. They have more than a hundred parasols, flecked with gold. Behind them comes the sovereign, standing on an elephant, holding his sacred sword in his hand. The elephant’s tusks are encased in gold.” Last but not least, according to the diplomat, the trading tasks with foreigners at the Angkor were performed by women. Zhou would additionally note that women aged very quickly. His remarks on the reasons were that, “because they marry and give birth when too young. When they are twenty or thirty years old, they look like Chinese women who are forty or fifty.” Zhou’s depictions are considered accurate, although scholars had identified inaccuracies. For instance, he describes the Hindu religious devotees in Chinese terms as Confucians or Daoists, which would be wrong. The measurements he also provided about the length of the temples and their distance in the 80 complex are not accurate either. However, the accounts can help us vividly recreate in our minds what life at the Angkor Wat was like at the end of the 13th century. When the first Westerners arrived at the site, they were astonished at the sight of it. A Portuguese monk António da Madalena, deemed among the first to arrive at Angkor Wat in 1586, would say that the place “is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of.” However, the Angkor Wat will become more familiar in the West during the mid 19th century when the site was visited by the French naturalist and explorer Henri Mouhot. In his travel notes, he would glorify the complex by writing: “One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged.” In between the visits of the Portuguese monk and the French naturalist, life at the Angkor Wat had notably diminished. Reportedly, by the 17th century, the complex was not completely abandoned but had still functioned as a Buddhist temple. Fourteen inscriptions dated from that period and discovered in the nearby area, affirm that it was Japanese Buddhist pilgrims who had established small settlements along the local Khmers. In those days, the Angkor Wat was in fact mistaken by the Japanese to be a famed Jetavana garden situated in India; a place where the Buddha had given the majority of his teachings. It was a challenge for researchers to piece together the history of the monumental site accurately. Eventually, they did so through clearing and restoration work on the whole complex. It was unusual that there was an absence of ordinary dwellings or signs of other settlements. There were no tools for cooking, weapons, or clothes whatsoever, typically found at other ancient sites. It was only the monuments. The restorations took place during the 20th century and focused mostly on the removal of concentrated earth and vegetation. Some serious casualties at the Angkor Wat had followed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when art thieves, mostly operating out of Thailand, had claimed almost every head that could be chopped off the structures, including reconstructions. To date, the complex remains a powerful symbol of Cambodia and a reason for great national pride which had also determined the country’s diplomatic moves towards other countries, such as France or Thailand in the past. The imposing legacy of the Angkor and other sites of the Khmer empire in the region had been the reason for France to adopt Cambodia under a protectorate in 1863, thus trespassing territories controlled by the Siamese (Thai), and taking charge of the ruins. The events then led 81 Cambodia to quickly reclaim the lands in the northwest of the country which had been under the Siamese for several centuries. The Concept of DEVARAJA and The Mysterious Hindu Temples of South-East Asia Prambanan in Java, Indonesia (9th century) and Angkor Wat in Cambodia (12th century), examples of Southeast Asian Hindu temple architecture. Both temples were modelled after Mount Meru in Hindu cosmology. Read our book Hindu Temples of Cambodia,Indonesia and Bharata for a detailed study of this temple Rulers Traditionally leaders were chosen based on their merit in battle and their ability to attract a large following; however, as rulers gained more power moving away from the commoners horizon, a shift from measure of capability towards patrilineal descent occurred. Adoption of the idea of the Hindu state with its consecrated military leader, the "Varman"—protector king was the ideological basis for control and supremacy. All essential elements of Bhavavarman's life and most of his descendants are known only through epigraphy. Interpreted as to be Vīravarman's successor and after gaining independence ("he has conquered his throne at the tip of his sword") ruler of the eastern portions of his father's realm, he "built a temple in 598 during his reign in [...] the center of the kingdom of Bhavapura". Mahendravarman is, according to epigraphy, also Vīravarman's son and attributed as to be the conqueror of Funan. Succession is unclear, because "this at the same time eliminates his son Bhavavarman I of the royal function" Historian Michael Vickery resolves: "Bhavavarman and...Citrasena [Mahendravarman's given name] attacked Funan" [together]. Isanavarman is the founder of a new capital - Isanapura north of the Tonlé Sap (the archaeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk). His son Bhavavarman II - is mentioned only once in an inscription in the year 644.Jayavarman I is the last ruler of a united Chenla. He is the son and successor of the obscure Candravarman. 82 Religion During the reign of the Funan empire, the kings underwent a process of Indianization to consolidate and magnify their rule (Coe 63). Hindu religion was alluring as it offered the benefits of royal ideology with no political strings attached; thus hopeful Southeast Asian kings sought to incorporate it into their regime as a method to expand their power. The prominent Hindu Gods that rulers identified themselves with were Vishnu and Shiva, respectively known as the creator and destroyer of the universe. A sculpture called Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva, is also frequently depicted in religious establishments . This could portray that the early Cambodians believed that there is an equal balance between creation and destruction in the universe and that when one substance is terminated, another is produced to replace it. Other Hindu Gods Brahma and Indra along with deities such as Krishna Govardhana, Lakshmi, etc. were also worshipped. Also originating from India, Buddhism, although not as preeminent as Hinduism, peacefully coexisted with Hinduism in Chenla; two schools of Buddhism were identified from a sculpture found that depicted twelve images of Buddha. This shows that the kings did not seem to enforce their religious views on their people and that influences of all kinds were creating a diverse community in Chenla, the successor polity of the Kingdom of Funan preceding the Khmer Empire that existed from around the late sixth to the early ninth century in Indochina.According to the Indian historian Himanchu Prabha Ray, Buddhism was an effective motivating factor in the expansion of maritime trading networks from India to eastern lands while Brahmanic Hinduism revolved more around an agrarian economy (Ray 199). This may be a contributing factor to why both Buddhism and Hinduism have managed to peacefully exist together as agriculture and trade combined create a great source of income and benefit the kingdom. Therefore, kings allowed both religions to flourish and reaped the advantages. Religious Structures By the close of the 9 th century, the Chenla region was dotted with temples and shrines to the Hindu Gods. Many commoners were involved in the upkeep of these religious complexes and citizens of Chenla were expected to donate land, goods, and slaves to them. The great temple foundations consisted of their own holdings of land and people, functioning as powerful corporations; even minor temples had establishments and collected taxes . While kings had established these temples as a means to increase their power, in reality, these structures might have been taking away valuable land and 83 citizens from the empire; the taxes collected by the temples could have meant more wealth for the leader. However, these structures may also be factor that stabilized the kingdom and allowed the king to expand and attract more civilians who followed Hindu beliefs as Hinduism served as a reason for people to follow the king's rule. Also, incorporation of these establishments could appeal to foreigners who would bring their trade, business, and goods to the area, making it more economically efficient. Architecture Prasat Boram structure at Sambor Prei Kuk in the ancient capital of Isanapura The design of the temples and shrines was greatly influenced by the prosperous Gupta state of northern and central India. The temple complexes were brick and stone based with a protruding statue representing a Hindu God or Buddha as the central focus of the building. Sandstone was the prominent material utilized for more important temples and was derived from the Kulen Mountains; because of its heavy weight, it required a lot of manpower, which usually involved slaves. (Freeman and Jaques). Cremation burials lined with bricks were also discovered; these structures are supposed to be devoted to the veneration of members of the Brahmin caste since the burials had been carried out according to Hindu practice 84 Social Hierarchy Social status was determined based on one's knowledge of language, primarily Khmer or Sanskrit. Sanskrit was the language of the Gods, thus it was considered more valuable; the division between who worked the fields and who completed more worthy tasks was based on how well they knew Sanskrit. People who succeeded in educating themselves earned higher ranks such as being an official or even royal servant . However the majority of residents who lacked the ability to gain Sanskrit names spent their lives producing a surplus for the benefit of temples and ancestral Gods. This depicts the impact Hinduism had on early Cambodian societies; Sanskrit, the language associated with Hinduism, was considered more valuable than the native Khmer language. This may show that the society before Indianization occurred in early South East Asia was unstable and that people latched onto teachings from foreigners because they had no permanent religious or social structures themselves. Although a social hierarchy existed, there was no discrimination between genders. Women were not considered second class citizens rather many women played central roles in rituals, specialized in crafts, and were given ranks as high officials. This may because until recently, families followed matrilineal heritages instead of a patriarchal society, thus some aspects of the earlier society were retained (Coe 68). Slavery Many commoners were assigned to serve as workers that cleaned, cooked, and built temples and shrines without any compensation. From analyzing ancient inscriptions, Judith Jacob has discovered that there were fourteen categories of slaves in Chenla distinguished by different origins and kinds of duties. These groups of people could be bought, sold, and given away, having no freedom to escape because their parents were in need of money or they had to pay off debts that they contracted or were passed on in their family. This suggests hereditary servitude; if your parent is a slave for a temple than you also have to serve at the same place, bearing no liberty of your own. Possibly the oldest Hindu temples in South East Asia dates back to 2nd century BC from the Oc Eo culture of Mekong Delta from southern Vietnam. They were probably dedicated to a sun god, Shiva and Vishnu. The temple were constructed using granite blocks and bricks, one with a small stepped pond. The cultural sphere often called Greater India extended into South-East Asia. The earliest evidence trace to Sanskrit stone inscriptions found on the islands and the mainland Southeast Asia is Võ Cạnh inscription dated to 2nd or 3rd century AD in Vietnam or in Cambodia between 4th and 5th-century 85 CE. Prior to the 14th-century local versions of Hindu temples were built in Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These developed several national traditions, and often mixed Hinduism and Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism prevailed in many parts of the South-East Asia, except Malaysia and Indonesia where Islam displaced them both. Devarāja" was the religious order of the "god-king", or deified monarch in medieval Southeast Asia. The devarāja order grew out of both Sanatana Dharma and separate local traditions depending on the area. It taught that the king was a divine universal ruler, a manifestation of Shri Bhagawan (often attributed to Shiva or Vishnu). The concept viewed the monarch to possess transcendental quality, the king as the living god on earth. The concept is closely related to the Bharati concept of Chakravartin (universal monarch). In politics, it is viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The concept was institutionalized and gained its elaborate manifestations in ancient Java and Kambujadesha, where monuments such as Prambanan and Angkor Wat were erected to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth. The devaraja concept of divine right of kings was adopted by the indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia though Indian Hindu Brahmins scholars deployed in courts. It was first adopted by Javenese kings and through them by various Malay kingdoms, then by the Khmer empire, and subsequently by the Thai monarches. Sanatana Dharma is the original name of what is now popularly called Hinduism or Hindu Dharma. The terms Hindu and Hinduism are said to be a more recent development, while the more accurate term is Sanatana Dharma. It is a code of ethics, a way of living through which one may achieve moksha (enlightenment, liberation). It is the world's most ancient culture and the socio, spiritual, and religious tradition of almost one billion of the earth's inhabitants. Sanatana Dharma represents much more than just a religion; rather, it provides its followers with an entire worldview, way of life and with a coherent and rational view of reality. Definition: Sanatana Dharma is by its very essence a term that is devoid of sectarian leanings or ideological divisions. This is evident by the very term itself. The two words, "Sanatana Dharma", come from the ancient Sanskrit language. "Sanatana" is a Sanskrit word that denotes that which which is Anadi (beginningless), Anantha (endless) and does not cease to be, that which is eternal and everlasting. With its rich connotations, Dharma is not translatable to any other language. Dharma is 86 from dhri, meaning to hold together, to sustain. Its approximate meaning is "Natural Law," or those principles of reality which are inherent in the very nature and design of the universe. Thus the term Sanatana Dharma can be roughly translated to mean "the natural, ancient and eternal way." When translated to English, Sanatana refer to Eternal, Perennial, Never Beginning nor Ending, Abiding, Universal, Ever-present, Unceasing, Natural, and Enduring while Dharma refers to Harmony, The Way, Righteousness, Compassion, Natural Law, Truth, Teachings, Tradition, Philosophy, Order, Universal, Flow, Religion, Wisdom, Divine Conformity, Cosmic Norm, Blueprint, Inherent Nature, Law of Being, and Duty. What is it? Sanatana Dharma do not denote to a creed like Christianity or Islam, but represents a code of conduct and a value system that has spiritual freedom as its core. Any pathway or spiritual vision that accepts the spiritual freedom of others may be considered part of Sanatana Dharma. First and foremost, Sanatana Dharma is anadi (without beginning) and also a-paurusheya (without a human founder). It is defined by the quest for cosmic truth, just as the quest for physical truth defines science. Its earliest record is the Rigveda, which is the record of ancient sages who by whatever means tried to learn the truth about the universe, in relations to Man's place in relation to the cosmos. They saw nature — including all living and non-living things — as part of the same cosmic equation, and as pervaded by a higher consciousness. This search has no historical beginning; nor does it have a historical founder. This is not to say that the Rigveda always existed as a literary work. It means that 87 we cannot point to a particular time or person in history and say: "Before this man spoke, what is in the Rigveda did not exist." The Nature of Sanatana Dharma By its nature, Sanatana Dharma is…          God-centered rather than prophet-centered. Experience based rather than belief based. Beyond any historical date of founding. The process of growth, which comes from the seed. Inherent in, and inclusive of all. In the world, while above the world. Both immanent and transcendent. The whole and the parts. Loving of all excluding none Tenets: Sanatana Dharma recognizes that the greater portion of human religious aspiration has always been unknown, undefined, and outside of any institutionalized belief.  The universal flow of Dharma, regardless of what name you call it, whether Dharma or some other name, has eternally existed. It has been before any of the great teachers were born. It is not better than, or alternative to, but is inclusive of all. Dharma is that out of which our earth and humanity itself emerged. Dharma not only is, but always was, and always will be. To live in alignment with, and to know the true nature of that Sanatana Dharma is one of the ways of describing the higher goal of life.  Sanatana Dharma thereby gives reverence to individual spiritual experience over any formal religious doctrine. Wherever the Universal Truth is manifest, there is Sanatana Dharma — whether it is in a field of religion, art or science, or in the life of a person or community. Wherever the Universal Truth is not recognized, or is scaled down and limited to a particular group, book or person, even if done so in the name of God, there Sanatana Dharma ceases to function, whatever the activity is called.  Sanatana Dharma comprises of spiritual laws which govern the human existence. Sanatana Dharma is to human life what natural laws are to the physical phenomena. Just as the phenomena of gravitation existed before it was discovered, the spiritual laws of life are eternal laws which existed before they were discovered by the ancient rishis (sages) for the present age during the Vedic period. Sanatana Dharma declares that something cannot come out of nothing and, therefore, the universe itself is the manifestation of the Divine being.  Since Sanatana Dharma is referring to those ways of being which are in concert with the Absolute, and are therefore axiomatic laws, this term is not referring to something which is open to alteration. Just as the laws of gravity, mathematics or logic are not open to sectarian debate or relative opinion (gravity, for example, is an inherent law of nature regardless of whether one believes in the law of gravity or not), similarly the subtle laws of God transcend all partisan concerns. 88  The world is made up of three tendencies called gunas: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Sattvic tendencies are those that are pure, clean, good, wholesome, calming, and peaceful. Rajasic tendencies are those that are active, moving, indecisive, and forceful. Tamasic tendencies are those that are inert, lazy, dull, and dark. If it were not for these three tendencies, we would not exist. Everything is a mixture of them. Even a saint, who is primarily sattvic, has some level of rajas and tamas in him/her, however small.  Sanatan Dharma makes use of yoga as the means to attain moksha (God-realization). Yoga has been poorly translated to mean "union". It does mean "union", but that is a poor definition because it encompasses so much more. Yoga is the union with Brahman (Absolute God). Yoga is also the means to achieving union with Brahman. Therefore, the word yoga is not merely a statement of union, but it encompasses the actual experience of liberation. In Sanskrit the Hindu origin term deva-raja could have different meanings such as "god-king" or "king of the gods". In Hindu pantheon the title of king of gods is often attributed to Shiva, sometimes Vishnu, or previously Indra. Thus the mortal kingdom on earth mirrored the celestial kingdom of gods, the concept regarded the king as the living god on earth. It is also from influences in Sanatana Dharma and separate local traditions. Indian origin religions (also called Dharmic or Indic religions) originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, and its later offshoots such as Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With ancient roots in the Indus Valley Civilisation, the documented history of Indian origin religions begin with the historical Vedic religion during the Vedic period which lasted from 1750 BCE to 500 BCE. Various reform movements in Hinduism led to development of offshoots of Hinduism such as Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.[3][4][5] As evidence from the history of Indian influence on Southeast Asia, the Southeast Asian kingdoms adopted Indian Sanskrit terms and Hindu-Buddhist concepts through the process off indianisation and sanskritization, the evolution and spread of the concept of deveraja is once such example. Devaraja concept evolved from the earlier Indian concept of "Chakravarti". Chakravarti refers to an ideal universal ruler, especially in the sense of an imperial ruler of the entire Indian sub-continent (as in the case of the Maurya Empire. The first references to a Chakravala Chakravartin appear in monuments from the time of the early Maurya Empire, in the 4th to 3rd century BCE, in reference to Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka. In Hinduism, the term generally denotes a powerful ruler whose dominion extended to the entire earth. In Buddhist kingship and Jainism, the term generally 89 applies to temporal as well as spiritual kingship and leadership. In Buddhism, the Chakravarti came to be considered the secular counterpart of a Buddha. Ashoka was an emperor of the Maurya empire, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. For the spread of Buddhism, he sent buddhist missions to 9 destinations, including Tibet and China, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Establishment of these early era links led to the ongoing transmission of Indian concepts to Southeast Asia. The Devaraja concept -Purpose The Devaraja concept has been established through rituals and institutionalized within the Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia. It enables the monarch to claim the divine authority which could be used on ensuring political legitimacy, managing social order, economic and religious aspects. In political aspects, it strengthens the justification of the king and the ruling dynasty as the rightful ruler of the land. It also used to maintain social order, exalting the king as living god definitely demands the utmost service and devotion of his people. Introducing the Indian caste system also defining social class, occupations, as well as the way of life of their people. The Devaraja religious order also enabled the king to embark on large scale public works and grand projects, by mobilizing their people to create and maintain elaborate hydraulic irrigation system to support large scale rice agriculture or to construct imposing grand monuments and temples in the king's honor. The example of this grand projects are Borobudur, Prambanan, also temples and barays in Angkor. Ritual Example of the Devaraja religious order — such as demonstrated by Jayavarman II — associate the king with the Hindu deity Sri Shiva, whose divine essence was physically embodied by the linga (or lingam), a phallic idol housed in a mountain temple. The king was deified in an elaborate and mystical ceremony, requiring a high priest, in which the divine essence of kingship was conferred on the ruler through the agency of the linga. The safeguarding of the linga became bound up with the security of the kingdom, and the great temple architecture of the Khmer period attests to the importance attached to the belief. Taking the example of Jayavarman II (c. 770–835) who was a 9th-century king of Cambodia, widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, the dominant civilisation on the Southeast 90 Asian mainland until the mid 15th century. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 835 AD. Before Jayavarman II came to power, there was much fighting among local overlords who ruled different parts of Cambodia. The country was not unified under one ruler. No inscriptions by Jayavarman II have been found. Future kings of the Khmer Empire described him as a warrior and the most powerful king from that time frame that they can recall. Universality of the Monarchy: Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of the Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with the grandiose consecration ritual conducted by Jayavarman II (reign 790-835) in 802 on sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion (presumably the "neighboring Chams", or chvea).[4] At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch (Kamraten jagad ta Raja in Cambodian) or God King (Deva Raja in Sanskrit). According to some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign of Sailendras, or "The Lords of Mountains", hence the concept of Devaraja or God King was ostensibly imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia.[5] An inscription from the Sdok Kak Thom temple recounts that at Mahendraparvata, Jayavarman II took part in a ritual by the Brahman Hiranyadama, and his chief priest Lord Sivakaivalya, known as devaraja which placed him as a chakravartin, Lord of the Universe. The foundation of Hariharalaya near present-day Roluos was the first settlement in what would later become the empire of Angkor. espite this key role in Khmer history, few firm facts survive about Jayavarman. No inscriptions authored by him have been found, but he is mentioned in numerous others, some of them written long after his death. He appears to have been of aristocratic birth, beginning his career of conquest in the southeast of present-day Cambodia. He may have been known as Jayavarman Ibis at that time. “For the prosperity of the people in this perfectly pure royal race, great lotus which no longer has a stalk, he rose like a new flower,” declares one inscription. [7] Various other details are recounted in inscriptions: he married a woman named Hyang Amrita;[8] and he dedicated a foundation at Lobok Srot, in the southeast. Taken in sum, the record suggests that Jayavarman and his followers moved over the course of some years from southeast Cambodia to the northwest, subduing various principalities along the way. Historian Claude Jacques writes that he first seized the city of Vyadhapura in the southeast, then pushed up the Mekong River to take Sambhupura. He later installed himself at another city state, now 91 known as Banteay Prei Nokor, near present-day Kompong Cham. Jacques believes that from there he pressed on to Wat Pu, seat of a city-state in present-day southern Laos, then moved along the Dangrek Mountains to arrive in the Angkor region. Later he brought pressure on local Khmer leaders located to the west, but they fought back and drove him to seek refuge on the summit of present-day Phnom Kulen, about 50 kilometers east of Angkor, where the Brahman declared the independent state. Jacques suggests that this step might have been intended to affirm Jayavarman's authority in the face of strong resistance. Once established in the Angkor region, he appears to have reigned not only in Hariharalaya, located just north of the Tonle Sap lake, but also at a place that inscriptions call Amarendrapura. It has not been positively identified, though some historians believe it to be a now lost settlement at the western end of the West Baray, the eight kilometer-long holy reservoir that was built about two centuries after his death. No single temple is positively associated with Jayavarman, but some historians suggest he may have built Ak Yum, a brick stepped pyramid, now largely ruined, at the southern edge of the West Baray. The temple was a forerunner to the mountain-temple architectural form of later Khmer kings. Sdok Kak Thom: The most valuable inscription concerning Jayavarman II is the one dated in 1052 AD, two centuries after his death, and found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand. When His Majesty Paramesvara came from Java to reign in the royal city of Indrapura,…Sivakaivalya, the family’s learned patriarch, was serving as his guru and held the post of royal chaplain to His Majesty,” states the inscription, using the king’s posthumous name. In a later passage, the text says that a Brahman named Hiranyadama, “proficient in the lore of magic power, came from Janapada in response to His Majesty’s having invited him to perform a sublime rite which would release Kambujadesa [the kingdom] from being any longer subject to Java.” The text also recounts the creation of the cult of the devaraja, the key religious ceremony in the court of Jayavarman and subsequent Khmer people. 92 Sdok Kok Thom Khmer temple of the famous inscribed 1,000 year old stele Name:Sdok Kok Thom Date:Mid 11th century Location:Sa Kaeo Sdok Kok Thom temple complex in Sa Kaeo province is among the smaller of the Khmer temples in North East Thailand. The temple that is also known as Prasat Sdok Kak Thom or Prasat Sdok Kuk Thom was built dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. It was constructed halfway the 11th century. Its layout and design share many characteristics with other Khmer monuments. Prasat Sdok Kok Thom is oriented towards the East, as are most Khmer temples. The complex is surrounded by moats and an outer wall. The East side of the wall contains a gopura or entrance gate. Outside of the wall is a water reservoir or baray. A processional walkway flanked by pillars from the outer gopura leads to the inner sanctuary with the central prang (a Khmer style tower). The inner sanctuary is surrounded by galleries with a Gopura on the Eastern side providing access. 93 Inside the inner sanctuary is a single sand stone prang placed on a laterite base. The prang has doors on each of its sides, with only the Eastern door open, the other ones being fake doors, shut with stones. The prang likely contained the sacred linga, the symbol of the Hindu God Shiva. Also inside the galleries, close to the central tower are two bannalai or libraries, where the ancient scriptures were kept. Various sculptures around the temple depict Nagas, a mythological serpent, some of which are wearing crowns. Another sculpture shows a reclining Vishnu. Sdok Kok Thom was later converted into a Buddhist temple. The restorations at Prasat Sdok Kok Thom Prasat Sdok Kok Thom has been extensively restored in previous decades and brought back to a state to resemble the way it is believed to have looked. Structures that have collapsed over the centuries have been rebuild using the original materials as much as possible. Whenever the old materials like stones were not available, newly made stones have been used. The distinction between the old and original building materials and the new can easily be seen because the new materials have not been made to look old, so the color is slightly different from the old ones. The 1000 years old inscribed stele 94 An almost 1000 years old inscribed stele was found at Sdok Kok Thom which contains some of the most valuable text providing information about the ancient Khmer empire. Some of the text is written in ancient Khmer language, another part in Sanskrit. The texts inscribed in the stele that is dated to the year 1052 have provided historians with a great deal of knowledge about Khmer history. The sculptures contain details about important events that took place during the 8th until 11th century. The text provides detailed information about the family who constructed the temple and the services they provided to Khmer Kings over the course of many generations, and the construction of Sdok Kok Thom temple. It also describes common events from every day life during the Khmer era. The inscriptions pay homage to the Hindu God Shiva and contain details about religious rituals. Other Khmer temples across Thailand  Muang Tum  Phanom Rung  Phimai  Prasat Sikhoraphum  Prasat Muang Singh  Phra Prang Sam Yot  Wat Kamphaeng Laeng Java-Interpretations: The word in the inscription that has often been translated as "Java" has caused endless debate. Some early scholars, such as George Coedès and Lawrence Palmer Briggs, have established the notion that it refers to the island of Java in present-day Indonesia. The mythical stories of battles between the Khmers and Javanese correspond in their view to Sailendras that ruled both Java and Sumatran Srivijaya. Georges Cœdès became director of the National Library of Thailand in 1918, and in 1929 became director of L'École française d'Extrême-Orient, where he remained until 1946. Thereafter he lived in Paris until he died in 1969. In 1935 he married Neang Yao. He wrote two texts in the field, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia (1968, 1975) (first published in 1948 as Les états hindouisés d'Indochine et d'Indonésie) and The Making of South East Asia (1966), as well as innumerable articles, in which he developed the concept of the Indianized kingdom. Perhaps his greatest lasting scholarly accomplishment was his work on Sanskrit and Old Khmer inscriptions from Cambodia. In addition to 95 scores of articles (especially in the Bulletin of the École française d'Extrême-Orient), his 8-volume work Inscriptions du Cambodge (1937-1966) contains editions and translations of over a thousand inscriptions from pre-Angkorian and Angkor-era monuments, and stands as Cœdès' magnum opus. One stele, the recently rediscovered K-127, contains an inscription of what has been dubbed the "Khmer Zero", the first known use of zero in the modern number system. The transliteration system that he devised for Thai (and Khmer) is used by specialists of Thai and other writing systems derived from that of Khmer. George Cœdès is credited with rediscovering the former kingdom of Srivijaya, centred on the modern-day Indonesian city of Palembang, but with influence extending from Sumatra through to the Malay Peninsula and Java. Later scholars such as Charles Higham doubt that the word refers to the island. Michael Vickery has reinterpreted the word to mean "the Chams", the Khmers' neighbors to the east, described a chvea. Other scholars like Takashi Suzuki suggest that Java is on the Malaysia Peninsula instead, or particularly Kedah which has been the center of Srivijaya's realm under Sailendra. Chola Invasion of Srivijaya 96 Intrepretations: More broadly, debate continues as to whether Jayavarman II’s rule truly represented a seminal turning point in Khmer history, the creation of an independent unified state from small feuding principalities, or was instead part of a long process toward that end. Certainly inscriptions indicate that later Khmer kings treated him as the august first in their line and font of their own legitimacy. But Hindu civilization had existed already for centuries in the region; the fact that Jayavarman was the second monarch to carry that name is a sign that there was already long line of kings of significant states in the region. Parameshwara: Jayavarman II died in 835 AD and received the posthumous name of Parameshwara"( literal translation is Undying God) the supreme ruler," an epithet of Sri Shiva. After him, the throne was held by his son Jayavarman III and two other kings of the family into which he had married. He was formally honored along with these two kings and their wives in the Preah Ko temple in Roulous, built by King Indravarman I and inaugurated in 880 AD. Paraméshwara( परमेश्वर) or Parameshwara is the term usually referred to the Hindu god Brahma as the Supreme being, Shiva according to Shivaism, and Vishnu according to Vaishnavism. He is one of 4 major sampradaya of Hinduism. Parameshwara is the ultimate reality and nothing exists that is non one with Parameshwara. He is the totality controlling the triple forces of creation, preservation and destruction. The word is a compound of the Sanskrit words Param meaning 'Supreme', ईश्वर Ish meaning 'Lord' and Vara is 'Excellent'. Thus Parameshvara literally means 'Supreme Lord Excellent' or 'Supreme Ruler'. It is synonym for Parabrahman, the Indian equivalent of Supreme being.[6] Sometimes, other traditions of Hinduism such as Vedanta and Vaishnavism also use the term Parameshwara as a synonym of Parabrahman within their philosophical perspectives. 97 Paramashiva is the ultimate reality who either (according to Kashmir Shaivism) construct himself or (according to Shaiva siddhanta) beyond 36 tattvas, the whole elements of reality. Kashmiri Shaivism describes all of reality, with all of its diversity and fluctuation, is the play of the single principle, Paramashiva. The two aspects of this single reality are inseparably united: Shiva and Shakti. Paramashiva appears as the world through his creative power, Shakti. The ontological nature of Paramashiva is beyond human knowledge and articulation, yet it can be experienced directly through mystical intuition. 98 Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva siddanta accepts the existence of Tripathartham (three entities), pati - the supreme being Paramashiva, pashu - all atmans and pasam - three bondages of Anava, Karma, Maya. As the supreme being Parameshwara only has the distinct eight characters or predecates which are applied to distinguish him with the other two entities of Saiva Siddhanta - Pashu and Pasam. They are sarvajnatva (who knows everything), nityatrptatva (with infinite happiness), anādibōdha (without bondages), Svatantratva (independent), aluptashakti (unlimited mercy), anantashakti (unrestricted grace), nirāmayatma (wholesome) and Visuddhadēha (with pure body). Shaiva siddhanta states that Parameshwara in two states - tatasta lakshanam, the form of lord that is moving through 36 tattvas and Svarupa Lakshanam, the pure form of supreme being beyond everything. These two forms can be compared with the Saguna and Nirguna definitions on Para brahman of Vedantic tradition. When he is defined with tatasta lakshanam, Paramashiva exists in nine divine forms, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheshwara, Sadasiva, Sivam, Shakti, Nadam, Bindhu in which he is beyond words in his last four formless manifestations known as "Arupa". First five are his manifestations with forms and known as rupa. Sadasiva is his mixed form of rupa and arupa which is often identified with Lingam. Sivam and sakthi exist as inseparable Nada-bindu in the state of Svarupa Lakshanam in which they are often identified the non-dual supreme being Paramashiva and Parashakti. Since they are inseparable and undifferentiated, Saiva siddhanta sees them as single oneness, Parameshwara. DEVARAJA Concept in India- Tamil kings In Dravidian culture, before Brahmanism and especially during the Sangam period, emperors were known as (Iraiyer), or "those who spill", and kings were called. During this time, the distinction between kingship and godhood had not yet occurred, as the caste system had not yet been introduced. Even in Modern Tamil, the word for temple is 'Devalaya meaning "king's house".Kings were understood to be the "agents of God", as they protected the world like God did.. This may well have been continued post-Brahminism in Tamilakam, as the famous Thiruvalangadu inscription states: "Having noticed by the marks (on his body) that Arulmozhi was the very Vishnu" in reference to the Emperor Raja Raja Chola I. Indianized polities in Southeast Asia 99 Indianized Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia deployed the Indian Hindu Brahmins scholars in their courts. Under the influence of the Brahmin scholars these kingdoms adopted the concept of deveraja. It was first adopted by the Indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Java. Khmer empire which ruled Cambodia and Vietnam and other parts of the nearby present day nations adopted it from the Javanese kings. Eventually, Thai kings adopted the concept from the nearby Khmer empire. Javanese kingdoms The concept of devaraja or God King was the ancient Cambodian state religion,but it probably originated in Java where the Hindu influence first reached Southeast Asia. Circa 8th century, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia. In ancient Java, since Sailendra dynasty. The devaraja concept is believed to be introduced to Java in 732, when king Sanjaya installed a linga to consecrate a new Mataram Dynasty, as stated in Canggal inscription, thus the king seek Shiva's protection of his rule. Even older Tarumanagara kingdom, the state religion regarded the king as god incarnated on earth. The Tarumanagara fifth century CE Ciaruteun inscription, inscribed with king's sole print, regarded King Purnawarman as incarnation of Vishnu on earth. The Kebon Kopi I inscription, also called Telapak Gajah stone, with an inscription and the engraving of two large elephant footprints, associated king's elephant ride as Airavata (elephant ride of God Indra), thus associated the king also with Indra. In Medang kingdom in Central Java, it is customary to erect candi (temple) to honor and sent the soul of a dead king. The image of god inside the garbhagriha (central chamber) of the temple often portrayed the deceased king as a god, as the soul of the dead king finally united with the revered god in svargaloka. Some archaeologists propose that the statue of Shiva in the garbhagriha of Prambanan main temple was modelled after King Balitung, serving as a depiction of his posthumous deified self. It is suggested that the concept was the fusion of Hinduism with native Austronesian ancestor worship. The 11th century great king Airlangga of Kahuripan in East Java, was deified posthumously as Vishnu in Belahan temple. In Java, the tradition of divine king continued well to Kediri, Singhasari, and Majapahit kingdom in the 15th century. After the coming of Islam in the archipelago and the fall of Majapahit, the concept of God-King were most likely ceased to exist in Java, since Islam rejects the concept of divinity in mortal human being. Yet the concept survived in traditional Javanese mysticism of Kejawen as wahyu, suggesting that every 100 king and rulers in Java was bestowed wahyu, a divine authority and mandate from God.[20] A heavenly mandate that could be revoked and transferred by God, to explain the change of dynasty in Java during Demak, Mataram Sultanate era, well to the succession of the president of Indonesia. Cambodia and Khmer empire The concept of Devaraja enabled Khmer kings to embark on grand-scale project, such as to build Angkor Wat.In ancient Cambodia, devarāja is recognized as the state's institutionalized religion. The Cambodian the concept of the "god-king" is believed to be established early in the 9th century by Jayavarman II, founder of the Khmer empire of Angkor, with the brahmin scholar Sivakaivalya as his first chief priest at Mahendraparvata. For centuries, the concept provided the religious basis of the royal authority of the Khmer kings. In a Khmer context the term was used in the latter sense as "god-king", but occurs only in the Sanskrit portion of the inscription K. 235 from Sdok Kak Thom / Sdok Kăk Thoṃ (in modern Thailand) dated 8 February 1053 CE, referring to the Khmer term kamrateṅ jagat ta rāja ("Lord of the Universe who is King") describing the protective deity of the Khmer Empire, a distinctly Khmer deity, which was mentioned before in the inscription K. 682 of Chok Gargyar (Kòḥ Ker) dated 921/22 CE. In the Sdok Kăk Thoṃ inscription a member of a brahmin family claimed that his ancestors since the time of Jayavarman II who established around 800 CE by marriage to the daughter of a local king in the Angkor region a small realm which became at the end of the 9th century the famous Khmer Empire, were responsible for the concept of the Devarāja (kamrateṅ jagat ta rāja). Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 CE to 850 CE, but these dates are of very late origin (11th century) and without any historical basis. Some scholars now have tried to identify Jayavarman II with Jayavarman Ibis who is known from his inscriptions from Práḥ Thãt Práḥ Srĕi south of Kompoṅ Čàṃ (K. 103, dated 20 April 770) and from Lobŏ’k Srót in the vicinity of Kračèḥ close to the ancient town of Śambhupura (K. 134, dated 781 C ). The Sdok Kăk Thoṃ inscription incised c. 250 years after the events (of which their historicity is doubtful) recounts that on the top of the Kulen Hills, Jayavarman II instructed a brahmin priest named Hiraṇyadāman to conduct a religious ritual known as the concept of the devarāja which placed him as a cakravartin, universal monarch, a title never heard of before in Cambodia. 101 Georges Coedes states, "...in southern India, Mount Mahendra was considered the residence of Siva as king of all gods (devaraja), including Indra Devaraja, and as sovereign of the country where the mountain stands. The ritual of the Devaraja established by the brahmin Hiranydama was based on four texts- Vinasikha, Nayottara, Sammoha,and Siraccheda...the four faces of Tumburu. These Tantras "were supposed to have been uttered by the four mouths of Siva represented by the gandharva Tumburu." He goes on to state, "In the Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia, the Hindu cults...eventually became royal cults. The essence of royalty...was supposed to reside in a linga...obtained from Siva through a brahmin who delivered it to the king...the communion between the king and the god through the medium of a priest took place on the sacred mountain." Khmer emperor Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of the Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with the grandiose consecration ritual conducted by Jayavarman II (reign 790-835) in 802 on sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion (presumably the "neighboring Chams", or chvea). At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch (Kamraten jagad ta Raja in Cambodian) or God King (Deva Raja in Sanskrit). According to some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign of Sailendras, or "The Lords of Mountains", hence the concept of Devaraja or God King was ostensibly imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia. [28] An inscription from the Sdok Kak Thom temple recounts that at Mahendraparvata, Jayavarman II took part in a ritual by the Brahman Hiranyadama, and his chief priest Lord Sivakaivalya, known as devaraja which placed him as a chakravartin, Lord of the Universe. Today, the tradition of public reverence to the King of Cambodia is said to be the continuation of this ancient concept of devaraja, and is mistakenly said of the King of Thailand. Thailand This concept of Divine King was adopted by the Thai kings from the ancient Khmer tradition of devaraja followed in the region, and the Hindu concept of kingship was applied to the status of the Thai king. The concept centered on the idea that the king was an incarnation (avatar) of the god Vishnu and that he was a Bodhisattva (enlightened one), therefore basing his power on his religious power, his moral power, and his purity of blood. The idea of this early kingship is said to be based on two concepts derived from Hinduism and Theravada Buddhist beliefs. The first concept is based on the 102 Vedic-Hindu caste of "Kshatriya", or warrior-ruler, in which the king derives his powers from military might. The second is based on the Theravada Buddhist concept of "Dhammaraja", Buddhism having been introduced to Thailand around the 6th century CE. The idea of the Dhammaraja (or kingship under Dharma), is that the king should rule his people in accordance with Dharma and the teachings of the Buddha. The idea of kingship changed in 1321. Due to ancient Khmer tradition in the region, the Hindu concept of kingship was applied to the status of the leader. Brahmins took charge in the royal coronation. The king was treated as a reincarnation of Hindu gods. Ayutthaya historical documents show the official titles of the kings in great variation: Indra, Shiva and Vishnu, or Rama. Seemingly, Rama was the most popular, as in "Ramathibodhi". However, Buddhist influence was also evident, as many times the king's title and "unofficial" name "Dhammaraja", an abbreviation of the Buddhist Dharmaraja. The two former concepts were re-established, with a third, older concept taking hold. This concept was called "Devaraja" or "divine king", which was an idea borrowed by the Khmer Empire from the HinduBuddhist kingdoms of Java, especially the idea of a scholar class based on Hindu Brahmins. The concept centered on the idea that the king was an incarnation (avatar) of the god Vishnu and that he was a Bodhisattva (enlightened one), therefore basing his power on his religious power, his moral power, and his purity of blood. The king, portrayed by state interests as a semi-divine figure, then became—through a rigid cultural implementation—an object of worship and veneration to his people. From then on the monarchy was largely removed from the people and continued under a system of absolute rule. Living in palaces designed after Mount Meru ("home of the gods" in Hinduism), the kings turned themselves into a "Chakravartin", where the king became an absolute and universal lord of his realm. Kings demanded that the universe be envisioned as revolving around them, and expressed their powers through elaborate rituals and ceremonies. For four centuries these kings ruled Ayutthaya, presiding over some of the greatest period of cultural, economic, and military growth in Thai History. These ideas were briefly replaced in 1279, when King Ramkhamhaeng came to the throne. Ramkhamhaeng departed from tradition and created instead a concept of "paternal rule" พ่อปกครองลูก), in which the king governs his people as a father would govern his children. This idea 103 is reinforced in the title and name of the king, as he is still known today, Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng meaning 'Father Ruler Ramkhamhaeng'. This lasted briefly. By the end of the kingdom, the two old concepts returned as symbolized by the change in the style of the kings: "Pho" was changed to "Phaya" or Lord. Brahmins took charge in the royal coronation. The king was treated as a reincarnation of Hindu gods. Ayutthaya historical documents show the official titles of the kings in great variation: Indra, Shiva and Vishnu, or Rama. Seemingly, Rama was the most popular, as in "Ramathibodhi". However, Buddhist influence was also evident, as many times the king's title and "unofficial" name "Dhammaraja", an abbreviation of the Buddhist Dharmaraja. The two former concepts were re-established, with a third, older concept taking hold. The king, portrayed by state interests as a semi-divine figure, then became—through a rigid cultural implementation—an object of worship and veneration to his people. From then on the monarchy was largely removed from the people and continued under a system of absolute rule. Living in palaces designed after Mount Meru ("home of the gods" in Hinduism), the kings turned themselves into a "Chakravartin", where the king became an absolute and universal lord of his realm. Kings demanded that the universe be envisioned as revolving around them, and expressed their powers through elaborate rituals and ceremonies. For four centuries these kings ruled Ayutthaya, presiding over some of the greatest period of cultural, economic, and military growth in Thai History. Chakravarti Chakravartin, Pali chakkavatti, the ancient Indian conception of the world ruler, derived from the Sanskrit chakra, “wheel,” and vartin, “one who turns.” Thus, a chakravartin may be understood as a ruler “whose chariot wheels roll everywhere,” or “whose movements are unobstructed.” Buddhist and Jain sources distinguish three types of secular chakravartin: chakravala chakravartin, a king who rules over all four of the continents posited by ancient Indian cosmography (i.e., a universal monarch); dvipa chakravartin, a ruler who governs only one of those continents and is, therefore, less powerful than the first; and pradesha chakravartin, a monarch who leads the people of only a part of a continent, the equivalent of a local king. The first reference to a secular king who achieved the status of a chakravala chakravartin appears in texts and monuments from the Mauryan dynasty that praise the exploits of King Ashoka (3rd century BCE). Buddhist and Jain philosophers of this period conflated the notion of the universal monarch with the idea of a king of righteousness and maintainer of moral law. 104 In Buddhism, for example, the chakravartin was considered to be the secular counterpart of a buddha (“enlightened one”), with whom he shared many attributes. Cambodia: Foundation of the kingdom …he was reconsecrated as a chakravartin (the ancient Indian conception of world ruler) in northwestern Cambodia. The capital seems to have been located in the Kulén Hills, north of the present-day provincial capital of Siĕmréab, where he died in 835. Despite the high status accorded him by subsequent Angkorean kings,… Mahāpuruṣa, (Sanskrit: “great man”, )also called Śalākāpuruṣa, in Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist belief, an individual of extraordinary destiny, distinguished by certain physical traits or marks (lakṣanas). Such men are born to become either universal rulers (cakravartins) or great spiritual leaders (such as buddhas or the Jaina spiritual leaders, the Tirthankaras). In the case of Gautama Buddha, soothsayers were able to recognize the signs at his birth, although all did not fully appear until he achieved Enlightenment (the uṣṇīṣa, or protuberance on the top of the skull, was visible only after he became a buddha). The signs have frequently been depicted in representations of the Buddha or of the Jaina Tirthankaras. ahāpuruṣa …become either universal rulers (cakravartins) or great spiritual leaders (such as buddhas or the Jaina spiritual leaders, the Tirthankaras). In the case of Gautama Buddha, soothsayers were able to recognize the signs at his birth, although all did not fully appear until he achieved Enlightenment (the uṣṇīṣa, or protuberance. 105 Buddhism Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries bce (before the Common Era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played a central… Chakravartin QUICK FACTS In Indian religions, the term chakravarti (Sanskrit: चक्रवर्तिन ् refers to an ideal universal ruler especially in the sense of an imperial ruler of the entire Indian sub-continent (as in the case of the Maurya Empire). The first references to a Chakravala Chakravartin appear in monuments from the time of the early Maurya Empire, in the 4th to 3rd century BCE, in reference to Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka. The word cakra-vartin- is a bahuvrīhi compound word, translating to "one whose wheels are moving", in the sense of "whose chariot is rolling everywhere without obstruction". It can also be analysed as an 'instrumental bahuvrīhi: "through whom the wheel is moving" in the meaning of "through whom the Dharmachakra ("Wheel of the Dharma) is turning" (most commonly used in Buddhism. The Tibetan translates "monarch who controls by means of a wheel” 106 In Buddhism, the Chakravarti came to be considered the secular counterpart of a Buddha. In general, the term applies to temporal as well as spiritual kingship and leadership, particularly in Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, the term generally denotes a powerful ruler whose dominion extended to the entire earth. The Indian concept of Chakravarti later evolved into devaraja concept of divine right of kings, which was adopted by the indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia through Indian Hindu Brahmins scholars deployed in courts. It was first adopted by Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist empires (Srivijaya and Majapahit) and through them by various Indianised Malay kingdoms, then by the Khmer Empire, and subsequently by the Thai monarches. It was believed that once a cakravati emerged the "Future Buddha" Maitreya would appear on earth. In early Buddhist art there are more than 30 depictions, all from the Deccan. In most the Cakravarti King uses the "Royal Gesture" in which the king "clenches his left hand at his chest and reaches up with his right hand". He is surrounded by his seven attributes: the Chakraratna wheel, his state elephant, charger horse, "the octagonal gem which is so luminous it can light the path of his army by night", his queen, prime minister and finance minister. The early Buddhist Mahāvastu (1.259f) and the Divyāvadāna, as well as the Theravadin Milindapañha, describe the marks of the cakravarti as ruler: uṣṇīṣa, chhatra "parasol", "horn jewel" or vajra, whisk and sandals. These were the marks of the kshatriya. Plastic art of early Mahayana Buddhism illustrates bodhisattvas in a form called uṣṇīṣin "wearing a turban/hair binding", wielding the mudras for "nonviolent cakravarti rule". 107 Tibetan mandala of the six chakravartis A Cakravarti King is a king who rules all of the great continents (Pubbavideha, Jambudipa, Aparagoyana, Uttarakuru) of earth. The King wins all of the continents with peace. Since he is virtuous, seven miracle treasures appear including a large wheel spinning (Chakraratnaya) in the sky. The king and his army can travel anywhere with that spinning wheel in the sky. He travels over the world and teaches all kings how to rule with peace Dasavidha-rājadhamma. He can travel to the lower heaven realms with the power of Chakraratnaya if he wants. Cakravarti king only appears when humans are virtuous and long lived. Jataka tales, a part of the Pali Canon, describe Buddhist Cakravarti Kings. In Hinduism: According to the traditions "Vishnu, in the form of Chakra, was held as the ideal of worship for Kings desirous of obtaining Universal Sovereignty",a concept associated with the Bhagavata Puranas, a religious sanction traceable to the Gupta period, which also led to the Chakravartin Concept.[8] There are relatively few examples of chakravartins in both northern and southern India. In Southern India, the Pallava period beginning with Simhavishnu (575 CE – 900 CE) was a transitional stage in southern Indian society with monument building, establishment of (bhakti) sects of Alvars and Nayanars, flowering of rural Brahmanical institutions of Sanskrit learning, and the establishment of Chakravartin model of kingship over a territory of diverse people; which ended the pre-Pallavan era of territorially segmented people, each with their culture, under a tribal chieftain. The Pallava period extolled ranked relationships based on ritual purity as enjoined by the shastras. 108 Sometimes a distinction is drawn between the Chakravatin model and the Kshatriya model, and likens kshatriyas to locally based warriors with ritual status sufficiently high enough to share with Brahmins; and states that in south India the kshatriya model did not emerge. South India was aware of the IndoAryan Varna organized society in which decisive secular authority was vested in the Kshatriyas; but apart from the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagar line of warriors which claimed Chakravartin status, only few locality warrior families achieved the prestigious kin-linked organization of northern warrior groups. Hindu temples in South-East Asia developed their own distinct versions, mostly based on Indian architectural models, both North Indian and South Indian styles. However, the Southeast Asian temple architecture styles are different and there is no known single temple in India that can be the source of the Southeast Asian temples. According to Michell, it is as if the Southeast Asian architects learned from "the theoretical prescriptions about temple building" from Indian texts, but never saw one. They reassembled the elements with their own creative interpretations. The Hindu temples found in Southeast Asia are more conservative and far more strongly link the Mount Meru-related cosmological elements of Indian thought than the Hindu temples found in the subcontinent. Additionally, unlike the Indian temples, the sacred architecture in Southeast Asia associated the ruler (devaraja) with the divine, with the temple serving as a memorial to the king as much as being house of gods. Notable examples of Southeast Asian Hindu temple architecture are the Shivaist Prambanan Trimurti temple compound in Java, Indonesia (9th century),[24] and the Vishnuite Angkor Wat in Cambodia (12th century).  17th-century palm leaf manuscript page on temple building, Odisha. 109  The 8x8 (64) grid Manduka Hindu Temple Floor Plan, according to Vastupurusamandala. The 64 grid is the most sacred and common Hindu temple template. The bright saffron centre, where diagonals intersect above, represents the Purusha of Hindu philosophy. Design: A Hindu temple is a symmetry-driven structure, with many variations, on a square grid of padas, depicting perfect geometric shapes such as circles and squares. Susan Lewandowski states that the underlying principle in a Hindu temple is built around the belief that all things are one, everything is connected. A temple, states Lewandowski, "replicates again and again the Hindu beliefs in the parts mirroring, and at the same time being, the universal whole" like an "organism of repeating cells".The pilgrim is welcomed through mathematically structured spaces, a network of art, pillars with carvings and statues that display and celebrate the four important and necessary principles of human life—the pursuit of artha (prosperity, wealth), the pursuit of kama (desire), the pursuit of dharma (virtues, ethical life) and the pursuit of moksha (release, self-knowledge). At the centre of the temple, typically below and sometimes above or next to the deity, is mere hollow space with no decoration, symbolically representing Purusa, the Supreme Principle, the sacred Universal, one without form, which is present everywhere, connects everything, and is the essence of everyone. A Hindu temple is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate purification of one's mind, and trigger the process of inner realization within the devotee. The specific process is left to the devotee's school of belief. The primary deity of different Hindu temples varies to reflect this spiritual spectrum. The Site The appropriate site for a Mandir, suggest ancient Sanskrit texts, is near water and gardens, where lotus and flowers bloom, where swans, ducks and other birds are heard, where animals rest without fear of injury or harm.[2] These harmonious places were recommended in these texts with the explanation that such are the places where gods play, and thus the best site for Hindu temples. While major Hindu mandirs are recommended at sangams (confluence of rivers), river banks, lakes and seashore, the Brhat Samhita and Puranas suggest temples may also be built where a natural source of water is not present. Here too, they recommend that a pond be built preferably in front or to the left of the temple with water gardens. If water is neither present naturally nor by design, water is symbolically present at the consecration of temple or the deity. Temples may also be built, suggests Visnudharmottara in Part III of Chapter 93,[29] inside caves and carved stones, on hill tops 110 affording peaceful views, mountain slopes overlooking beautiful valleys, inside forests and hermitages, next to gardens, or at the head of a town street. In practice most temples are built as part of a village or town.[30] Some sites such as the capitals of kingdoms and those considered particularly favourable in terms of sacred geography had numerous temples. Many ancient capitals vanished and the surviving temples are now found in a rural landscape; often these are the best-preserved examples of older styles. Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal and Gangaikonda Cholapuram are examples. The plan The design, especially the floor plan, of the part of a Hindu temple around the sanctum or shrine follows a geometrical design called vastu-purusha-mandala. The name is a composite Sanskrit word with three of the most important components of the plan. Mandala means circle, Purusha is universal essence at the core of Hindu tradition, while Vastu means the dwelling structure. Vastupurushamandala is a yantra. The design lays out a Hindu temple in a symmetrical, self-repeating structure derived from central beliefs, myths, cardinality and mathematical principles. The four cardinal directions help create the axis of a Hindu temple, around which is formed a perfect square in the space available. The circle of mandala circumscribes the square. The square is considered divine for its perfection and as a symbolic product of knowledge and human thought, while circle is considered earthly, human and observed in everyday life (moon, sun, horizon, water drop, rainbow). Each supports the other. The square is divided into perfect square grids. In large temples, this is often a 8x8 or 64 grid structure. In ceremonial temple superstructures, this is an 81 sub-square grid. The squares are called ‘‘padas’’. The square is symbolic and has Vedic origins from fire altar, Agni. The alignment along cardinal direction, similarly is an extension of Vedic rituals of three fires. This symbolism is also found among Greek and other ancient civilizations, through the gnomon. In Hindu temple manuals, design plans are described with 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81 up to 1024 squares; 1 pada is considered the simplest plan, as a seat for a hermit or devotee to sit and meditate on, do yoga, or make offerings with Vedic fire in front. The second design of 4 padas has a symbolic central core at the diagonal intersection, and is also a meditative layout. The 9 pada design has a sacred surrounded centre, and is the template for the smallest temple. Older Hindu temple vastumandalas may use the 9 through 49 pada series, but 64 is considered the most sacred geometric grid in Hindu temples. It is also called Manduka, Bhekapada or Ajira in various ancient Sanskrit texts. Each pada is conceptually assigned to a symbolic element, sometimes in the form of 111 a deity or to a spirit or apasara. The central square(s) of the 64 is dedicated to the Brahman (not to be confused with Brahmin), and are called Brahma padas. In a Hindu temple's structure of symmetry and concentric squares, each concentric layer has significance. The outermost layer, Paisachika padas, signify aspects of Asuras and evil; the next inner concentric layer is Manusha padas signifying human life; while Devika padas signify aspects of Devas and good. The Manusha padas typically houses the ambulatory. The devotees, as they walk around in clockwise fashion through this ambulatory to complete Parikrama (or Pradakshina), walk between good on inner side and evil on the outer side. In smaller temples, the Paisachika pada is not part of the temple superstructure, but may be on the boundary of the temple or just symbolically represented. The Paisachika padas, Manusha padas and Devika padas surround Brahma padas, which signifies creative energy and serves as the location for temple's primary idol for darsana. Finally at the very centre of Brahma padas is Garbhagruha(Garbha- Centre, gruha- house; literally the centre of the house) (Purusa Space), signifying Universal Principle present in everything and everyone. The spire of a Hindu temple, called Shikhara in north India and Vimana in south India, is perfectly aligned above the Brahma pada(s). A Hindu temple has a Shikhara (Vimana or Spire) that rises symmetrically above the central core of the temple. These spires come in many designs and shapes, but they all have mathematical precision and geometric symbolism. One of the common principles found in Hindu temple spires is circles and turning-squares theme (left), and a concentric layering design (right) that flows from one to the other as it rises towards the sky. Beneath the mandala's central square(s) is the space for the formless shapeless all pervasive all connecting Universal Spirit, the Purusha. This space is sometimes referred to as garbha-griya (literally womb house) a small, perfect square, windowless, enclosed space without ornamentation that represents universal essence. In or near this space is typically a murti. This is the main deity image, and this varies with each temple. Often it is this idol that gives it a local name, such as Vishnu temple, Krishna temple, Rama temple, Narayana temple, Siva temple, Lakshmi temple, Ganesha temple, Durga temple, Hanuman temple, Surya 112 temple, and others. It is this garbha-griya which devotees seek for ‘‘darsana’’ (literally, a sight of the God or vision.of the almighty which means to look at the idol and pray there. Above the vastu-purusha-mandala is a high superstructure called the shikhara in north India, and vimana in south India, that stretches towards the sky.[31] Sometimes, in makeshift temples, the superstructure may be replaced with symbolic bamboo with few leaves at the top. The vertical dimension's cupola or dome is designed as a pyramid, conical or other mountain-like shape, once again using principle of concentric circles and squares (see below. Scholars such as Lewandowski state that this shape is inspired by cosmic mountain of Mount Meru or Himalayan Kailasa, the abode of gods according to its ancient mythology. Mandapa of a temple in South India. Much temple sculpture was originally painted. In larger temples, the outer three padas are visually decorated with carvings, paintings or images meant to inspire the devotee.[2] In some temples, these images or wall reliefs may be stories from Hindu Epics, in others they may be Vedic tales about right and wrong or virtues and vice, in some they may be idols 113 of minor or regional deities. The pillars, walls and ceilings typically also have highly ornate carvings or images of the four just and necessary pursuits of life—kama, artha, dharma, and moksa. This walk around is called pradakshina. Large temples also have pillared halls called mandapa. One on the east side, serves as the waiting room for pilgrims and devotees. The mandapa may be a separate structure in older temples, but in newer temples this space is integrated into the temple superstructure. Mega temple sites have a main temple surrounded by smaller temples and shrines, but these are still arranged by principles of symmetry, grids and mathematical precision. An important principle found in the layout of Hindu temples is mirroring and repeating fractal-like design structure, each unique yet also repeating the central common principle, one which Susan Lewandowski refers to as “an organism of repeating cells” Exceptions to the square grid principle Predominant number of Hindu temples exhibit the perfect square grid principle. However, there are some exceptions. For example, the Teli ka Mandir in Gwalior, built in the 8th century CE is not a square but is a rectangle consisting of stacked squares. Further, the temple explores a number of structures and shrines in 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:5, 3:5 and 4:5 ratios. These ratios are exact, suggesting the architect intended to use these harmonic ratios, and the rectangle pattern was not a mistake, nor an arbitrary approximation. Other examples of non-square harmonic ratios are found at Naresar temple site of Madhya Pradesh and Nakti-Mata temple near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Michael Meister states that these exceptions mean the ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple building were guidelines, and Hinduism permitted its artisans flexibility in expression and aesthetic independence The Hindu text Sthapatya Veda describes many plans and styles of temples of which the following are found in other derivative literature: 1. Chaturasra (square), 2. Ashtasra (octagonal), 3. Vritta (circular), 4. Ayatasra (rectangular), 5. Ayata Ashtasra (rectangular-octagonal fusion), 6. Ayata Vritta (elliptical), 7. Hasti Prishta (apsidal), 8. Dwayasra Vrita (rectangular-circular fusion); in Tamil literature, 114 9. the Prana Vikara (shaped like a Tamil Om sign, ) is also found. Methods of combining squares and circles to produce all of these plans are described in the Hindu texts Builders: The temples were built by guilds of architects, artisans and workmen. Their knowledge and craft traditions, states Michell, were originally preserved by the oral tradition, later with palm-leaf manuscripts The building tradition was typically transmitted within families from one generation to the next, and this knowledge was jealously guarded. The guilds were like a corporate body that set rules of work and standard wages. These guilds over time became wealthy, and themselves made charitable donations as evidenced by inscriptions. The guilds covered almost every aspect of life in the camps around the site where the workmen lived during the period of construction, which in the case of large projects might be several years. In case of the Temples of South East Asia it is suggested that the same builders and artisans worked on both the Buddhist Stupas such as Bordubudiur as well as Parmabhan. 115 The work was led by a chief architect (sutradhara). The construction superintendent was equal in his authority. Other important members were stonemason chief and the chief image-maker who collaborated to complete a temple. The sculptors were called shilpins. Women participated in temple building, but in lighter work such as polishing stones and clearing.[40] Hindu texts are inconsistent about which caste did the construction work, with some texts accepting all castes to work as a shilpin. The Brahmins were the experts in art theory and guided the workmen when needed. They also performed consecration rituals of the superstructure and in the sanctum. In the earliest periods of Hindu art, from about the 4th century to about the 10th century, the artists had considerable freedom and this is evidenced in the considerable variations and innovations in images crafted and temple designs. Later, much of this freedom was lost as iconography became more standardized and the demand for iconometry consistency increased. This "presumably reflected the influence of brahman theologians" states Michell, and the "increasing dependence of the artist upon the brahmins" on suitable forms of sacred images. The "individual pursuit of self-expression" in a 116 temple project was not allowed and instead, the artist expressed the sacred values in the visual form through a temple, for the most part anonymously. The sponsors used contracts for the building tasks. Though great masters probably had assistants to help complete principal images in a temple, the reliefs panels in a Hindu temple were "almost certainly the inspiration of a single artist". Schools of temple building tradition Along with guilds, surviving texts suggest that several schools of Hindu temple architecture had developed in ancient India. Each school developed its own gurukuls (study centres) and texts. Of these, state Bharne and Krusche, two became most prominent: the Vishwakarma school and the Maya school. The Vishwakarma school is credited with treatises, terminology and innovations related to the Nagara style of architecture, while the Maya school with those related to the Dravida style. The style now called Vesara bridges and combines elements of the Nagara and the Dravida styles, it probably reflects one of the other extinct schools. Some scholars have questioned the relevance of these texts, whether the artists relied on silpa sastras theory and Sanskrit construction manuals probably written by Brahmins, and did these treatises precede or follow the big temples and ancient sculptures therein. Other scholars question whether big temples and complex symmetric architecture or sculpture with consistent themes and common iconography across distant sites, over many centuries, could have been built by artists and architects without adequate theory, shared terminology and tools, and if so how. According to Adam Hardy – an architecture historian and professor of Asian Architecture, the truth "must lie somewhere in between". [49] According to George Michell – an art historian and professor specializing in Hindu Architecture, the theory and the creative field practice likely co-evolved, and the construction workers and artists building complex temples likely consulted the theoreticians when they needed to. 117 Architectural Styles: Architecture of a typical temple The ancient Hindu texts on architecture such as Brihatsamhita and others, states Michell, classify temples into five orders based on their typological features: Nagara, Dravida, Vesara, ellipse and rectangle. The plan described for each include square, octagonal and apsidal. Their horizontal plan regulates the vertical form. Each temple architecture in turn has developed its own vocabulary, with terms that overlap but do not necessarily mean exactly the same thing in another style and may apply to a different part of the temple.[50] Chronologically, the early Hindu temples are often called classical (up to 7th or 8th century), while those after the classical period through 12th or 13th century are sometimes referred to as medieval. However, states Michell, this is inappropriate for Hindu architecture given India's artistic tradition to conserve its heritage and architectural framework, while evolving ideas. The style of Hindu temple architecture is not only the result of the theology, spiritual ideas, and the early Hindu texts but also a result of innovation driven by regional availability of raw materials and the local climate. Some materials of construction were imported from distant regions, but much of the temple was built from readily available materials. In some regions, such as in south Karnataka, the local availability of soft stone led to Hoysala architects to innovate architectural styles that are difficult 118 with hard crystalline rocks. In other places, artists cut granite or other stones to build temples and create sculptures. Rock faces allowed artists to carve cave temples or a region's rocky terrain encouraged monolithic rock-cut temple architecture. In regions where stones were unavailable, innovations in brick temples flourished. Hindu temple architecture has historically been affected by the building material available in each region, its tonal value, texture and structural possibilities Southeast Asia as part of Greater India Architecture of the southeast nations was inspired by the Indian temple architecture, as those were Indianised as part of the Greater India. Champa architecture The profile of the 13th- century Po Klong Garai Temple near Phan Rang includes all the buildings typical of a Cham temple. From left to right one can see the gopura, the saddle-shaped kosagrha, and mandapa attached to the kalan tower. Between the 6th and the 16th century, the Kingdom of Champa flourished in present-day central and southern Vietnam. Unlike the Javanese that mostly used volcanic andesite stone for their temples, and Khmer of Angkor which mostly employed grey sandstones to construct their religious buildings, the Cham built their temples from reddish bricks. The most important remaining sites of Cham bricks 119 temple architecture include Mỹ Sơn near Da Nang, Po Nagar near Nha Trang, and Po Klong Garai near Phan Rang. Typically, a Cham temple complex consisted of several different kinds of buildings. They are kalan, a brick sanctuary, typically in the form of a tower with garbahgriha used to host the murti of deity. A mandapa is an entry hallway connected with a sanctuary. A kosagrha or "fire-house" is a temple construction typically with a saddle-shaped roof, used to house the valuables belonging to the deity or to cook for the deity. The gopura was a gate-tower leading into a walled temple complex. These building types are typical for Hindu temples in general; the classification is valid not only for the architecture of Champa, but also for other architectural traditions of Greater India. Khmer architecture Before the 14th century, the Khmer Empire flourished in present-day Cambodia with its influence extended to most of mainland Southeast Asia. Its great capital, Angkor (Khmer: អង្គរ, "Capital City", derived from Sanskrit "nagara"), contains some of the most important and the most magnificent example of Khmer temple architecture. The classic style of Angkorian temple is demonstrated by the 12th century Angkor Wat. Angkorian builders mainly used sandstone and laterite as temple building materials. The main superstructure of typical Khmer temple is a towering prasat called prang which houses the garbhagriha inner chamber, where the murti of Vishnu or Shiva, or a lingam resides. Khmer temples were typically enclosed by a concentric series of walls, with the central sanctuary in the middle; this arrangement represented the mountain ranges surrounding Mount Meru, the mythical home of the gods. Enclosures are the spaces between these walls, and between the innermost wall and the temple itself. The walls defining the enclosures of Khmer temples are frequently lined by galleries, while passage through the walls is by way of gopuras located at the cardinal points. The main entrance usually adorned with elevated causeway with cruciform terrace. 120 Khmer Temple, an example of the 9th century Cambodian Hindu temple architecture with mandala layout and prasad tower crowned with stylized ratna-vajra. 121 Les monuments du Cambodge; etudes d'architectur...Shawna Tarwoske 122 2 storeyed Vimana with Mandapa Indonesian architecture Temples are called candi in Indonesia, whether it is Buddhist or Hindu. A Candi refers to a structure based on the Indian type of single-celled shrine, with a pyramidal tower above it (Meru tower in Bali), and a portico for entrance, mostly built between the 7th to 15th centuries. In Hindu Balinese architecture, a candi shrine can be found within a pura compound. The best example of Indonesian Javanese Hindu temple architecture is the 9th century Prambanan (Shivagrha) temple compound, located in Central Java, near Yogyakarta. This largest Hindu temple in Indonesia has three main prasad towers, dedicated to Trimurti gods. Shiva temple, the largest main temple is towering to 47 metre-high (154 ft). 123 The term "candi" itself is believed was derived from Candika, one of the manifestations of the goddess Durga as the goddess of death. The candi architecture follows the typical Hindu architecture traditions based on Vastu Shastra. The temple layout, especially in central Java period, incorporated mandala temple plan arrangements and also the typical high towering spires of Hindu temples. The candi was designed to mimic Meru, the holy mountain the abode of gods. The whole temple is a model of Hindu universe according to Hindu cosmology and the layers of Loka The candi structure and layout recognize the hierarchy of the zones, spanned from the less holy to the holiest realms. The Indic tradition of Hindu-Buddhist architecture recognize the concept of arranging elements in three parts or three elements. Subsequently, the design, plan and layout of the temple follows the rule of space allocation within three elements; commonly identified as foot (base), body (centre), and head (roof). They are Bhurloka represented by the outer courtyard and the foot (base) part of each temples, Bhuvarloka represented by the middle courtyard and the body of each temples, and Svarloka which symbolized by the roof of Hindu structure usually crowned with ratna (sanskrit: jewel) or vajra. 124 GLOSSARY The Hindu texts on temple architecture have an extensive terminology. Most terms have several different names in the various Indian languages used in different regions of India, as well as the Sanskrit names used in ancient texts. A few of the more common terms are tabulated below, mostly in their Sanscrit/Hindi forms Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules stylobate, pli nth, base typically with mouldings on Athavaksham Manasara XIV, Kamikagama 35, Su Adhisthana the side, on , Pista, Pitha prabhedagama 31 which a temple building or pillar stands Amalaka Antarala a crowning ornament on the top of shikara, shape of an Indian amalo k fruit that looks like a cogged whe el. The amalaka supports the kalasha. lit. interior space of any building; in temples, it is the intermediate space (vestibule, antechamber) between the sanctum and space where pilgrims Mayamata silpasastra Sukhanasi Manasara XV, XXIII; Kamikagama XXXV 125 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules gather Ardhaman dapa half hall at each entrance, usually the reception area that connects to the mandapa Manasara XIV, Kamikagama 35, Su prabhedagama 31 Ayatana assembly hall, grounds inside a temple or monastery compound Agni Purana XLIII, Matsya Purana CCLXX, Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.2 Bhadra a projection often aligned to one of the cardinal directions; typically of central part of walls; decoration or a projected porch for pilgrims; also may be a tower storey projection Manasara XXX-XXXIV 126 Refere nce Image Term Gana Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules a mythical dwarf or goblin usually with a protruded belly and with humorous expression The wombhouse, adytum, sanct um sanctorum; it is the loci of the temple and the darshana, the spiritual space that Hindus circumambul ate clockwise Garbhagrih about. This is where the a main murti i mage is placed. Usually the space is very plain, with no distractions from the murti, which is rich in symbolism. A large temple may have many shrines, each with a Brihat Samhita LXI Garbhagriya, Garbha-geha, Sibika, Garbha, Mula-sthana 127 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules garbhagriya. Gavaksha one of the arch motifs; it is horseshoeshaped, found with windows Gavaksa, or for kudu decorating spires, pillars and other elements Gopuram a gateway at entrance or one that connects two sacred spaces of the temple; becomes very large in South Indian Gopura, temples, Dvara which may attalaka have several; it has roots in ancient Indian monasteries and the Vedic word gomatip ur;[88] Hara neck ornament such as necklace 128 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules Jala a trellis, stone grille, net, Jali, Indra first seen in koshtha 6th-century temples Jagati any moulded base or pedestal for the temple or a statue that extends out, part of platform that forms a terrace to stand on or circumambul ate around on, while reading the reliefs and friezes Jagata, Pithika, Jagati-pitha, Kati, Vasudha Samaranganasutradhara LXVIII, Agni Purana XLII, Suprabhedagama 31.1 9 Kalasha the pinnacle element of a temple, a vase finial, cupola or pitcher Kalasam, Stupi, Kumuda Agni Purana CIV, Kamikagama 55 Pushkarani, Sara, Sagar, Tadaga, Udapana, Var, Vapi Garuda Purana XLVI, Mahanirvana tantra XIII Kunda temple tank, stepwell , pool, usually with steps, public utility for taking a dip; often connected to 129 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules Refere nce a nearby river or mountain stream Lata liana, creeper-style plant, vine, one type of scroll work; also found on sikhara Makara a mythical fusion sea creature with fish-crocodile like face, trunk or snout, legs sometimes with lion claws and a tail; vahana of Varuna Mandapa pillared hall or pavilion, with pillars usually carved; a mandapa is typically square, rectangle, octagonal or circular; it may have walls with perforated stone windows, it Suprabhedagama 31.68-72 Mandapam, Mantapa, Jagamohan Manasara XXXIIXXXIV, Kamikagama 50, Brihat samhita, Vishnu Purana 6.124-136 130 [ Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules may just be open on some or all sides. Large temples may have many interconnecte d mandapas. It is a gathering place, a place for pilgrims to rest (choultry), a part of the circumambul ation space, or to wait during prayers or Sanskara (rite of passage) ritua ls. A mandapa may have a tower (shikhara) of its own, but it is lower than that above the sanctum. Mulaprasa da main shrine in a temple complex Nisha niche on temple walls or in pillars for sculptures or stele 131 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Nyasa the art of arranging images and friezes to create a narrative or composition, in some texts it refers to relative placement of images within a panel to summarize a Hindu legend or fable; also a form a ritual. Prakara wall that separates an inner zone of temple ground from an outer zone; typically concentric, defensive and fortified, a feature added after the wars and plunders starting in the 14th-century Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules Vastusutra Upanishad VI 132 Refere nce Image Term Prastara Ratha Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules entablature, horizontal superstructur e of bands and moldings above column capitals, sometimes functions as a parapet of a storey Chaiva, gopanam, kapotam, mancham Manasara XVI, ; Kamikagama LIV a facet or vertical offset projection on the plan of the sanctum and shikhara above, or other structure. It is generally carried up from the bottom of the temple to the superstructur e. A ratha, meaning cart, is also the temple chariot used for processing the murti at festivals, and a "ratha temple" is one designed to resemble a cart, with wheels on the sides, and 133 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules often horses. The most famous example is the Sun Temple, Konarak. Sala Round barrelroofed, wagon-roofed pavilion; rooted in the thatched roofed stall for people or cattle tradition, then other materials of construction; any mansion or griha; a pilgrim services building with Chala mandapas or pillared veranda or both inside the temple complex, Hindu texts describe multi-storey Sala; in south, sala are structures used as a decorative motif, or an actual roof, as at the top of gopurams; Manasara XXXV verses 1-404 134 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules rooted in ancient thatched roof styles. Sikhara/Vi mana Stambha In North India, the tower above the sanctum (entire spire above mulaprasada) ; in South India, that top part of tower that is above the vimana A pillar; it can be a load bearing element or an independent standing element with diya (la mps) and Hindu icons below, around and / or on top; the designs vary significantly by region, in Kerala Hindu temples they are at the entrance; on festive occasions the wick lamps are loaded with oil and Shikhara, Brihat Samhita LVI Sikha, Sikhanta, Sikhamani, D eul in East India, Garbhaka, Garbhamandi ra Kambha, Dwajasthamp Manasara XV, Kasyapa silpa am, sastra IX Kodimaram 135 Refere nce Image Term Explanati on Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules lit up. Sukanasa an external ornamented feature over the entrance to the garbhagri ha or inner shrine. It sits on the face of the sikhara to wer (in South India, the vimana) as a sort of antefix. Can refer to the antarala b elow as well. Tala tier or storey of a shikhara, vimana or gopuram Torana any arch or canopy motif, ornament or architectural member in temples and buildings; it also refers to an arched gateway sukanasasika Agni Purana XLII Numerous terms, e.g. Gavaksha (from 'cow eye'-shaped) 136 Refere nce Image Term Urushringa Explanati on subsidiary turret-like shikharas on the side of the main shikhara; the primary turret is called shring a Synonyms or Similar Illustrative Hindu text mention / design rules Refere nce Image Brihat Samhita LVI, Agni Purana CIV Single storey gopura (Dravidian architecture) Two storey gopura (Dravidian architecture) A vimana with mandapam elements (Dravidian architecture) Pillar elements (shared by Nagara and Dravidian) Athisthana architectural elements of a Hindu temple Entablature elements 137 ADDITIONAL CONCEPTS OF GREATER BHARAT Indosphere is a term coined by the linguist James Matisoff for areas of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with Sinosphere. The Tibeto-Burman family of languages, which extends over a huge geographic range, is characterized by great typological diversity, comprising languages that range from the highly tonal, monosyllabic, analytic type with practically no affixational morphology, like the Loloish languages, to marginally tonal or atonal languages with complex systems of verbal agreement morphology, like the Kiranti group of Nepal. This diversity is partly to be explained in terms of areal influences from Chinese on the one hand and Indo-Aryan languages on the other. Matisoff proposed two large and overlapping areas combining cultural and linguistic features – the "Sinosphere" and the "Indosphere", influenced by China and India respectively. A buffer zone between them as a third group was proposed by Kristine A. Hildebrandt, followed by B. Bickel and J. Nichols. The Indosphere is dominated by Indic languages. Some languages and cultures firmly belong to one or the other. For example, the Munda and Khasi branches of Austroasiatic languages, the Tibeto-Burman languages of Eastern Nepal, and much of the "Kamarupan" group of Tibeto-Burman, which most notably includes the Meitei (Manipuri), are Indospheric; while the Hmong–Mien family, the Kam–Sui branch of Kadai, the Loloish branch of Tibeto-Burman, and Vietnamese (Viet–Muong) are Sinospheric. Some other languages, like Thai and Tibetan, have been influenced by both Chinese and Indian culture at different historical periods. Still other linguistic communities are so remote geographically that they have escaped significant influence from either. For example, the Aslian branch of Mon–Khmer in Malaya, or the Nicobarese branch of Mon–Khmer in the Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean show little influence by Sinosphere or Indosphere. The Bodish languages and Kham languages are characterized by hybrid prosodic properties akin to related Indospheric languages towards the west and also Sinospheric languages towards the east.[8] Some languages of the Kiranti group in the Indosphere rank among the morphologically most complex languages of Asia. Indian cultural, intellectual, and political influence – especially that of Pallava writing system – began to penetrate both insular and peninsular Southeast Asia about 2000 years ago. Indic writing systems were adopted first by Austronesians, like Javanese and Cham, and Austroasiatics, like Khmer and Mon, then by Tai (Siamese and Lao) and Tibeto-Burmans (Pyu, Burmese, and Karen). Indospheric languages are also found in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), defined as the region encompassing Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, as well as parts of Burma, Peninsular Malaysia and Vietnam. Related scripts 138 are also found in South East Asian islands ranging from Sumatra, Java, Bali, south Sulawesi and most of the Philippines. The learned components of the vocabularies of Khmer, Mon, Burmese and Thai/Lao consist of words of Pali or Sanskrit origin. Indian influence also spread north to the Himalayan region. Tibetan has used Ranjana writing since 600 AD, but has preferred to calque new religious and technical vocabulary from native morphemes rather than borrowing Indian ones. The Cham empires, known collectively as Champa, which were founded around the end of 2nd century AD, belonged directly to Indosphere of influence, rather than to the Sinosphere which shaped so much of Vietnamese culture and by which Chams were influenced later and indirectly. Morphological typology Languages in the "Sinosphere" (roughly Southeast Asia) tend to be analytic, with little morphology, monosyllabic or sesquisyllabic lexical structures, extensive compounding, complex tonal systems, and serial verb constructions. Languages in the "Indosphere" (roughly the Himalayas and South Asia) tend to be more agglutinative, with polysyllabic structures, extensive case and verb morphology, and detailed markings of interpropositional relationships. Manange (like other Tamangic languages) is an interesting case to examine in this regard, as geographically it fits squarely in the "Indospheric" Himalayas, but typologically it shares more features with the "Sinospheric" languages. Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in the Sinosphere tend to be more isolating, while those spoken in the Indosphere tend to be more morphologically complex. Many languages in the western side of the Sino-Tibetan family, which includes the Tibeto-Burman languages, show significant typological resemblances with other languages of the South Asia, which puts them in the group of Indosphere. They often have heavier syllables than found in the east, while tone systems, though attested, are not as frequent. Indospheric languages are often toneless and/or highly suffixal. Often there is considerable inflectional morphology, from fully developed case marking systems to extensive pronominal morphology found on the verb. These languages generally mark a number of types of inter-casual relationships and have distinct construction involving verbal auxiliaries. Languages of the Indosphere typically display retroflex stop consonants, postsentential relative clauses and the extended grammaticalization of the verb say. In Indospheric languages, such as the TibetoBurman languages of Northeast India and Nepal, for example, the development of relative pronouns and correlative structures as well as of retroflex initial consonants is often found. A sprachbund ( "federation of languages"), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, diffusion area or language crossroads, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The languages may be genetically 139 unrelated, or only distantly related, but the sprachbund characteristics might give a false appearance of relatedness. History: In a 1904 paper, Jan Baudouin de Courtenay emphasised the need to distinguish between language similarities arising from a genetic relationship (rodstvo) and those arising from convergence due to language contact (srodstvo). Nikolai Trubetzkoy introduced the Russian term языковой союз (yazykovoy soyuz; "language union") in a 1923 article.In a paper presented to the first International Congress of Linguists in 1928, he used a German calque of this term, Sprachbund, defining it as a group of languages with similarities in syntax, morphological structure, cultural vocabulary and sound systems, but without systematic sound correspondences, shared basic morphology or shared basic vocabulary. Later workers, starting with Trubetzkoy's colleague Roman Jakobson, have relaxed the requirement of similarities in all four of the areas stipulated by Trubetzkoy. Example: The idea of areal convergence is commonly attributed to Jernej Kopitar's description in 1830 of Albanian, Bulgarian and Romanian as giving the impression of "nur eine Sprachform ... mit dreierlei Sprachmaterie", which has been rendered by Victor Friedman as "one grammar with the three lexicons".The Balkan Sprachbund comprises Albanian, Romanian, the South Slavic languages of the southern Balkans (Bulgarian, Macedonian and to a lesser degree Serbo-Croatian), Greek, Balkan Turkish, and Romani. All but one of these are Indo-European languages but from very divergent branches, and Turkish is a Turkic language. Yet they have exhibited several signs of grammatical convergence, such as avoidance of the infinitive, future tense formation, and others. The same features are not found in other languages that are otherwise closely related, such as the other Romance languages in relation to Romanian, and the other Slavic languages such as Polish in relation to BulgaroMacedonian. Indian subcontinent In a classic 1956 paper titled "India as a Linguistic Area", Murray Emeneau laid the groundwork for the general acceptance of the concept of a sprachbund. In the paper, Emeneau observed that the subcontinent's Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages shared a number of features that were not inherited from a common source, but were areal features, the result of diffusion during sustained contact. These include retroflex consonants, echo words, subject–object–verb word order, discourse markers, and the quotative. Emeneau specified the tools to establish that language and culture had fused for centuries on the Indian soil to produce an integrated mosaic of structural convergence of four distinct language families: IndoAryan, Dravidian, Munda and Tibeto-Burman. This concept provided scholarly substance for 140 explaining the underlying Indian-ness of apparently divergent cultural and linguistic patterns. With his further contributions, this area has now become a major field of research in language contact and convergence Sanskritisation (Indian English) or Sanskritization (American English, Oxford spelling) is a particular form of social change found in India. It denotes the process by which caste or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. It is a process similar to passing in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s. According to Christophe Jaffrelot a similar heuristic is described in Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development by B. R. Ambedkar.[2] Jaffrelot goes on to say, "While the term was coined by Srinivas, the process itself had been described by colonial administrators such as E. T. Atkinson in his Himalayan Gazetteer and Alfred Lyall, in whose works Ambedkar might well have encountered it. Definition: M. N. Srinivas defined sanskritisation as a process by which "a low or middle Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its customs, ritual ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high and frequently twice-born caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to the claimant class by the local community ... ."[4] One clear example of sanskritisation is the adoption, in emulation of the practice of twice-born castes, of vegetarianism by people belonging to the so-called "low castes" who are traditionally not averse to non-vegetarian food. Vishwakarma Caste claim to Brahmin status is not generally accepted outside the community, despite their assumption of some high-caste traits, such as wearing the sacred thread, and the Brahminisation of their rituals. For example, the sociologist M. N. Srinivas, who developed the concept of sanskritisation, juxtaposed the success of the Lingayat caste in achieving advancement within Karnataka society by such means with the failure of the Vishwakarma to achieve the same. Their position as a left-hand caste has not aided their ambition. According to M. N. Srinivas, Sanskritisation is not just the adoption of new customs and habits, but also includes exposure to new ideas and values appearing in Sanskrit literature. He says the words Karma, dharma, paap, maya, samsara and moksha are the most common Sanskritic theological ideas which become common in the talk of people who are sanskritised. This phenomenon has also been observed in Nepal among Khas, Magar, Newar and Tharu people. 141 The Sanskritization is often aimed to claim the Varna status of Brahmin or Kshatriyas , the two prestigious Varna of the Vedic age Varna system. One such example in North India is of Rajput. According to historical evidence, the present day Rajput community varies greatly in status, comprising those with royal lineage to those whose ancestors were petty tenants or tribals who gained land and political power to justify their claim of being Kshatriya. The word Kshatriya is hence not synonymous with Rajput. Theorey: M. N. Srinivas first propounded this theory in his D.Phil. thesis at Oxford University. The thesis was later brought out as a book titled Religion and Society Among the Coorgs of South India. Published in 1952, the book was an ethnographical study of the Kodava (Coorgs) community of Karnataka. M. N. Srinivas writes in the book: "The caste system is far from a rigid system in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially in the middle regions of the hierarchy. A caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritising its ritual and pantheon. In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins, and adoption of the Brahminic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called 'Sanskritisation' in this book, in preference to 'Brahminisation', as certain Vedic rites are confined to the Brahmins and the two other 'twice-born' castes.” The book challenged the then prevalent idea that caste was a rigid and unchanging institution. The concept of sanskritisation addressed the actual complexity and fluidity of caste relations. It brought into academic focus the dynamics of the renegotiation of status by various castes and communities in India. Yogendra Singh, founders of the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, where he was a professor emeritus of Sociology, has critiqued the theory as follows: "... Sanskritisation fails to account for many aspects of cultural changes in the past and contemporary India as it neglects non-sanskritic traditions. It may be noted that often a non-sanskritic element of culture may be a localised form of sanskritic tradition. ... Sanskritic rites are often added to nonsanskritic rites without replacing them." 142 Murti in Hinduism Shilpani, works of art of man, imitate the divine forms, by employing their rhythms, they metrically reconstitute, and interpret the limitless knowledge, of the sacred hymns, from the limits of being human. — Aitareya Brahmana, Rig Veda, 6.5.27 143 Murti (Sanskrit: मूर्ति, ISO: Mūrti; lit. 'form, embodiment, or solid object') is a general term for an image, statue or idol of a deity or mortal in Indian culture.In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. A murti is itself not a god in Hinduism, but it is a shape, embodiment or manifestation of a deity. Murti are also found in some nontheistic Jainism traditions, where they serve as symbols of revered mortals inside Jain temples, and are worshiped in murtipujaka rituals. A murti is typically made by carving stone, wood working, metal casting or through pottery. Ancient era texts describing their proper proportions, positions and gestures include the Puranas, Agamas and Samhitas. The expressions in a murti vary in diverse Hindu traditions, ranging from Ugra symbolism to express destruction, fear and violence (Durga, Kali), as well as Saumya symbolism to express joy, knowledge and harmony (Saraswati, Lakshmi). Saumya images are most common in Hindu temples. Other murti forms found in Hinduism include the linga. A murti is an embodiment of the divine, the Ultimate Reality or Brahman to some Hindus. In religious context, they are found in Hindu temples or homes, where they may be treated as a beloved guest and serve as a participant of puja in Hinduism. In other occasions, it serves as the centre of attention in annual festive processions and these are called utsava murti. The earliest murti are mentioned by Pāṇini in 4th century BCE. Prior to that the agnicayana ritual ground seemed to served as a template for the temple. Murti is sometimes referred to as murthi, or vigraha or pratima. Javanese Girl and child. A murti of Parvati Ganesha in Maheshwar temple 144 Nomenclature: Goddess Durga and a pantheon of other gods and goddesses being worshipped during Durga Puja Festival in Kolkata. This image was taken in Block - G.D, Saltlake Durga Puja 2018 in North Kolkata. Murti literally means any solid body or form with definite shape or limits produced from material elements. It contrasts with mind, thought and the immaterial in ancient Indian literature. The term also refers to any embodiment, manifestation, incarnation, personification, appearance, image, idol or statue of a deity. The earliest mention of the term murti occurs in primary Upanishads composed in the 1st millennium BCE, particularly in verse 3.2 of Aitareya Upanishad, verse 1.13 of Shvetashvatara Upanishad, verse 6.14 of Maitrayaniya Upanishad and verse 1.5 of Prashna Upanishad. The section includes the concept of Time and non-Time, stating that non-Time as that which existed before creation of universe, and time as which came into existence with the creation of universe. Nontime is indivisible, time is divisible, and the Maitri Upanishad then asserts that the "year is the mūrti of time" Robert Hume translates the discussion of "mūrti of time", in verse 6.14 of the Maitri Upanishad, as "form". Most scholars, such as Jan Gonda, Max Muller, PV Kane and Stephanie Jamison, state that there were neither murti nor temples nor idol-facilitated worship in the Vedic era. The Vedic Hinduism rituals were directed at nature and abstract deities called during yajna with hymns. However, there isn't universal consensus, with scholars such as AC Das, pointing to the word Mūradeva in Rig Veda verses 7.104.24, 10.87.2 and 10.87.14. This word may refer to "Deva who is fixed" or "Deva who is foolish". The former interpretation, if accurate, may imply that there were communities in the Vedic era who had Deva in the form of murti, and the context of these hymns suggest that the term could possibly be referring to practices of the tribal communities outside of the Vedic fold. 6th-century Brihat samhita, an influential encyclopaedia whose chapters 57-60 are dedicated to the design and architecture of murti and temples. This Sanskrit text exists in many Indian scripts, and was preserved in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples and monasteries. One of the earliest firm textual evidence of Deva images, in the sense of murti, is found in Jivikarthe Capanye by the Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini who lived about 4th century BCE. He mentions Acala and Cala, with former referring to images in a shrine, and the latter meaning images 145 that were carried from place to place. Panini also mentions Devalaka, meaning custodians of images of worship who show the images but do not sell them, as well as Jivika as people whose source of livelihood was the gifts they received from devotees. In ancient Sanskrit texts that follow Panini's work, numerous references are found to divine images with terms such as Devagrha, Devagara, Devakula, Devayatana and others. These texts, states Noel Salmond, strongly suggest that temples and murti were in existence in ancient India by about 4th century BCE. Recent archaeological evidence confirms that the knowledge and art of sculpture was established in India by the Maurya Empire period (~3rd century BCE). By early 1st millennium BCE, the term murti meant idols, image or statue in various Indian texts such as Bhavishya Purana verse 132.5.7, Brihat Samhita 1.8.29 and inscriptions in different parts of India.[2] The term murti has been a more generic term referring to an idol or statue of anyone, either a deity, of any human being, animal or any art. Pratima includes murti as well as painting of any nonanthropomorphic object. In contrast, Bera or Bimba meant "idol of god" only, and Vigraha was synonymous with Bimba. Types: Murti in diverse Hindu traditions vary widely in their expression. Raudra or ugra images express destruction, fear and violence, such as Kali image on left. Shanta or saumya images express joy, knowledge and harmony, such as Saraswati (centre). Saumya images are most common in Hindu temples. Linga murti (right) are an alternate form. A murti in contemporary usage is any image or statue. It may be found inside or outside a temple or home, installed to be moved with a festive procession (utsava murti), or just be a landmark. It is a significant part of Hindu iconography, and is implemented in many ways. Two major categories include:  Raudra or Ugra - are images that were meant to terrify, induce fear. These typically have wide, circular eyes, carry weapons, have skulls and bones as adornment. These idols were worshipped by soldiers before going to war, or by people in times of distress or errors. Raudra deity temples were not set up inside villages or towns, but invariably outside and in remote areas of a kingdom.  Shanta and Saumya - are images that were pacific, peaceful and expressive of love, compassion, kindness and other virtues in Hindu pantheon. These images would carry symbolic icons of peace, knowledge, music, wealth, flowers, sensuality among other things. In ancient India, these temples were predominant inside villages and towns. 146 Beyond anthropomorphic forms of religious murti, some traditions of Hinduism cherish aniconism, where alternate symbols are shaped into a murti, such as the linga for Shiva, yoni for Devi, and the saligrama for Vishnu. Offerings fo the Gods to the temple Shilpa Shastras (Sanskrit: शिल्प िास्त्र śilpa śāstra) literally means the Science of Shilpa (arts and crafts). It is an ancient umbrella term for numerous Hindu texts that describe arts, crafts, and their design rules, principles and standards. In the context of temple design, Shilpa Shastras were manuals for sculpture and Hindu iconography, prescribing among other things, the proportions of a sculptured figure, composition, principles, meaning, as well as rules of architecture. Sixty-four techniques for such arts or crafts, sometimes called bāhya-kalā "external or practical arts", are traditionally enumerated, including carpentry, architecture, jewellery, farriery, acting, dancing, music, medicine, poetry etc., besides sixty-four abhyantara-kalā or "secret arts", which include mostly "erotic arts" such as kissing, embracing, etc. While Shilpa and Vastu Shastras are related, Shilpa 147 Shastras deal with arts and crafts such as forming statues, icons, stone murals, painting, carpentry, pottery, jewellery, dying, textiles and others. Vastu Shastras deal with building architecture – building houses, forts, temples, apartments, village and town layout, etc. Shilpa refers to any art or craft in ancient Indian texts, while Shastra means science. Together, Shilpa Shastra means the science of art and crafts. The ancient Sanskrit texts use the term Shilpin (male artist) and Shilpini ( female artist) for artists and crafts person, while Shilpani refers to works of arts of man. Shilpani, works of art of man, imitate the divine forms, by employing their rhythms, they metrically reconstitute, and interpret the limitless knowledge, of the sacred hymns, from the limits of being human. — Aitareya Brahmana, Rig Veda, 6.5.27 The meaning of Shilpa, according to Stella Kramrisch, is complex. She writes that it consists of "art, skill, craft, labor, ingenuity, rite and ritual, form and creation." The range of crafts encompassed by the term Shilpa extends to every aspect of culture, includes sculptor, the potter, the perfumer, the wheelwright, the painter, the weaver, the architect, the dancer, the musician, the arts of love, and others. Ancient Indian texts assert that the number of the arts is unlimited, they deploy sixty four kala (techniques) and thirty two vidyas ( fields of knowledge). Shilpa is discussed in Agamas, Puranas and Vastu Shastra where it is linked to the mythology of Vishvakarma. In painting Shilpa Shastras include chapters on paintings, both miniature and large.[13] For example, Narada Shilpa Shastra dedicates chapters 66 and 71 to painting, while Saraswati Shilpa Shastra describes various types of chitra (full painting), ardhachitra (sketch work), chitrabhasa (communication through painting), varna samskara (preparation of colors). Other ancient Shilpa Shastra on painting include Vishnudharmottara Purana and Chitralakshana, former is available in Sanskrit while the only surviving copies of latter are in Tibetan (both were originally written on birch bark, and have been translated into English and German).[15] These Sanskrit treatises discuss the following aspects of a painting: measurement, proportions, perspective of the viewer, mudra, emotions, and rasa (meaning). Such an approach of Indian paintings, states Isabella Nardi, make 148 Shilpa Shastra not only canonical textual sources but also a means to transmit knowledge and spiritual themes. In carpentry The first chapter of Shilpa Shastra Manasara discusses the measurement principles for carpentry. The 9th-century version of Mayamata text of Tamil Nadu and 16th Century version of Shilparatna of Odisha describe takshaka and vardhaki as wood Shilpins; takshaka possesses the knowledge of wood types and practices the art of cutting wood, while vardhaki possesses the knowledge of wood forms and practices the art of carpentry. One of the earliest mentions of carpentry arts is in Book 9, Chapter 112 of Rig Veda. Carpentry was also an essential Shilpa Shastra during the construction of a Hindu temple. In metallurgy The 4th-century CE 99.7% pure Iron pillar in Delhi reflecting the metal-related shilpa in ancient India. The pillar was moved and reinstalled near Qutb complex about 1000 years later. The upper part of the pillar remains without any rust damage; the lower, reinstalled in-ground part shows signs of rust. The Vedas, in particular Atharva veda and Sthapatya veda, describe many kinds of arts and crafts in their discussion of Shilpa Shastra and Yantra Sarvasva. The Rig veda, states Ravi mentions equipment used in casting, such as dhamatri (cupola), gharma aranmaya (crucible) and bhastri (blower). These discussions are in the context of making idols, and describe rules to achieve best talmana (proportions), mudra (stance) and bhava (expression). Sanskrit texts such as Shilparatna and Manasaradescribe in detail the process and principles for art work with metals, particularly for alloys such as panchadhatu (five metals – zinc, tin, copper, silver and gold) and ashtadhatu (eight metal alloys – which adds iron, 149 lead and mercury to panchatu). Madhuchista Vidhana (cire perdue or lost wax) casting process is the most discussed process in these ancient shilpa shastras with metals. Kirk suggests that these Shastras diffused from India to other ancient cultures in Asia. While there is empirical evidence of high purity metallurgy and art works with other metals, some ancient Shilpa Shastras have been lost. For example, the 5th century Iron Pillar of Delhi, which stands 23 feet, weighs 6 tonnes and contains 99.72% iron without showing any signs of rust, is empirical evidence of the state of metallurgical arts in 5th century India. Birth was no barrier- Shilpa Shastra education in ancient India All arts were the domain of all classes, castes and both genders in ancient India. The ancient texts of Parashara states that all crafts were practised by anyone irrespective of family's occupation. The Buddhist Jatakas mention Brahmin carpenters, the 4th century text Baudhayana describes chariot builders, carpenters, brick-workers, potters and metal workers from people of people classified as Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. Suttavibhanga describes builders and wheelwrights born to Shudra father and Brahmin mother, who by later texts would be described as untouchables. The goldsmiths of Maharashtra included children born in cattle herding families. Apprenticeship Apprentices joined and trained under masters. The best were adopted and recognised as members of various art guilds. The training began from childhood, and included studies about dharma, culture, reading, writing, mathematics, geometry, colors, tools, as well as trade secrets – these were called Tradition. Guilds Shilpins had formed Śreni (guilds) in ancient India. Each guild formed its own laws and code of conduct, one the ancient Hindu and Buddhist kings of India respected by tradition. In some cases, the king established the laws of the guilds; in some cases, the king's treasurer had the final word and served as judge of various guilds in a kingdom.These guilds, in the 1st millennium BC, included all those who practised the art irrespective of the artist's caste or creed.[32] The income of each guild came from fees paid by new members joining the guild, from fines on those violating the code of conduct established by the guild, and levies on tools used for that art. The guilds also performed charity and gifted collective works of art by their members to temples and other social works. During festivals and social celebrations, each guild would contribute their own performance and pavilions with flags and emblems. Creative work and artists were granted the sanctions of a sacrament in ancient Indian culture, states 150 Stella Kramrisch. An artist expresses the spiritual and holiness in his or her art. This belief continues to manifest itself in modern India in the form of rituals, where in an autumn festival (Dashahra), craftsmen in parts of India worship their tools with incense, flowers and unhusked rice. Brhat Samhita at verses 57.10-11 describes the practice of carpenters offering prayers and seeking forgiveness of a tree before cutting it for wood. The axe used to cut the tree would be rubbed with honey and butter to minimise the hurt to the tree which was considered to be a living being. Craft was seen as application of essence of Purusha (Universal Principles) to parts of nature so as to transform it into a work of art. Treatises on Shilpa Shastras Some known Shilpa Shastras-related manuscripts include:                               Mayashastra (image printing, wall decoration) Bimbamana (painting) Sukratniti (pratima – murti or vigraha making, icon design) Suprabhedagama Vishnu dharmottara purana (literature, music, theatre, dance, painting, sculpture, iconography, architecture) Agamas (have chapters on other shilpa shastras) Agni purana (iconography) Brahmanda purana (mostly architecture, some sections on arts) Vastu vidya Pratima lakshana vidhanam Gargeyam Manasara (many chapters on casting, moulding carving, polishing and making of arts and crafts) Atriyam Pratima mana lakshanam (includes chapters on repair of broken idols and art works) Dasa tala nyagrodha pari mandala Sambudhabhasita pratima lakshana vivarana nama Mayamatam (construction – architecture, vehicles, etc.) Brhat Samhita Shilpa ratnam (Purvabhaga book has 46 chapters on arts and construction of house/towns, Uttarabhaga has 35 chapters on sculpture, icons and related topics of smaller scale) Yukti kalpataru (various arts, including jewelry) Shilpa kala darsanam Samarangana Sutradhara Vishva karma prakasam Matsya purana Garuda purana Kashyapa shilpashastra Bhavishya purana (mostly architecture, some sections on arts) Alankara shastra Artha shastra (general crafts such as windows and doors, as well as public utilities) Chitra kalpa (ornaments) 151                                  Chitra karmashastra Maya shilpashastra (in Tamil) Vishvakarma shilpa (arts on columns, wood working) Agastya (wood based arts and crafts) Mandana Shilpa Shastra (diya, lamps related crafts) Ratna shastra (pearls, string, jewelry crafts) Ratna pariksha (jewelry) Ratna samgraha (jewelry) Laghu ratna pariksha (jewelry, lapidary) Manimahatmya (lapidary) Agastimata (lapidary crafts) Anangaranga (erotic arts) Kamasutra (artistic activities) Rati rahasya (erotic arts) Kandarpa chudamani (erotic arts) Natya shastra (theatre, dance, music, fragments on painting and sculpture) Nrttaratnavali (crafts for fashion and public performance) Sangita ratna kara (crafts for fashion, dance and public performance) Nalapaka (food, utensils, and culinary crafts) Paka darpana (food, utensils, and culinary crafts) Paka vijnana (food, utensils, and culinary crafts) Pakarnava (food, utensils, and culinary crafts) Kuttanimatam (textile arts) Kadambari by Banabhatta (chapters on textile art and crafts) Samaymatrka (textile arts) Yantra Kosha (musical instruments, Overview in Bengali Language) Sangita ratna kara (music crafts) Śilpa-ratna-kośa (architecture, sculpture) Cilappatikaaram (a 2nd-century Tamil classic on music and dance, sections on musical instruments) Manasollasa (arts and crafts relating to musical instruments, cooking, textiles, decoration) Vastuvidya (sculpture, icons, painting, and minor arts and crafts) Upavana vinoda (Sanskrit treatise on arbori-horticulture arts, garden house design, aspects of house plants related crafts) Vastusutra Upanishad (oldest known Sanskrit Shilpa Shastra text, 6 chapters, deals with image making, describes how image arts are means of communicating emotions and spiritual freedom).  Murti, when produced properly, are made according to the design rules of the Shilpa Shastras. They recommend materials, measurements, proportion, decoration and symbolism of the murti. Explanation of the metaphysical significance of each stage of manufacture and the prescription of specific mantras to sanctify the process and evoke and invoke the power of the deity in the image are found in the liturgical handbooks the Agamas and Tantras. In Tantric traditions, a murti is installed by priests through the Prana pratishta ceremony, where mantras are recited sometimes with yantras (mystic diagrams), whereby state Harold Coward and David Goa, the "divine vital energy 152 of the cosmos is infused into the sculpture" and then the divine is welcomed as one would welcome a friend.The esoteric Hindu tantric traditions through texts such as Tantra-tattva follow elaborate rituals to infuse life into a murti. Some tantra texts such as the Pancaratraraksa state that anyone who considers an icon of Vishnu as nothing but "an ordinary object" made of iron "goes to hell".The use of murti and particularly the prana pratistha consecration ceremony, states Buhnemann, has been criticised by Hindu groups. These groups state that this practice came from more recent "false tantra books", and there is not a single word in the Vedas about such a ceremony. A Hindu prayer before cutting a tree for a murti Oh Tree! you have been selected for the worship of a deity, Salutations to you! I worship you per rules, kindly accept it. May all who live in this tree, find residence elsewhere, May they forgive us now, we bow to them. —Brihat Samhita 59.10 - 59.11 The artists who make any art or craft, including murti, were known as shilpins. The formally trained Shilpins shape the murti not in accordance with fancy but in accordance with canonical manuals such as the Agamas and the Shilpa Shastras texts such as Vishvakarma. The material of construction range from clay to wood to marble to metal alloys such as panchaloha. The sixth century Brihat Samhita and eighth century text Manasara-Silpasastra (literally: "treatise on art using method of measurement"), identify nine materials for murti construction – gold, silver, copper, stone, wood, sudha (a type of stucco, mortar plaster), sarkara (gravel, grit), abhasa (marble types), and earth (clay, terracotta). For abhasa, the texts describe working methods for various types of marble, specialised stones, colours, and a range of opacity (transparent, translucent and crystal). Brihat Samhita, a 6th-century encyclopaedia of a range of topics from horticulture to astrology to gemology to murti and temple design, specifies in Chapter 56 that the pratima (murti) height should be of the sanctum sanctorum's door height, the Pratima height and the sanctum sanctorum room's width be in the ratio of 0.292, it stand on a pedestal that is 0.146 of sanctum room width, thereafter the text describes 20 types of temples with their dimensions. Chapter 58 of the text describes the ratios of various anatomical parts of a murti, from head to toe, along with the recommendation in verse 59.29 153 that generally accepted variations in dress, decoration and dimensions of local regional traditions for the murti is the artistic tradition. Proper murti design is described in ancient and medieval Indian texts. They describe proportions, posture, expressions among other details, often referencing to nature. The texts recommend materials of construction, proportions, postures and mudra, symbolic items the murti holds in its hands, colours, garments and ornaments to go with the murti of each god or goddess, vehicles of deities such as Garuda, bull and lion, and other details. The texts also include chapters on the design of Jaina and Buddhist murti, as well as reliefs of sages, apsaras, different types of devotees (based on bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, karma yoga, ascetics) to decorate the area near the murti. The texts recommend that the material of construction and relative scale of murti be correlated to the scale of the temple dimensions, using twelve types of comparative measurements. In Southern India, the material used predominantly for murti is black granite, while material in North India is white marble. However, for some Hindus, it is not the materials used that matter, but the faith and meditation on the universal Absolute Brahman. More particularly, devotees meditate or worship on the formless God (nirguna Brahman) through murti symbolism of God (saguna Brahman) during a puja before a murti, or the meditation on a Tirthankara in the case of Jainism, thus making the material of construction or the specific shape of the murti not spiritually important. According to John Keay, "Only after achieving remarkable expertise in the portrayal of the Buddha figure and of animal and human, did Indian stonemasons turn to producing images of the orthodox 'Hindu' deities". This view is, however, not shared by other scholars. Trudy King et al. state that stone images of reverential figures and guardian spirits (yaksha) were first produced in Jainism and Hinduism, by about 2 century BCE, as suggested by Mathura region excavations, and this knowledge grew into iconographic traditions and stone monuments in India including those for Buddhism. 154 Role in Worship: A murti of mother goddess Matrika, from Rajasthan 6th century CE. Major Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartaism favour the use of murti. These traditions suggest that it is easier to dedicate time and focus on spirituality through anthropomorphic or non-anthropomorphic icons. Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, states in verse 12.5, It is much more difficult to focus on God as the unmanifested than God with form, due to human beings having the need to perceive via the senses. In Hinduism, states Jeaneane Fowler, a murti itself is not god, it is an "image of god" and thus a symbol and representation. A murti is a form and manifestation, states Fowler, of the formless Absolute. Thus a literal translation of murti as 'idol' is incorrect, when idol is understood as superstitious end in itself. Just like the photograph of a person is not the real person, a murti is an image in Hinduism but not the real thing, but in both cases the image reminds of something of emotional and real value to the viewer. When a person worships a murti, it is assumed to be a manifestation of the essence or spirit of the deity, the worshipper's spiritual ideas and needs are meditated through it, yet the idea of ultimate reality or Brahman is not confined in it. Devotional (bhakti movement) practices centred on cultivating a deep and personal bond of love with God, often expressed and facilitated with one or more murti, and includes individual or community hymns, japa or singing (bhajan, kirtan or aarti). Acts of devotion, in major temples particularly, are structured on treating the murti as the manifestation of a revered guest, and the daily routine can include awakening the murti in the morning and making sure that it "is washed, dressed, and garlanded. In Vaishnavism, the building of a temple for the murti is considered an act of devotion, but 155 non-murti symbolism is also common wherein the aromatic Tulsi plant or Saligrama is an aniconic reminder of the spiritualism in Vishnu. These puja rituals with the murti correspond to ancient cultural practices for a beloved guest, and the murti is welcomed, taken care of, and then requested to retire. Christopher John Fuller states that an image in Hinduism cannot be equated with a deity and the object of worship is the divine whose power is inside the image, and the image is not the object of worship itself, Hindus believe everything is worthy of worship as it contains divine energy emanating from the one god. According to the Agamas, the bimba murti (स्थल ू मूर्ति / बिम्िमूर्ति) is different from the mantra murti (मन्त्रमूर्ति) from the perspective of rituals, gestures, hymns and offerings. Some Hindu denominations like Arya Samaj and Satya Mahima Dharma reject idol worship. Ancient Indian texts assert the significance of murti in spiritual terms. The Vāstusūtra Upaniṣad, whose palm-leaf manuscripts were discovered in the 1970s among remote villages of Orissa – four in Oriya language and one in crude Sanskrit, asserts that the doctrine of murti art making is founded on the principles of origin and evolution of universe, is a "form of every form of cosmic creator" that empirically exists in nature, and it functions to inspire a devotee towards contemplating the Ultimate Supreme Principle (Brahman). This text, whose composition date is unknown but probably from late 1st millennium CE, discusses the significance of images as, state Alice Boner and others, "inspiring, elevating and purifying influence" on the viewer and "means of communicating a vision of supreme truth and for giving a taste of the infinite that lies beyond".It adds (abridged): From the contemplation of images grows delight, from delight faith, from faith steadfast devotion, through such devotion arises that higher understanding (parāvidyā) that is the royal road to moksha. Without the guidance of images, the mind of the devotee may go astray and form wrong imaginations. Images dispel false imaginations. (... ) It is in the mind of Rishis (sages), who see and have the power of discerning the essence of all created things of manifested forms. They see their different characters, the divine and the demoniac, the creative and the destructive forces, in their eternal interplay. It is this vision of Rishis, of gigantic drama of cosmic powers in eternal conflict, which the Sthapakas (Silpins, murti and temple artists) drew the subject-matter for their work. — Pippalada, Vāstusūtra Upaniṣad, Introduction by Alice Boner et al. In the fifth chapter of Vāstusūtra Upaniṣad, Pippalada asserts, "from tattva-rupa (essence of a form, underlying principle) come the pratirupani (images)". In the sixth chapter, Pippalada repeats his message that the artist portrays the particular and universal concepts, with the statement "the work of the Sthapaka is a creation similar to that of the Prajapati" (that which created the universe).[75] Non156 theistic Jaina scholars such as Jnansundar, states John Cort, have argued the significance of murti along the same lines, asserting that "no matter what the field – scientific, commercial, religious – there can be no knowledge without an icon", images are part of how human beings learn and focus their thoughts, icons are necessary and inseparable from spiritual endeavours in Jainism. While murti are an easily and commonly visible aspect of Hinduism, they are not necessary to Hindu worship. Among Hindus, states Gopinath Rao, one who has realised Self (Soul, Atman) and the Universal Principle (Brahman, god) within himself, there is no need for any temple or divine image for worship. Those who have yet to reach this height of realisation, various symbolic manifestations through images, idols and icons as well as mental modes of worship are offered as one of the spiritual paths in the Hindu way of life. This belief is repeated in ancient Hindu scriptures. For example, the Jabaladarshana Upanishad states: 157 CHAPTER II The imprint of the Indian genius The imprint of the Indian genius, gives these countries a family likeness. Religious, literature and law; underneath the diversity of the civilizations of Farther India, underneath their apparent uniqueness, lies this imprint. Farther India: Although Farther India was the theater of revolutionary changes, these changes had no notable effects on the history of the world, and, except in the realm of the arts, the area did not enrich the intellectual patrimony of humanity with any masterpieces. It is because of this purely receptive character that Farther India was so long ignored. It has not entered history except to the extent that it was civilized by India. Without India, its past would be almost unknown; we would know scarcely more about it than we know about the past of New Guinea or Australia. Even though the countries whose history is outlined in this work owe everything from their titles of nobility to their privilege of possessing a history to India, it would be unjust to pass silently over what Farther India contributed indirectly in exchange. First of all, the region gave the Indians the feeling of having been, in the noblest sense of the term, a great colonizing people, in spite of all the ritual obstacles and racial prejudices that would seem to have prohibited them from playing such a role. The expansive power of their culture and the dynamism of their civilization, of which the Indians seem never to have been completely conscious, manifested themselves in all the countries to which they emigrated. Study of Farther India, then, provides very valuable documentation that cannot help but further our knowledge of ancient India. General observation shows us that colonies preserve in their customs, beliefs, and language many archaic traits that date back to the origin of colonization and fall into disuse in the mother country. Farther India has been no exception to this rule, and the study of ancient India "viewed from the East," which has scarcely begun, seems to promise rich results. But the importance of studying the Indianized countries of Southeast Asia—which, let us repeat, were never political dependencies of India, but rather cultural 158 colonies— lies above all in the observation of the impact of Indian civilization on the primitive civilizations. Singhalese Buddhism: Between 1200 and 1300 AD the common people of in Cambodia, Siam, Laos, and Burma, Buddhist received a new contribution from India in the form of Singhalese Buddhism. 1. The penetration of this new faith to the masses cannot be doubted: in Cambodia, Siam, Laos, and Burma, Buddhist cosmogony and cosmology and the doctrines of retribution for one's acts and of transmigration have been deeply implanted in the humblest classes by the teaching of the Buddhist monks. 2. This influence of Indian religions exercised over the character of the inhabitants of the island for more than ten centuries. The literary heritage from ancient India is even more apparent than the religious heritage. 3. Throughout the entire Indian period, the Rämäyana and the Mahäbhärata, the Harivamsa, and the Puränas were the principal, if not the only, sources of inspiration for local literature. 4. In all of the Indianized mainland, in Malaysia, and on Java, this epic and legendary literature, to which was added the Buddhist folklore of the Jätakas, still makes up the substance of the classical theater, of the dances, and of the shadow-plays and puppet theater. 5. From one end of Farther India to the other, spectators continue to weep over the misfortunes of Rama and Sitä 6. Virtues of the Bodhisattva have retained their original character in the pantomime performances the positions and the movements of the arms and legs and the gestures of the hands constitute a silent language capable of suggesting a subject, evoking an action, or expressing a sentiment, exactly as in Indian choreography. 7. The influence of Indian law has been no less profound. The dharmaSastras, and especially the most famous of them known as the "laws of Manu," have formed the framework for the ordering of local customs of the Indianized countries. 8. The arthafastras, or political treatises, have also had an influence. They have contributed to the fashioning of the hierarchical administration of the states of Farther India, 9. The administration was dominated by the person of the king, whose conduct was theoretically guided by the precepts of the räjaniti, or "royal conduct." 159 10. Language: Although the Indian colonists undoubtedly spoke Prakrit dialects or Dravidian languages, it was the scholarly language, Sanskrit, that served and still serves to enrich the vocabulary of the native languages with a considerable number of words. 11. Technical terms referring to the material world were also borrowed as were the grammatical particles, which had the important effect of making the native isolating languages more flexible, enabling them to express thoughts natural to the vehicle of flexible languages. 12. The common origin of the Mon, Bur mese, Thai, Khmer, Cham, Javanese, and Balinese systems of writing is still recognizable as coming from Sanskrit. 13. The native languages have not only been enriched and made more flexible by India; they have above all been stabilized, thanks to the use of Indian script. The present work has no other object than to provide the historical and chronological framework of the implantation of Indian culture and its continued transformation on contact with the native societies. We can measure the power of penetration of this culture by the importance of that which remains of it in these countries even though all of them except Siam passed sooner or later under European domination and a great part of the area was converted to Islam. Except on the island of Bali and among some Cham groups, the Indian cults in their old form—Sivaism, Vishnuism, the Theravada Buddhism that used the Sanskrit language, and Mahayana Buddhism—have disappeared, but not without leaving traces. In Phnom Penh and Bangkok, Brahmans of very mixed blood, Brahmans who follow Buddhism but wear chignons and the Brahman thread, officiate at all the great royal ceremonies, the ritual of which is an inheritance from the Indian epoch. But these ceremonies are holdovers that interest only the court and do not affect the general population. The great importance of the civilizing activity of India and Hinduism in that region, said George Coedes in his pathbreaking book- THE INDIANIZED STATES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA, could be neasured by the fact that on the basis of somatological, or physical, characteristics a Cambodian peasant scarcely differs from a Pnong or a Samre. But the Pnongs, like the Mois of Vietnam, have remained in a stage of tribal organization; they settle their differences by means of an oral tradition; they have no religion but a rather crude animism, the elements of which vary from one tribe to the next; their cosmology is rudimentary; they have no system of writing their language. The least advanced Cambodian, on the other hand, is caught up in the wheels of a strongly hierarchical state; he is subject 160 to courts that judge according to a written code; he fervently practices a religion that possesses dogmas, sacred writings, and a clergy and that, at the same time, gives him coherent views of the world. CHAPTER III CAMBODIA- Influence of Hinduism ABSTRACT How did Cambodia become a Hindu country and what motivated the Hindu kings there to build those magnifiscent temples? Read and find out. Introduction: Cambodia also Kampuchea or Royaume du Cambodge as the French called it, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. Today it is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja. This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years, 161 allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region, including the construction of more than 1,000 temples and monuments in the city of Angkor alone. I.Name: The Khmer endonym of Cambodia- Kampuchea derives from the Hindu Sanskrit name कम्िोजदे ि kambojadeśa, composed of दे ि deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्िोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom. This itself alluding to its Hindu Origins. The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524. HINDU Date Name Notes 50/68 AD – 550 AD Funan Empire Nokor Phnom – (alternate name) 550–802 Chenla Empire Division of Land Chenla and Water Chenla in the 8th century AD. 802–1431 Khmer Empire One of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. 1431–1863 Cambodia Middle Period (Chaktomuk era, Longvek era, Oudong era) 1863–1941, 1945–1953 Kingdom of Cambodia (French Protectorate) II. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 41. 300 CBE Chola Empire 42. 100 CBE evidence of contact between India and Cambodia 43. 100AD potteries state merchant contacts between the two 162 44. AD 314-543 Gupta empire 45. 300- 400 AD - Inscriptions in Sanskrit in Pallavagrantha, relate to a Cambodian queen, Kula Prabhavati, who established a temple to Vishnu in the kingdom. 46. 400AD Inscriptions testified to Vedic sacrifices by Brahmans 47. 600 AD onwards, both Sanskrit and Tamil were used in government documents in Khmer. Bilingual inscriptions are seen in Khmer and in Sanskrit 48. 690 AD Jayavarman I of Chenla empire in Cambodia died around 690 49. 790-850 AD Jayavarman II reigned; declares independance from Java 50. 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla 51. 802 Cambodia formed by name Kampuchia 52. 881 AD Bakong built by Indravarman I 53. 900 AD to1400 splendid temples built in Cambodia 54. 900 Ninth Century.The Capital city of Yashodharpur established by Yashodharman I 55. AD 890, King Yashodharman I moved his capital to Angkor, till 1210, 56. Trilogy of temples built d) 889-910 Phnom Bok e) 889- 910 Phnom Krom between f) end of 900 Phnom Bakeng 57. 900ADThe 500 Lords of Ayyavole- Tamil merchants associations that sailed to cambodia 58. 900 AD-1500AD period of temple construction in Cambodia 59. 900 to 1400 successive kings built splendid temples to Siva and Vishnu. 60. 928 Reign of King Isanavarman II 61. 921 to 928 AD. Angkor and Koh Ker, existed simultaneously as 2 capitals 62. AD 921-944 Koh Ker temples 63. 1000 AD. BanteaySrei, temple built by Yagnavaraha, priest to Rajendravarman II 64. 1000 Shaivanism 65. 1002 Maritime conquests of RajendraChola 66. 985- 1014 RajarajaChola reign 67. Rajendra chola1014 son of RajarajaChola reign starts 68. 1025 CE, Rajendra led Chola forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded Srivijaya 69. 1070 – 1122 AD. Kulothunga I Son of RajendraChola In India and Suryavarman II in Cambodia 70. 1000 AD YashovarmanI in Angkor 71. 1025,GangaikondaCholapuram capital of the Chola dynasty during the reign of RajendraChola I, and served as the Chola capital for around 250 years. 72. 1025 Chola Invasion of Sri Vijaya in South Sumtra. Cptured by RajendraChola 73. 1116-1150 timeline for Angkor wat construction 74. 1181-1218AD Yasodharapura a parallel capital set up by King Jayavarman VII 75. 1181-1218AD King Jayavarman VII Angkor being build. 76. 13th to 14th century, some Brahmanas went from Rameswaram to Cambodia 77. 1113 AD to 1145-1150 AD Khmer King Suryavarman II who built Angkor was a descendant of Cholas 78. 1300 ADS monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. 163 79. 1295 Buddhism Official state religion when Indravarman III took power. 80. 1200 Angkor Thom established by King Jayavarman VII To understand the ancient culture and architecture of Cambodia, we must focus on two Indian dynasties-both of which extraordinarily influenced Cambodia. III.The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world's history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE. The Cholas left a lasting legacy. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia- probably even to Cambodia. The market structure and economic policies of the Chola dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, cross-regional market trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty. It is believed that the Cholas went to 164 Cambodia and the Hindu Kingdoms were formed with unions of the cholas and Cambodians. The prolific temple building activity of the Cambodian kings bears heart to exactly similar ones of the Cholas yet the temple architecture is of the Guptas because the Gupta designs and temple building techniques were the best and adopted not only in Chola temples of India but Cambodia. IV.The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire existing from the mid-to-late 3rd century CE to 543 CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 543 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by some historians. The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of North Indian art for all the major religious groups. Although painting was evidently widespread, the surviving works are almost all religious sculpture. The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in Hindu art. The most famous remaining monuments in a broadly Gupta style, the caves at Ajanta, Elephanta and Ellora (respectively Buddhist, Hindu, and mixed including Jain) were in fact produced under later dynasties, but primarily reflect the monumentality and balance of Guptanstyle.The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many of the literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa,Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. V. Earliest Hindu temples of Cambodia resemble both Chola and Gupta architecture. From the 8th century arose granite structures that look like South Indian temples. There is definite evidence of the South Indian style of architecture morphed to the Cambodian surroundings-the Meru system of temple construction. The form, dress and expressions of the deities and figures give the temples a local flavour.The Guptas were Brahmanical by religion with special devotion to Vishnu, but they showed exemplary tolerance for both Buddhism and Jainism. They were the first architects of purposebuilt Hindu temples (but also Buddhist) which evolved from the earlier tradition of rock-cut shrines. Adorned with towers and elaborate carvings, these temples were often dedicated to all the Hindu gods. Unfortunately, relatively few of the large number of Gupta temples built have survived. The Gupta period may be described as ‘classic’ in the sense of the degree of perfection it achieved-something that was never achieved before and has seldom been achieved since-and in the perfect balance and harmony of all elements in style and iconography. Cambodian temples worship Shiva. Puranic Hinduism with its three deities-Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti, as the consort of Shiva- came to the forefront. While Shaivism developed in the south and south-east and Shaktism in eastern India and in some parts of south-west 165 Malabar, Vaishnavism, with its emphasis on Krishna as its main exponent, flourished mostly in the northern and central parts of India. Popular worship was given formal sanction and temples and images dedicated to each of these cults came up everywhere. Krishna worship is not found in the Cambodian culture though Krishna as a God is depicted in the sculptures there. VI. Arrival of Shaivism in Cambodia: Shaivanism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism that venerates Shiva as the Supreme Being. Both devotional and monistic Shaivism became popular in the 1st millennium CE, rapidly becoming the dominant religious tradition of many Hindu kingdoms. It arrived in Southeast Asia shortly thereafter, leading to the construction of thousands of Shaiva temples on the islands of Indonesia as well as Cambodia and Vietnam, co-evolving with Buddhism in these regions. In the contemporary era, Shaivism is one of the major aspects of Hinduism. The followers of Shaivism are called "Shaivites" or "Saivites". It is one of the largest sects that believe Shiva, worshipped as a creator and destroyer of worlds, is the supreme god over all. It considers both the Vedas and the Agama texts as important sources of theology. The origin of Shaivism may be traced to the conception of Rudra in the Rig Veda Virabhadra devotional plaque Shaivism has ancient roots, traceable in the Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE, but this is in the form of the Vedic deity Rudra. The ancient text Shvetashvatara Upanishad dated to late 1st millennium BCE mentions terms such as Rudra, Shiva and Maheshwaram, In the early centuries is the first clear evidence of PāśupataShaivism. Shaivism theology ranges from Shiva being the creator, preserver, and destroyer to being the same as the Atman (self, soul) within oneself and every living being. It is closely related to Shaktism, and some Shaiva worship in Shiva and Shakti temples. It is the Hindu tradition that most accepts ascetic life and emphasizes yoga, and like other Hindu traditions encourages an individual to discover and be one with Shiva within. Shaivism is one of the largest traditions within Hinduism. 166 VII.Ramayana: The original Ramayana arrived to Southeast Asia from South India along with Hinduism, but its retelling there suggests Buddhist influence. The exact time when was Ramayana introduced to Cambodia is unknown, however, the earliest mentioning of the epic dated to 7th century according to a stone inscription at Veal Kantel, StuengTreng. Based on the same inscription, the manuscript of this epic already existed in Cambodia as the inscription mentioned the offering of the epic's manuscript to a temple which expressed its importance in Khmer belief. On the other hand, the surviving text of Reamker dated in 16th century, intricate carvings on the walls of Angkor Wat depict a scene from the Ramayana dating back nearly a millennium. Statues of the poem's heroes were worshiped in temple sanctuaries, akin to the wall paintings at Cambodia's Royal Palace and Wat Bo. The Ramayana has been an important epic in India for at least two thousand years, and Reamker is its Khmer adaptation. The Cambodian version includes incidents and details not found in the Sanskrit original written by the poet Valmiki. An example of a story that does not appear in Indian texts and performance is that of the encounter between Hanuman, the monkey general, and SovannaMaccha, the mermaid, a favorite of Cambodian audiences. 167 Viii.Reamker is a Cambodian epic poem, based on the Sanskrit's Ramayana epic. The name means "Glory of Rama". The earliest mention of this epic's manuscript in Cambodia dated back in 7th century based on Veal Kantel inscription (K.359). While, the surviving text of Reamker dates from 16th century. Reamker adapts the Hindu ideas to Buddhist themes and shows the balance of good and evil in the world. More than just a reordering of the epic tale, the Reamker is a mainstay of the royal ballet's repertoire. Like the Ramayana, it is a philosophical allegory, exploring the ideals of justice and fidelity as embodied by the protagonists, King Rama and Queen Sita. The epic is well known among the Khmer people for its portrayal in Khmer dance theatre, called the L'khaon, in various festivals across Cambodia. Scenes from the Reamker are painted on the walls of the Royal Palace in Khmer style, and its predecessor is carved into the walls of the Angkor Wat and BanteaySrei temples. It is considered an integral part of Cambodian culture. The Reamker differs from the original Ramayana in some ways, featuring additional scenes and emphasis on Hanuman and SovannaMaccha. In the Reamker, issues of trust, loyalty, love, and revenge play out in dramatic encounters among princes and giants, monkeys and mermaids, and a forlorn princess. Though it is understood that Preah Ream is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, his characteristics and those of the others in the story are interpreted in Cambodia as those of mere mortals, not of the gods as is the case in India. The complex interplay of strengths and weaknesses, though couched in episodes lined with magic, nonetheless represents a decidedly human social behavior. As in other Southeast Asian countries, the Rama story in Cambodia is not confined to the realm of literature but extends to all Cambodian art forms, from sculpture to dance drama, painting and art. Another epic, Lpoek Angkor Vat (“The Story of Angkor Wat”), which dates from the beginning of the 17th century, celebrates the magnificent temple complex at Angkor and describes the bas-reliefs in the temple galleries that portray the Rama story. IX. Tamil rule of the Cholas: Their maritime conquests meant that the Cholas exacted tribute from Thailand and later on the Khmer kingdom of Cambodia as is explained below. It is now known that Cholas did not rule the areas they conquered directly, but installed vassals and collected tributes. This continued for the next 150 or so years. (3rd century BCE onwards). At the time, Sri Vijaya was a mightly empire controlling the Strait of Malacca who began monopolizing the trade route which Cholas had taken and caused impediments in the path of the Chola vessels. During the rule of Raja RajendraChola, relationship with Sri Vijaya deteriorated. Sri vijaya battled with RajendraChola but was 168 defeated and RajendraChola went on to put out successful expedition to conquer parts of what today is Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, some parts of Cambodia and Vietnam. This earned RajendraChola the title ‘Gadaramvendran (one who conquered Gadaram)’ and also made all the kings his vassals. Like most other far off expeditions vassals were duly appointed to collect revenue from conquered territories. It was during the reign of RajendraChola’s son - Kulothunga I, that Suryavarman II ascended the throne in Cambodia( AD 1113) . He too maintained friendly and trade relations with the Cholas. The Southeast Asia was abundant with Tamils reining control in trade and polity by and large. Though all the kingdoms were Saivists (followed God Shiva), the Khmer king Suryavarman II however, followed Vishnu but there is some ambiguity about this. X. Chola Conquests: Like all temples in South India, Angkor Wat also was built to function as a garrison. The temples of South India that stand today and which are from the Chola dynasties are all built like a city in themselves. They provided shelter and protection for the people during emergencies like war or calamities. That is the reason they have layered defence structures (wall inside wall inside wall with water and other obstacles in between) similar to forts. The architecture of Angkor Wat is therefore heavily influenced by and resembles the South Indian Temple architecture. However, Angkor Wat was built as a city in itself to celebrate the victory of Suryavarman II over the expeditions. This is also characteristic of the Chola Empire. Rajendrachola II built GangaikondaCholapuram to celebrate his victory over the Ganges country. Angkor Wat It is a fusion of Chola and Khmer architecture. Srivijaya was a kingdom centered on Palembang in Sumatra, ruled by the Sailendra dynasty. Khmer was ruled by Emperor Suryavarman I who desired a war on the kingdom of Tambralinga (in the Malay Peninsula). Suryavarman I requested aid from RajendraChola who had now assumed power of the chola dynasty. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with RajendraChola, Tambralinga requested aid from Srivijaya. This eventually led to the Chola expedition against the Srivijiya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had a religious nuance, since both the Chola Empire and the Khmer Empire were Hindu Shivaist, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya were Mahayana Buddhist. 169 In 1025 CE, Rajendra led Chola forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded Srivijaya, attacking several places in Malaysia and Indonesia. The Chola sacked Kadaram (the capital) and Pannai in Sumatra and Malaiyur in the Malay Peninsula. Rajendra also invaded Tambralinga and the Langkasuka Kingdom in modern Malaysia and south Thailand. The Chola forces captured the last ruler of the Sailendra Dynasty SangramaVijayatunggavarman bringing an end to Srivijaya conquering large portions of Srivijaya, including its ports of Ligor, Kedah, and Tumasik (now Singapore).This is how Cholas entered Cambodia. 170 XI. Tamil Merchant associations: For the next century, Tamil trading companies from southern India dominated Southeast Asia. The Chola invasion had furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam. Manigiramam, or manigramam, typically referred to a medieval merchant guild, organised by itinerant ethnic Indian traders, primarily active in south India. Along with the ainurruvar (the Ayyavole Five Hundred) and the anjuvannam (the anjuman), the manigiramam played a major role in the commercial activities of the region. Unlike the anjuvannam which was confined to the port-towns of south India, the manigramam is found both in the port-towns and in the hinter-land trade centres. Establishing trade contacts with merchants of the Khmer, these associations and representatives are said to have made extensive contacts into Southeast Asia.( See Further on) XII. The Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole were a merchant guild from Aihole in now Tamilnadu that provided trade links between trading communities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They have been mentioned in inscriptions from the 9th century. Aihole was formerly a major city of the Chalukyas of Badami and a place with many temples and brahmans, some of whom seem to have become involved in the trading activities of the Five Hundred. But most of the Ayyavolu Lords were merchants, especially those engaged in long-distance trade. They became more powerful under the Cholas. They were protectors of the Veera-Banaju-Dharma, that is, law of the heroic or noble merchants. The Bull, the symbol of the Saivaites was their symbol which they displayed on their flag; and they had a reputation for being daring and enterprising.t would seem that when the Ayyavole-500 guild became a big overreaching guild of Southern India, most of the existing indigenous and local trade guilds became associated with it. Due to the various Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia and the support provided by the Cholas to the Ayyavole guild, the Ayyavole guild emerged as a maritime power and continued to flourish in the kingdom of SriVijaya (a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia). This is well documented in an inscription of the Ayyavole guild of the year 1088 AD found in Barus of West Sumatra, Indonesia. South Indian merchants were also active in Burma and the Thai peninsula. XIII. Contact with India: There is reason to believe that there was contact between the Hindu Kingdoms of “India” and Cambodia from the 1st century BCE. Chinese travellers who came to Cambodia then, found a significant colony of Brahmins there. From Cauvery and the Krishna, people sailed along the coast to the Gulf of Thailand and landed in the country. 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. 171 Some of the interesting inscriptions pertain to Kaundinya a Brahmin who went to Cambodia and married the ruling princess; their progeny became the rulers later. Whether it is history or legend we do not know. In Tamil Nadu, Kaundinya was known as “Chozhiyan” (from the Chola Nadu) during the Sangam period. Kaundinya belonged to a family of Vedic scholars and was a staunch Saivite. Saivism, Buddhism and Vaishnavism integrated in Cambodia and a composite culture came to be: Saiva-Vaishnavite-Buddhism. XIV. Hindu Temple Construction: From the ninth to the 14th centuries, successive kings built splendid temples to Siva and Vishnu. BanteaySrei, 20 km from Bayon was built in the 10th century by Yagnavaraha, priest and counsellor to Rajendravarman II. The emaciated figure of KaraikalAmmaiyar in one of the carved panels of the temple shows its strong Tamil influence. The earliest inscriptions in Cambodia are from 3rd and 4th century AD -are in Sanskrit in Pallavagrantha. The earliest written inscriptions relate to a Cambodian queen, Kula Prabhavati, who established a temple to Vishnu in the kingdom. The maximum number of Sanskrit inscriptions is to be seen in Cambodia rather than in India. Siva lingapratishta is seen in almost every village. A 500-year old inscription shows how the same astronomical calculation practised in India was also practised in the Khmer empire. In Khmer, Ramayana and the Mahabharata chapters were recited daily in the temples. a. Sanskrit and Tamil: In the literary sphere, the works of Kalidasa, Bhairavi, Patanjali, and the NatyaSastra 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. b. Dharmashastra: The architecture, sculpture, grammar, literature and lifestyles of Cambodia were controlled by the Dharmasastra (Manu dharma). The iconography too was influenced by Hindu culture. The kings were called Rajendravarman, Jayavarman, Indravarman — Varman is traditionally Sanskrit. c. VastuSastra and astronomy were followed in the Khmer kingdom. And just as in the Big Temple in Thanjavur, hundreds of dancers were dedicated to the temples in the Khmer empire.After the 14th century, however, the land turned to Buddhism owing to the influence of Sri Lanka. Somewhere around the 13th to 14th century, some Brahmanas went from Rameswaram to Cambodia. They took the Thevaram, 172 DivyaPrabhandam and Pooja Vedas from here to Cambodia -some people say that they came from Chidambaram. In Cambodia there are still such priests. Our connection with South East Asia is documented from the third century BCE, the time of Emperor Ashoka. He sent his Buddhist emissaries to Thailand and also to Cambodia, which had by then become a great power. 3 d. Hindu Influences: For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from what was Hindu Kingdoms of the now India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. It is said that Khmer King Suryavarman II who built Angkor was a descendant of Cholas, the rulers of Tamil Nadu hence the similarities of Angkor temples with temples of Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu buttressing the migration of architectural trends from” India” to Cambodia. During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the states of Funan had become principally Hindu. This State and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. Little else is known for certain of these polities. Some Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java. XV. The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself 173 a Devaraja- Sanskrit word for GODLY KING. He and his followers instituted the cult of the Godking and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power. XVI. The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres (1,151 square miles). The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.The Khmer temples, also known as the Khmer monuments, were constructed by the Khmer people between the 9th and 15th centuries AD. These temples are distributed throughout Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The center of the Khmer Empire was located around Siem Reap, close to the northern coast of the Tonle Sap Lake. The Khmer monuments around Siem Reap are called the Angkor monuments. Koh Ker, one of the provincial cities of the Khmer Empire, was located approximately 85 km northeast of the Angkor monuments, along the north east royal road continuing on to WatPhu. The temples in the Koh Ker monuments were constructed between 921 and 944 AD, when the capital was moved from the Angkor area to the Koh Ker area. During this time, Koh Ker was under the reign of Jayavarman IV, while the Angkor area was under the reign of Isanavarman II until 928 AD. The two capitals, Angkor and Koh Ker, existed simultaneously from 921 to 928 AD. 174 XII. Yasodharapuraयिोधरपरु in Sanskrit, also known as Angkor was the second capital of the Khmer Empire, established by King Yasovarman I in the late 9th century and centred on the temple of Phnom Bakheng. Yasodharapura was referred to in the inscriptions as Phnom Kandal (Central Mountain). Phnom Bakheng ( See Later) was a Hindu Temple- one of a trinity of temples constructed just before the foundation of Yasodharapura due to Yasovarman's belief that the mountain was among the holiest of places to worship the Hindu deities. Yashodharapura was linked to an earlier capital, Hariharalaya, by a causeway. The urban complex included the Yashodharatataka. The succeeding capitals -Angkor Thom, built in the same area were called Yasodharapura by King Jayavarman VII (1181-1218AD). The city of Angkor (ancient name: Yasodharapura) was the royal capital from which Khmer kings ruled one of the largest and most sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia. From 890, when King Yasovarman I moved his capital to Angkor, until about 1210, the kings of Angkor controlled an area that extended from the southern tip of the Indochina peninsula northward to Yunnan and from Vietnam westwards as far as the Bay of Bengal. During this era, these kings implemented a series of massive construction projects designed to glorify both themselves and their dynastic capital. After the death of King Jayavarman VII (1181-1215), the Angkor Empire went into decline, although as late as 1280 Angkor was still a thriving metropolis and one of the most magnificent cities in Asia. However, the great construction boom was over, Angkor Wat had been turned into a Buddhist shrine, 175 and Thai armies were watching. In 1431 they sacked the city which was then abandoned. From the early 15th century to the late 19th century, interest in Angkor was limited almost entirely to the Angkor Wat temple complex which, having been maintained by Buddhist monks. XIII. Temples of Cambodia Royal arms of Cambodia with the 2 Lions called Gajaraja which is Sanskrit for Lion King( on Right) Flag is left showing Angkor Wat temple XiV. Religion The main religion of Cambodia was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism later on. Initially the kingdom revered Hinduism as the main state religion. Vishnu and Shiva were the most revered deities, worshipped in Khmer Hindu temples. Temples such as Angkor Wat are actually known as PreahPisnulok (VaraVishnuloka in Sanskrit) or the realm of Vishnu, to honour the posthumous King Suryavarman II as Vishnu. Hindu ceremonies and rituals performed by Brahmins (Hindu priests), usually only held among ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. The civilizations of 176 Southeast Asia developed forms of Hinduism and Buddhism that incorporated distinctive local features and in other respects reflected local cultures, but the framework of their religious life, at least in the upper classes, was largely Indian. Stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata became widely known in Southeast Asia and are still popular there in local versions. In Indonesia the people of Bali still follow a form of Hinduism adapted to their own genere. Versions of the Manu-smriti were taken to Southeast Asia and were translated and adapted to indigenous cultures until they lost most of their original content. As early as the 5th century, Kulaprabhavati, a Cambodian queen, endowed a Vishnu temple in her realm.4 XV. How Hinduism reached Cambodia: Is still a mystery with scholarly disagreements. But the fact is that Hinduism reached Far East the same way that Buddhism followed Hinduism- by Conversion of people not so firmly entranched in their own concepts of religiosity. Indian merchants of the Chola kingdoms may have settled there, bringing Brahmans and Buddhist monks with them. These religious men were patronized by rulers who converted to Hinduism or Buddhism. The earliest material evidence of Hinduism in Southeast Asia comes from Borneo, where late 4th-century Sanskrit inscriptions testify to the performance of Vedic sacrifices by Brahmans at the behest of local chiefs. Chinese chronicles attest an Indianised kingdom in Vietnam two centuries earlier. The dominant form of Hinduism exported to Southeast Asia was Shaivism, though some Vaishnavism was also known there. Later, from the 9th century onward, Tantrism, both Hindu and Buddhist, spread throughout the region. Beginning in the first half of the 1st millennium CE, many of the early kingdoms in Southeast Asia adopted and adapted specific Hindu texts, theologies, rituals, architectural styles, and forms of social organization that suited their historical and social conditions. The history of Angkor Wat dates back to the kingdom of Funan. This kingdom was established by an Indian Brahmin, and in AD 200, the country was peacefully settled by Indian traders. Four hundred years later, the kingdom had become a prosperous trading region. As the area was located on the Pilgrim rout between China and India, Hinduism and Chinese Buddhism was adopted by the new settlers. The Indian and Chinese influence can still be felt in Cambodia, and the temples of Angkor Wat closely resembles Hindu and Buddhist temples that can be found in Northern India and in Nepal. In the end of AD600, the Funan Empire lost much of its power to the kingdom of Chenla. The capital of this new empire, Sambor, was located 177 about 40 miles to the Southeast of Angkor. During this time, beautiful sculptures and carvings in sandstone was popular. In AD750, a king with a reputation of being a war-like person, who was able to expand the Chenla kingdom. However, trade with India stopped, and the Indonesian Empire rose to power. XVI. Power and prestige of Hindu traditions in the region: Hindu and Buddhist traders, priests, and, occasionally, princes travelled to Southeast Asia from India in the first few centuries of the Common Era and eventually settled there. Enormous temples to Shiva and Vishnu were built in the ancient Khmer empire, attesting to the power and prestige of Hindu traditions in the region. Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century in what is now Cambodia, was originally consecrated to Vishnu, although it was soon converted to (and is still in use as) a Buddhist temple. One of the largest Hindu temples ever built, it contains the largest bas-relief in the world, depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, a minor theme of Indian architecture but one of the dominant narratives in Khmer temples. Southeast Asia is full of Hindu temples and iconography as well as Sanskrit inscriptions, the nature and extent of Hindu influence upon the civilizations of the region can be debated but it definitely stands out to scholarship. XVII. Divinity and Royalty of the monarch: Classical Khmer kings promoted the idea (known as "devaraja") that there was an intersection of the ruling king and a validating god. Usually the Hindu god chosen for this personal identification was Siva, but sometimes it was Vishnu, or, for some, a godly image of Buddhist origins. Khmer temples thus often portray the ruling king incarnated as the god, whose shrines are within a monument on earth that models the design of the cosmos and heavens. The faces depicted on the Bayon temple towers (see below) clearly resemble faces on known portrait statues of Jayavarman VII. Given his Buddhist leanings, it is thought that the huge faces portray him in semidivine form as a "boddhisattva," an enlightened being conceived in Mahayana Buddhism who postpones entering Nirvana in order to remain on earth helping others towards salvation Angkor temples modelled on traditional Indian cosmology, were built in order to provide a means whereby Khmer kings could be assured of immortality by becoming closely identified with Shaiva or one of the other important deities of the realm. Angkor Wat, for instance, was built by King Suryavarman II as a huge funerary temple and tomb to serve as a home for his earthly remains and to confirm his immortal and eternal identitification with Vishnu. Interestingly, claims of early Hindu 178 contacts farther east are more doubtful. There is little evidence of direct influence of Hinduism on China or Japan, which were primarily affected by Buddhism. Boddhisattvas are somewhat like Mahayana Buddhist saints. According to Charles Higham, "A temple was built for the worship of the ruler, whose essence, if a Saivite, was embodied in a linga housed in the central sanctuary which served as a temple-mausoleum for the ruler after his death...these central temples also contained shrines dedicated to the royal ancestors and thus became centers of ancestor worship.”5 XVIII. Why build Hindu temples? The building of Hindutemples by Khmer kings was a means of legitimizing their claim to political office and also to lay claim to the protection and powers of the gods. Hindu temples are not a place for religious congregation; instead; they are homes of the god. In order for a king to lay claim to his political office he had proved that the gods did not support his predecessors or his enemies. To this end, the king had to build the grandest temple/palace for the gods, one that proved to be more lavish than any previous temples. In doing so, the king could make visible his ability to harness the energy and resources to construct the temple, and assert that his temple was the only place that a god would consider residing in on earth. 179 However, there are around 4000 temples in Cambodia, all Hindu when they were first built-later converted to Buddhism-out of which most of them are located at Siem Reap, Battambang, PreahVihar, and Kampong Thom. The 72 major and several hundred additional temples spread over 500 acres of land known as Angkor Wat were discovered by French missionaries in 1860, and have typical Hindu Architectural designs. We use the word HINDU because at the time they were built, there was no India.Cambodian architecture is very diverse in style, design and features. This very diversity illustrates that Hindu temple architecture was in its formative stage and was yet to arrive at the standardised situation of later centuries. Nevertheless, the influence of Gupta-era buildings on later Cambodian temple architecture is indisputable and continued right through to the medieval period. The Khmer empire produced numerous temples and majestic monuments to celebrate the divine authority of Khmer kings. Khmer architecture reflects the Hindu belief that the temple was built to recreate the abode of Hindu gods, Mount Meru, with its five peaks and surrounded by seas represented by ponds and moats. The early Khmer temples built in the Angkor region and the Bakong temple in Hariharalaya (Roluos) employed stepped pyramid structures to represent the sacred templemountain. 180 CHAPTER IV The Untold Legacy of Rajendra Chola I The region of Tamil Nadu or Tamilakam, in the southeast of modern India, shows evidence of having had continuous human habitation from 15,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. Throughout its history, spanning the early Upper Paleolithic age to modern times, this region has coexisted with various external cultures. The three ancient Tamil dynasties namely Chera, Chola, and Pandya were of ancient origins. Together they ruled over this land with a unique culture and language, contributing to the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in the world. These three dynasties were in constant struggle with each other vying for hegemony over the land. Invasion by the Kalabhras during the 3rd century disturbed the traditional order of the land, displacing the three ruling kingdoms. These occupiers were overthrown by the resurgence of the Pandyas and the Pallavas, who restored the traditional kingdoms. The Cholas who re-emerged from obscurity in the 9th century by defeating the Pallavas and the Pandyas rose to become a great power and extended their empire over the entire southern peninsula.] At its height the Chola empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km² (1,389,968 sq mi) straddling the Bay of Bengal.The Chola navy held sway over the Sri Vijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia. ( See Chapter II ) Rapid changes in the political situation of the rest of India occurred due to incursions of Muslim armies from the northwest and the decline of the three ancient dynasties during the 14th century, the Tamil country became part of the Vijayanagara 181 Empire. Under this empire, the Telugu speaking Nayak governors ruled before the European trading companies appeared during the 17th century eventually assuming greater sway over the indigenous rulers of the land. The Madras Presidency, comprising most of southern India, was created in the 18th century and was ruled directly by the British. After the independence of India, after the Telugu and Malayalam parts of Madras state were separated from Tamilakam state in 1956, it was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969 by the state government. Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called Vendhar and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir. Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar. During the 3rd century BCE, the Deccan was part of the Maurya Empire, and from the middle of the 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE the same area was ruled by the Satavahana dynasty. The Tamil area had an independent existence outside the control of these northern empires. The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over the property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. Tamil literature Tolkappiyam sheds some light on early religion. Gradually the rulers came under the influence of Vedic beliefs, which encouraged performance of sacrifices to enhance the status of the ruler. Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika co-existed with early Shaivite, Vaishnavism and Shaktism during the first five centuries. The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras, are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him. The king of Kalinga, Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, mentioned in the famous Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years. Karikala Chola was the most famous early Chola. He is mentioned in a number of poems in the Sangam poetry. In later times Karikala was the subject of many legends found in the Cilappatikaram and in inscriptions and literary works of the 11th and 12th centuries. They attribute to him the conquest of the whole of India up to the Himalayas and the construction of the flood banks of the river Kaveri with the aid of his feudatories. These legends, however, are conspicuous by their absence in the Sangam poetry. Kocengannan was another famous early Chola king who has been extolled in a number of poems of the Sangam period. He was even made a Saiva saint during the medieval period. 182 Pandyas ruled initially from Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai. Pandyas are also mentioned in Sangam Literature, as well as by Greek and Roman sources during this period. Megasthenes in his Indika mentions the Pandyan kingdom.[30] The Pandyas controlled the present districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, and parts of south Kerala. They had trading contacts with Greece and Rome. With the other kingdoms of Tamilakam, they maintained trading contacts and marital relationships with Tamil merchants from Eelam. Various Pandya kings find mention in a number of poems in the Sangam literature. Among them, Nedunjeliyan, 'the victor of Talaiyalanganam' deserves a special mention. Besides several short poems found in the Akananuru and the Purananuru collections, there are two major works—Mathuraikkanci and the Netunalvatai (in the collection of Pattupattu) that give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandyan kingdom during the Sangam age. The early Pandyas went into obscurity at the end of the 3rd century CE during the incursion of the Kalabhras. The kingdom of the Cheras comprised the modern Western Tamil Nadu and Kerala, along the western or Malabar Coast of southern India. Their proximity to the sea favoured trade with Africa. Chera rulers dated to the first few centuries AD. It records the names of the kings, the princes, and the court poets who extolled them. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present, a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the rulers referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Silapathikaram. These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in Tamil. The classical Tamil literature, referred to as Sangam literature is attributed to the period between 500 BCE and 300 CE. The poems of Sangam literature, which deal with emotional and material topics, were categorised and collected into various anthologies during the medieval period. These Sangam poems paint the picture of a fertile land and of a people who were organised into various occupational groups. The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies, although the sphere of the state's activities and the extent of the ruler's powers were limited through the adherence to the established order (dharma). The people were loyal to their kings and roving bards and musicians and danseuse gathered at the royal courts of the generous kings. The arts of music and dancing were highly developed and popular. Musical instruments of various types find mention in the Sangam poems. The 183 amalgamation of the southern and the northern styles of dancing started during this period and is reflected fully in the epic Cilappatikaram. Internal and external trade was well organised and active. Evidence from both archaeology and literature speaks of a flourishing foreign trade with the Yavanas (Greeks). The port city of Puhar on the east coast and Muziris on the west coast of south India were emporia of foreign trade, where huge ships moored, offloading precious merchandise.[39] This trade started to decline after the 2nd century CE and the direct contact between the Roman empire and the ancient Tamil country was replaced by trade with the Arabs and the Auxumites of East Africa. Internal trade was also brisk and goods were sold and bartered. Agriculture was the main profession of a vast majority of the populace. Dark Age: After the close of the Sangam era, from about 300 to about 600 CE, there is an almost total lack of information regarding occurrences in the Tamil land. Some time about 300 CE, the whole region was upset by the appearance of the Kalabhras. These people are described in later literature as 'evil rulers' who overthrew the established Tamil kings and got a stranglehold of the country. information about their origin and details about their reign is scarce. They did not leave many artifacts or monuments. The only source of information on them is the scattered mentions in Buddhist and Jain literature. Historians speculate that these people followed Buddhist or Jain faiths and were antagonistic towards the Hindu religions (viz. the Astika schools) adhered by the majority of inhabitants of the Tamil region during the early centuries CE . As a result, Hindu scholars and authors who followed their decline in the 7th and 8th century may have expunged any mention of them in their texts and generally tended to paint their rule in a negative light. It is perhaps due to this reason, the period of their rule is known as a 'Dark Age'—an interregnum. Some of the ruling families migrated northwards and found enclaves for themselves away from the Kalabhras. Jainism and Buddhism, took deep roots in the society, giving birth to a large body of ethical poetry. Writing became very widespread and vatteluttu evolved from the Tamil-Brahmi became a mature script for writing Tamil. While several anthologies were compiled by collecting bardic poems of earlier centuries, some of the epic poems such as the Cilappatikaram and didactic works such as the Tirukkural were also written during this period.[46] The patronage of the Jain and Buddhist scholars by the Kalabhra kings influenced the nature of the literature of the period, and most of the works that can be attributed to this period were written by the Jain and Buddhist authors. In the field of dance and music, the elite started patronising new polished styles, partly influenced by northern ideas, in the place 184 of the folk styles. A few of the earliest rock-cut temples belong to this period. Brick temples (known as kottam, devakulam, and palli) dedicated to various deities are referred to in literary works. Kalabhras were displaced around the 7th century by the revival of Pallava and Pandya power. Even with the exit of the Kalabhras, the Jain and Buddhist influence still remained in Tamil Nadu. The early Pandya and the Pallava kings were followers of these faiths. The Hindu reaction to this apparent decline of their religion was growing and reached its peak during the later part of the 7th century. There was a widespread Hindu revival during which a huge body of Saiva and Vaishnava literature was created. Many Saiva Nayanmars and Vaishnava Alvars provided a great stimulus to the growth of popular devotional literature. Karaikkal Ammaiyar who lived in the 6th century CE was the earliest of these Nayanmars. The celebrated Sambanthar and Thirunavukkarasar were of Saiva this period. hymnists Sundaramurthi, Thirugnana Vaishnava Alvars such as Poigai Alvar, Bhoothathalvar and Peyalvar produced devotional hymns for their faith and their songs were collected later into the four thousand poems of Naalayira Divyap Prabhandham. Age of Empires 600-1300 BC: The medieval period of the history of the Tamil country saw the rise and fall of many kingdoms, some of whom went on to the extent of empires, exerting influences both in India and overseas. The Cholas who were very active during the Sangam age were entirely absent during the first few centuries. The period started with the rivalry between the Pandyas and the Pallavas, which in turn caused the revival of the Cholas. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power. Their decline saw the brief resurgence of the Pandyas. This period was also that of the re-invigorated Hinduism during which temple building and religious literature were at their best. The Hindu sects Saivism and Vaishnavism became dominant, replacing the prevalence of Jainism and Buddhism of the previous era. Saivism was patronised more by the Chola kings and became more or less a state religion. Some of the earliest temples that are still standing were built during this period by the Pallavas. The rock-cut temples in Mamallapuram and the majestic Kailasanatha and Vaikuntaperumal temples of Kanchipuram stand testament to the Pallava art. The Cholas, utilising their prodigious wealth earned through their extensive conquests, built long-lasting stone temples including the great Brihadisvara temple of Thanjavur and exquisite bronze sculptures. Temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu received liberal donations of money, jewels, animals, and land, and thereby became powerful economic institutions. Tamil script replaced the vatteluttu script throughout Tamil Nadu for writing Tamil. Religious literature flourished during the period. The Tamil epic, Kamban's Ramavatharam, was written in the 13th century. A contemporary of Kamban was the famous poet Auvaiyar who found great happiness in writing for young 185 children. The secular literature was mostly court poetry devoted to the eulogy of the rulers. The religious poems of the previous period and the classical literature of the Sangam period were collected and systematised into several anthologies. Sanskrit was patronised by the priestly groups for religious rituals and other ceremonial purposes. Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a contemporary of Rajaraja Chola I, collected and arranged the books on Saivism into eleven books called Tirumurais. The hagiology of Saivism was standardised in Periyapuranam by Sekkilar, who lived during the reign of Kulothunga Chola II (1133–1150 CE). Jayamkondar's Kalingattupparani, a semi-historical account on the two invasions of Kalinga by Kulothunga Chola I was an early example of a biographical work. Pallavas, The 7th century Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallavas. The Pandyas between (560–590) and around 850 came the Cholas Pandyan Empire They rose out of obscurity rose Vijayalaya, made use of an opportunity arising out of a conflict between Pandyas and Pallavas, captured Thanjavur from Mutharaiyar dynasty and eventually established the imperial line of the medieval Cholas. Vijayalaya revived the Chola dynasty and his son Aditya I helped establish their independence. He invaded Pallava kingdom in 903 and killed the Pallava king Aparajita in battle, ending the Pallava reign. The Chola kingdom under Parantaka I expanded to cover the entire Pandya country. However, towards the end of his reign, he suffered several reverses by the Rashtrakutas who had extended their territories well into the Chola kingdom. The Cholas went into a temporary decline during the next few years due to weak kings, palace intrigues and succession disputes. Despite a number of attempts, the Pandya country could not be completely subdued and the Rashtrakutas were still a powerful enemy in the north. However, the Chola revival began with the accession of Rajaraja Chola I in 985. Cholas rose as a notable military, economic and cultural power in Asia under Rajaraja and his son Rajendra Chola I. The Chola territories stretched from the islands of Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the river Ganges in Bengal. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of Sri Lanka and occupied the islands 186 of Maldives. Rajendra Chola extended the Chola conquests to the Malayan archipelago by defeating the Srivijaya kingdom.[65] He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bihar and Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram (the town of Cholas who conquered the Ganges). At its peak, the Chola Empire extended from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari basin in the north. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty. Chola navies invaded and conquered Srivijaya in the Malayan archipelago. Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer kingdom of Cambodia. During the reign of Rajaraja and Rajendra, the administration of the Chola empire matured considerably. The empire was divided into a number of self-governing local government units, and the officials were selected through a system of popular elections. Brihadishwara Temple Throughout this period, the Cholas were constantly troubled by the ever-resilient Sinhalas trying to overthrow the Chola occupation of Lanka, Pandya princes trying to win independence for their traditional territories, and by the growing ambitions of the Chalukyas in the western Deccan. The history of this period was one of constant warfare between the Cholas and of these antagonists. A balance of power existed between the Chalukyas and the Cholas and there was a tacit acceptance of the Tungabhadra river as the boundary between the two empires. However, the bone of contention between these two powers was the growing Chola influence in the Vengi kingdom. The Cholas and Chalukyas fought many battles and both kingdoms were exhausted by the endless battles and a stalemate existed. 187 Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukya kings based around Vengi located on the south banks of the river Godavari began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Virarajendra Chola's son Athirajendra Chola was assassinated in a civil disturbance in 1070 and Kulothunga Chola I ascended the Chola throne starting the Chalukya Chola dynasty. Kulothunga was a son of the Vengi king Rajaraja Narendra. The Chalukya Chola dynasty saw very capable rulers in Kulothunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola, however, the eventual decline of the Chola power practically started during this period. The Cholas lost control of the island of Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power.[69] Around 1118 they also lost the control of Vengi to Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI and Gangavadi (southern Mysore districts) to the growing power of Hoysala Vishnuvardhana, a Chalukya feudatory. In the Pandya territories, the lack of a controlling central administration caused a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. During the last century of the Chola existence, a permanent Hoysala army was stationed in Kanchipuram to protect them from the growing influence of the Pandyas. Rajendra Chola III was the last Chola king. The Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I even captured Rajendra and held him prisoner. At the close of Rajendra's reign (1279), the Pandyan empire was at the height of prosperity and had completely absorbed the Chola kingdom.[70] The Cholas also found a place in the very famous novel by Kalki title Ponniyin Selvan which portrays the whole Chola history with Rajaraja Cholan ( Ponniyin Selvan, Arul Mozhi Varman, Vallavarayan Vanthiyaththevan, Karikalar, Nandhini, Kundhavi) as the characters of the novel. The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world's history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire (Ashoka Major Rock Edict No.13). As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. Despite these ancient origins, the period when it is appropriate to speak of a "Chola Empire" only begins with the medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. Vijayalaya 848–891(?) Aditya I 891–907 Parantaka I 907–950 188 Gandaraditya 950–957 Arinjaya 956–957 Sundara (Parantaka II) 957–970 Aditya II (co-regent) Uttama 970–985 Rajaraja I 985–1014 Rajendra I 1012–1044 Rajadhiraja 1044–1054 Rajendra II 1054–1063 Virarajendra 1063–1070 Athirajendra 1070–1070 Later Cholas Kulothunga I 1070–1120 Vikrama 1118–1135 Kulothunga II 1133–1150 Rajaraja II 1146–1173 Rajadhiraja II 1166–1178 Kulothunga III 1178–1218 Rajaraja III 1216–1256 Rajendra III 1246–1279 Related dynasties 189 Telugu Cholas of Andhra Chodagangas of Kalinga Nidugal Cholas of Karnataka Rajahnate of Cebu Chola Empire The genealogy of the Chola empire as found in the Tamil literature and in the many inscriptions left by the later Chola kings contains a number of kings recorded for whom there is no verifiable historic evidence. There are as many versions of this lineage as there are sources for them. The main source is the Sangam literature – particularly, religious literature such as Periapuranam, semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period such as the temple and cave inscription and left by medieval Cholas. Irrespective of the source, no list of the kings has a high level of historic fact and, while they generally are similar to each other, no two lists are exactly the same. Modern historians[who?] consider these lists not as historically reliable sources but as comprehensive conglomerations of various Hindu deities and Puranic characters attributed to local chieftains and invented ancestry of dynasty attempting to reestablish their legitimacy and supremacy in a land they were trying to conquer. Prehistorical Cholas A number of typical hero and demi-gods found their place in the ancestry claimed by the later Cholas in the long typical genealogies incorporated into the copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest version of this is found in the kilbil Plates which gives fifteen names before Chola including the genuinely historical ones of Karikala, Perunarkilli and Kocengannan. The Thiruvalangadu Plate swells this list to forty-four, and the Kanya Plate runs up to fifty-two. The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the sun. These myths speak of a Chola king, supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kavery into existence. There is also the story of the king Manu Needhi Cholan who sentenced his son to death for having accidentally killed a calf. He was called thus because he followed the rules of Manu; his real name is not mentioned and is thought to be Ellalan according to Maha vamsam who was also attributed with a similar story. King Shivi who rescued a dove from a hunter by giving his own flesh to the hungry and poor hunter was also part of the early Chola legends. King Shivi was also called Sembiyan, a popular title assumed by a number of Chola kings. Cholas of the Sangam period 190 The early Chola kings of the Sangam period and the life of people contributed much to the cultural wealth of the Tamil country. The Sangam literature is full of legends about the mythical Chola kings. The dates of accession are approximate interpolation of the Chronological standpoints in Tamil history.                                              Eri Oliyan Vaendhi C. 3020 BCE Maandhuvaazhi C. 2980 BCE El Mei Nannan C. 2945 BCE Keezhai Kinjuvan C. 2995 BCE Vazhisai Nannan C. 2865 BCE Mei Kiyagusi Aerru C. 2820 BCE Aai Kuzhi Agusi Aerru C. 2810 BCE Thizhagan Maandhi C. 2800 BCE Maandhi Vaelan C. 2770 BCE Aai Adumban C. 2725 BCE Aai Nedun jaet chozha thagaiyan C. 2710 BCE El Mei Agguvan a.k.a. Keezh nedu mannan C. 2680 BCE Mudiko Mei Kaalaiyam Thagaiyan C. 2650 BCE Ilangok keezh kaalaiyan thagaiyan a.k.a. Ilangeezh nannan C. 2645 BCE -start of Kadamba lineage by his brother Aai Keezh Nannan Kaalaiyan gudingyan C. 2630 BCE Nedun gaalayan dhagayan C. 2615 BCE Vaengai nedu vael varaiyan C.2614 BCE Vaet kaal kudingyan C. 2600 BCE Maei Ila vael varaiyan C. 2590 BCE Sibi Vendhi C. 2580 BCE Paru nonji chaamazhingyan C. 2535 BCE Vaeqratrtri chembiya chozhan C. 2525 BCE Saamazhi chozhiya vaelaan C. 2515 BCE Uthi ven gaalai thagan C. 2495 BCE Nannan that kaalai thagan C. 2475 BCE Vel vaen mindi C. 2445 BCE Nedun jembiyan C. 2415 BCE Nedu nonji Vendhi C. 2375 BCE Maei Vael paqratrtri C. 2330 BCE Aai Perun thoan nonji C. 2315 BCE Kudiko pungi C. 2275 BCE Perun goep poguvan C. 2250 BCE Koeth thatrtri C. 2195 BCE Vadi sembiyan C. 2160 BCE Aalam poguvan C. 2110 BCE Nedun jembiyan C. 2085 BCE Perum paeyar poguvan C. 2056 BCE Kadun jembiyan C. 2033 BCE Nedun kathan C. 2015 BCE Paru nakkan C. 1960 BCE Vani sembiyan C. 1927 BCE Udha chira mondhuvan C. 1902 BCE Perun kaththan C. 1875 BCE Kadun kandhalan C. 1860 BCE Nakka monjuvan C. 1799 BCE 191                                                     Maarko vael Maandhuvan Aaththikko C. 1786 BCE Musukunthan Vaendhi C. 1753 BCE Peru nakkan Thatrtri C. 1723 BCE Vaer kaththan C. 1703 BCE Ambalaththu Irumundruvan C. 1682 BCE Kaari mondhuvan C. 1640 BCE Vennakkan Thatrtri C. 1615 BCE Maarko chunthuvan C. 1565 BCE Vaer parunthoan mundruvan C. 1520 BCE Udhan kaththan C. 1455 BCE Kaariko sunthuvan C. 1440 BCE Vendri nungunan C. 1396 BCE Mondhuvan Vendhi C. 1376 BCE Kaandhaman C. 1359 BCE Mundruvan Vendhi C. 1337 BCE Kaandhaman C. 1297 BCE Monjuvan Vendhi C. 1276 BCE Ani sembiyan C. 1259 BCE Nungunan Vendhi C. 1245 BCE Maarkop perum Cenni C. 1229 BCE Monjuvan Nanvendhi C. 1180 BCE Kop perunar chenni C. 1170 BCE Monthuvan jembiyan C. 1145 BCE Narchenni C. 1105 BCE Caet chembiyan C. 1095 BCE Nakkar chenni C. 1060 BCE Parun jembiyan C.1045 BCE Venjenni C. 998 BCE Musugunthan C. 989 BCE Maarkop perun jembiyan C. 960 BCE Nedunjenni C.935 BCE Thatchembiyan C. 915 BCE Ambalaththu iruvaer chembiyan C. 895 BCE Kaariko chenni C. 865 BCE Venvaer chenni C. 830 BCE Kaandhaman, C. 788 BCE Kaandhalan C. 721 BCE Caetchenni C. 698 BCE Vani nungunan C. 680 BCE Mudhu sembiyan Vendhi C. 640 BCE Peelan jembiyach chozhiyan C. 615 BCE Maeyan gadungo C. 590 BCE Thiththan C. 570 BCE Perunar killi Porvaiko C. 515 BCE Kadu mundruvan C. 496 BCE Kopperunjozhan C. 495 BCE Narkilli Mudiththalai C. 480 BCE Thevvan go chozhan C. 465 BCE Naran jembiyan C. 455 BCE Nakkam peela valavan C. 440 BCE Iniyan thevvan jenni C. 410 BCE Varcembiyan C. 395BCE 192                             Nedun jembiyan C. 386 BCE Nakkan aran jozhan C. 345 BCE Ambalathu irungoch chenni C. 330 BCE Perunar killi C. 316 BCE Kochaet Cenni C. 286 BCE Cerupazhi Erinda Ilanjaetcenni, C. 275 BCE Nedungop perunkilli C. 220 BCE Cenni Ellagan C. 205 BCE Perun gilli C. 165 BCE Kopperun jozhiyav ilanjaetcenni C. 140 BCE Perunar killi Mudiththalai ko C. 120 BCE PerumpootCenni C. 100 BCE Ilam perunjenni C. 100 BCE Perungilli Vendhi aka Karikaalan I C. 70 BCE Nedumudi Killi C. 35 BCE Ilavanthigaipalli Thunjiya Maei Nalangilli Caet Cenni, C. 20 BCE Aai Vaenalangilli C. 15 BCE Uruvapakraer Ilanjaetcenni, C. 10 – 16 CE 16–30 CE Kingdom ruled by a series of Uraiyur chieftains Karikaalan II Peruvalaththaan, C. 31 CE Vaer paqradakkai Perunar killi, C. 99 CE Perun thiru mavalavan, Kuraapalli Thunjiya C. 99 CE Nalangilli C. 111 CE Perunarkilli, Kula mutrtraththu Thunjiya C. 120 CE Perunarkilli, Irasasuya vaetta C. 143 CE Vael kadunkilli C. 192 CE Kochenganaan C. 220 CE Nalluruththiran C. 245 CE Genealogy from Chola inscriptions The genealogy of the Chola family conveyed by the Thiruvalangadu copperplate grant consists of names that corroborate the historic authenticity of legends.[1]                  Manu Ikshvaku Vikukshi Puranjaya Kakutstha Kakshivat Aryaman Analapratapa Vena Prithu Dhundhumara Yuvanasva Mandhata Muchukunda Valabha Prithulaksha Parthivachudamani 193                          Dirghabahu Chandrajit Sankriti Panchapa Satyavrata Rudrajit Sibi Marutta Dushyanta Bharata Cholavarman Rajakesarivarman Parakesarin Chitraratha Chitrasva Chitradhanvan Suraguru (Mrityujit) Chitraratha Vyaghraketu Narendrapati Vasu (Uparichara) Visvajit Perunatkilli Karikala Kochchengannan The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of three centuries and more between 907 and 1215 AD. Under Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola, Virarajendra Chola, and Kulothunga Chola I, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The power of the new empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by naval raids on cities of the city-state of Srivijaya, as well as by the repeated embassies to China.he Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1153, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia. The Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. 194 The Cholas left a lasting legacy. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity. They pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. Origins: The Cholas are also known as the Choda. The antiquity of the name is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature and in inscriptions. During the past 150 years, historians have gleaned significant knowledge on the subject from a variety of sources such as ancient Tamil Sangam literature, oral traditions, religious texts, temple and copperplate inscriptions. The main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period. [a] Mentions in the early Sangam literature (c. 150 CE) indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE. There are also brief notices on the Chola country and its towns, ports and commerce furnished by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei), and in the slightly later work of the geographer Ptolemy. Mahavamsa, a Buddhist text written down during the 5th century CE, recounts a number of conflicts between the inhabitants of Ceylon and Cholas in the 1st century BCE.[17] Cholas are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273 BCE–232 BCE) inscriptions, where they are mentioned among the kingdoms which, though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him. A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the name of the ruling family or clan of immemorial antiquity. The annotator Parimelazhagar said: "The charity of people with ancient lineage (such as the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras) are forever generous in spite of their reduced means". Other names in common use for the Cholas are Killi , Valavan ,Sembiyan and Cenni. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil meaning dig or cleave and conveys the idea of a digger or a worker of the land. This word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with "valam" – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country. Sembiyan is generally taken to mean a descendant of Shibi – a legendary hero whose self-sacrifice in saving a dove from the pursuit of a falcon figures among the early Chola legends and forms the subject matter of the Sibi Jataka among the Jataka stories of Buddhism. In Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country. Cenni in Tamil means Head. 195 The imperial Cholas described themselves as Koliyar-ko, meaning king of Koliyar in Tamil. Gandaraditya Chola, considered the author of some of the hymns of the Tirumurai, calls himself as “Ko-cholan valan kaveri naadan Koliyar-ko kandan”, that is, “Gandan, the King Cholan, the lord of the fertile kaveri country and the lord of Koliyar”. Vikrama Chola, the son of Kulothunga Chola and a later Chola king, is described as Koliyar kula Pati or “head of the family of Cholas” in one of his Tamil inscriptions in Kolar district in Karnataka. The koliyar were one of the artisan communities during the period of the Cholas. Some historians like Vijaya Ramasamy, consider the koliyar to be weavers. The history of the Cholas falls into four periods: the Early Cholas of the Sangam literature, the interregnum between the fall of the Sangam Cholas and the rise of the Imperial medieval Cholas under Vijayalaya (c. 848), the dynasty of Vijayalaya, and finally the Later Chola dynasty of Kulothunga Chola I from the third quarter of the 11th century. Early Cholas The earliest Chola kings for whom there is tangible evidence are mentioned in the Sangam literature. Scholars generally agree that this literature belongs to the second or first few centuries of the common era. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. It records the names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. The Sangam literature also records legends about mythical Chola kings. These myths speak of the Chola king Kantaman, a supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kaveri into existence. Two names are prominent among those Chola kings known to have existed who feature in Sangam literature: Karikala Chola and Kocengannan. The Mahavamsa mentions that an ethnic Tamil adventurer, a Chola prince known as Ellalan, invaded the island Sri Lanka and conquered it around 235 BCE with the help of a Mysore army. Interregnum South India in BC 300, showing the Chera, Pandya and Chola countries 196 There is not much information about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (c. 300) to that in which the Pandyas and Pallavas dominated the Tamil country. An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras invaded Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled during that time. The Cholas continued to rule over a diminished territory in the neighbourhood of Uraiyur, but only in a minor capacity. In spite of their reduced powers, the Pandayas and Pallavas accepted Chola princesses in marriage, possibly out of regard for their reputation. Numerous Pallava inscriptions of this period mention their having fought rulers of the Chola country. Despite this loss in influence and power, it is 197 unlikely that the Cholas lost total grip of the territory around Uraiyur, their old capital, as Vijayalaya, when he rose to prominence hailed from that area. An early silver coin of Uttama Chola found in Sri Lanka showing the tiger emblem of the Chola and in Nagari script. Around the 7th century, a Chola kingdom flourished in present-day Andhra Pradesh. These Telugu Cholas traced their descent to the early Sangam Cholas. However, it is not known if they had any relation to the early Cholas. It is possible that a branch of the Tamil Cholas migrated north during the time of the Pallavas to establish a kingdom of their own, away from the dominating influences of the Pandyas and Pallavas. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who spent several months in Kanchipuram during 639–640 writes about the "kingdom of Culi-ya", in an apparent reference to these Telugu Cholas. Imperial Cholas Vijayalaya was the founder of the Imperial Chola dynasty which was the beginning of one of the most splendid empires in Indian history. Vijayalaya, possibly a feudatory of the Pallava dynasty, took an opportunity arising out of a conflict between the Pandya dynasty and Pallava dynasty in c. 850, captured Thanjavur from Muttarayar, and established the imperial line of the medieval Chola Dynasty. Thanjavur became the capital of the Imperial Chola Dynasty. 198 Detail of the statue of Rajaraja Chola at Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur. The Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period. Through their leadership and vision, Chola kings expanded their territory and influence. The second Chola King, Aditya I, caused the demise of the Pallava dynasty and defeated the Pandyan dynasty of Madurai in 885, occupied large parts of the Kannada country, and had marital ties with the Western Ganga dynasty. In 925, his son Parantaka I conquered Sri Lanka (known as Ilangai). Parantaka I also defeated the Rashtrakuta dynasty under Krishna II in the battle of Vallala. Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I were the greatest rulers of the Chola dynasty, extending it beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom. At its peak, the Chola Empire stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari-Krishna river basin in the north, up to the Konkan coast in Bhatkal, the entire Malabar Coast (the Chea country) in addition to Lakshadweep, and Maldives. Rajaraja Chola I was a ruler with inexhaustible energy, and he applied himself to the task of governance with the same zeal that he had shown in waging wars. He integrated his empire into a tight administrative grid under royal control, and at the same time strengthened local self-government. Therefore, he conducted a land survey in 1000 CE to effectively marshall the resources of his empire. Rajendra Chola I conquered Odisha and his armies continued to march further north and defeated the forces of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal and reached the Ganges river in north India. Rajendra Chola I built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram to celebrate his victories in northern India. Rajendra Chola I successfully invaded the Srivijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia which led to the decline 199 of the empire there. This expedition had such a great impression to the Malay people of the medieval period that his name was mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu. He also completed the conquest of the island of Sri Lanka and took the Sinhala king Mahinda V as a prisoner, in addition to his conquests of Rattapadi (territories of the Rashtrakutas, Chalukya country, Talakkad, and Kolar, where the Kolaramma temple still has his portrait statue) in Kannada country. Rajendra's territories included the area falling on the GangesHooghly-Damodar basin, as well as Sri Lanka and Maldives. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty.T hree diplomatic missions were sent to China in 1016, 1033, and 1077. A.Gopuram Corner View of Thanjavur Brihadisvara Temple. B.The sikhara of Brihadisvara Temple, a cupolic dome (25 tons), is octagonal and rests on a single block of granite, weighing 80 tons. C.A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kadaram (Kedah). 200 Reconstruction of the hull of a Chola ship (200—848 CE), built by the ASI and based upon a wreck discovered 19 miles off the coast of Poombuhar. Model currently displayed in a Museum in Tirunelveli. 201 Airavateswara temple, Darasuram in Thanjavur District Overseas conquests During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the Chola armies invaded Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand of the Srivijaya Empire in the 11th century. Rajaraja Chola I launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast. In 1025, Rajendra Chola launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu. A Chola inscription states that he captured or plundered 14 places, which have been identified with Palembang, Tambralinga and Kedah among others. Tambralinga or Kadaram in Tamil: : According to the inscription no.24 found at Hua-wieng temple in Chaiya near to Nakhon Si Thammarat, the ruler of Tambralinga named Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the king of Patama vamsa (lotus dynasty. He began to reign in 1230, he had the Phrae Boromadhatu (chedi in Nakhon Si Thammaraj, from Sanskrit dhatu - element, component, or relic + garbha - storehouse or repository) reparation and celebration in the same year. Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja brought Tambralinga reached the pinnacle of its power in the mid-thirteenth century. From the Sri Lankan and Tamil materials, this Chandrabhanu was a Savakan king from Tambralinga who had invaded Sri Lanka in 1247. His navy launched an assault on the southern part of the island but was defeated by the Sri Lankan king. However Chandrabhanu was able to establish an independent regime in the north of the island over the Jaffna kingdom, but in 1258 he was attacked and subjugated by the south Indian Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. He was compelled to pay a tribute to the Pandyan Dynasty of precious jewels and 202 elephants. In 1262 Chandrabhanu launched another attack on the south of the island, his army strengthened this time by the addition of Tamil and Sinhalese forces, only to be defeated when Pandya sided with the Sri Lankan side; this time Jatarvarman Sundara Pandyan's brother Jatavarman Veera Pandyan intervened and Chandrabhanu himself was killed in the fighting. Chandrabhanu’s son Savakanmaindan inherited the throne and submitted to Veera Pandyan's rule, received rewards and retained control over the northern kingdom. His regime too had disappeared following Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I's ascension to the Pandyan empire's throne and another invasion of the island by the army of the Pandyan Dynasty in the late 1270s. Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I installed his minister in charge of the invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, an Aryachakravarti as the new king of Jaffna. In at least two senses, the rapid expansion of Tambralinga is exceptional in the history of Southeast Asia. In the first place, Candrabhanu’s invasion of Sri Lanka and occupation of the Jaffna kingdom marks the only time that a Southeast Asian power has launched an overseas military expedition beyond the immediate Southeast Asian region. In the second place, in the historiography of Southeast Asia the southern Thailand has generally played a secondary role to that of places like Java, the Malacca Strait region (Srivijaya in the seventh~eighth century, Melaka in the fifteenth century), Cambodia, Champa, Vietnam, and Burma. Tambralinga’s sudden appearance on centre-stage in the thirteenth century was thus highly unusual. By the end of the fourteenth century, Tambralinga had been submerged by the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom which had the backing of Java. Finally, in 1365 Majapahit Kingdom of Java recognized Nakorn Sri Dharmaraja as Dharmanagari written in Nagarakretagama. Despite its rapid rise to prominence in the thirteenth century, that is, by the following century Danmaling, or Tambralinga, the former member state of Sanfoshih – Javaka, had become a part of Siam. Kedah: A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola, who conquered Kedah in Malaysia of Srivijaya in the late 11th century. also known by its honorific Darul Aman or "Abode of Peace is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and the Langkawi islands. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice, while Langkawi is an archipelago, most of which are uninhabited islands. Kedah was previously known as Kadaram by the ancient and medieval Tamils. To the north, Kedah borders the state of Perlis and shares an international boundary with the Songkhla and Yala provinces of Thailand. It borders the states of Perak to the south and Penang to the southwest. 203 The state's capital is Alor Setar and the royal seat is in Anak Bukit. Other major towns include Sungai Petani, and Kulim on the mainland, and Kuah on Langkawi. Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder the wealth of Srivijaya. However, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. 204 Chola invasion of Srivijaya Part of South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I Rajendra Chola's Territories c. 1030 CE Date Location Result 1025 Palembang (Sumatra) and Kedah (Malay Peninsula), Srivijaya Chola victory Belligerents Chola Empire Srivijaya Commanders and leaders Rajendra Chola Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman In 1025, Rajendra Chola I or Raja Ranganathan, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on the city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia, and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time. Rajendra's overseas expedition against Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast Asia. Several places in present day Malaysia and Indonesia were invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty. The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. ( See Chapetr … on Tamil M erchants of Ancient India) The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya, and Malay princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, such as Raja Chulan of Perak. 205 history, ancient India and Indonesia enjoyed friendly and peaceful relations, therefore this Indian invasion is a unique event in Asian history. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Srivijaya maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 860 Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda Mahavihara in Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006 CE a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty — king Maravijayattungavarman — constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam.[14] However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relations deteriorated as the Cholas attacked Srivijayan cities.[15] The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. Sometimes Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia.[16] While Srivijaya that controlled two major naval choke points; Malacca and Sunda Strait; at that time was a major trading empire that possess formidable naval forces. Malacca strait's northwest opening was controlled from Kedah on Peninsula side and from Pannai on the Sumatran side, while Malayu (Jambi) and Palembang controlled its southeast opening and also Sunda Strait. They practiced naval trade monopoly that forced any trade vessels that passed through their waters to call on their ports or otherwise being plundered. The reasons of this naval expedition are unclear with Nilakanta Sastri suggesting that the attack was probably caused by Srivijayan attempt to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East (especially China), or more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra to extend his digvijaya to the countries across the sea so well known to his subject at home, and therefore add luster to his crown.[17] Another theory suggests that the reasons for the invasion was probably motivated by geopolitics and diplomatic relations. King Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga kingdom.[18] After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had religious nuance, since both Chola and Khmer empire are Hindu Shivaist, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya are Mahayana Buddhist. Invasion The Chola raid against Srivijaya was a swift campaign that left Srivijaya unprepared. To sail from India to the Indonesian Archipelago, vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the 206 Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda. The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola invasion was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. The unexpected attack led to the Cholas sacking the city and plundering the Kadatuan royal palace and monasteries. Thanjavur inscription states that Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor. After plundering the royal palace of Palembang, the Cholas launched successive attacks on other Srivijayan ports including Malayu, Tumasik, Pannai and Kedah. The Chola invasion did not result in administration over defeated cities as the armies moved fast and plundered the Srivijayan cities. The Chola armada seems to have taken advantage of the Southeast Asian monsoon for moving from one port to another swiftly. The tactic of a fast-moving unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate. The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region.[18][19][21][22] Aftermath With the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman. This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Vijayottunggavarman, a Srivijayan princess who managed to escape the destruction of Palembang and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. 207 Despite the devastation, Srivijaya mandala still survived as the Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder. Nevertheless, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kahuripan and its successor, Kediri in Java based on agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Sri Deva was enthroned as the new king and the trading activities resumed. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. With the growing presence of Tamil guilds in the region, relations improved between Srivijaya and the Cholas. Chola nobles were accepted in Srivijaya court and in 1067 CE, a Chola prince named Divakara or Devakala was sent as a Srivijayan ambassador to the Imperial Court of China. The prince who was the nephew of Rajendra Chola later was enthroned in 1070 CE as Kulothunga Chola I. Later during the Kedah rebellion, Srivijaya asked the Cholas for help. In 1068 CE, Virarajendra Chola launched a naval raid to help Srivijaya reclaim Kedah.. Virarajendra reinstated the Kedah king at the request of the Srivijayan Maharaja and Kedah accepted the Srivijayan sovereignty. In continuation of the decline, also marked by the resurgence of the Pandyan dynasty as the most powerful rulers in South India, a lack of a controlling central administration in its erstwhile-Pandyan territories prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. Details of the Pandyan civil war and the role played by the Cholas and Sinhalas, are present in the Mahavamsa as well as the Pallavarayanpettai Inscriptions. Overseas conquests During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the Chola armies invaded Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand of the Srivijaya Empire in the 11th century. Rajaraja Chola I launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast. In 1025, Rajendra Chola launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu.. A Chola inscription states that he captured or plundered 14 places, which 208 have been identified with Palembang, Tambralinga and Kedah among others. A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola, who conquered Kedah in Malaysia of Srivijaya in the late 11th century.. Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder the wealth of Srivijaya. However, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. Later Cholas (1070–1279) Later Chola Kingdom under Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 C.E) Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukyas began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Rajaraja Chola's daughter married Chalukya prince Vimaladitya and Rajendra Chola's daughter Ammanga Devi was married to the Eastern Chalukya prince Rajaraja Narendra.] Virarajendra Chola's son, Athirajendra Chola, was assassinated in a civil disturbance in 1070, and Kulothunga Chola I, the son of Ammanga Devi and Rajaraja Narendra, ascended the Chola throne. Thus began the Later Chola dynasty.. The Later Chola dynasty was led by capable rulers such as Kulothunga Chola I, his son Vikrama Chola, other successors like Rajaraja Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola II, and Kulothunga Chola III, who conquered Kalinga, Ilam, and Kataha. However, the rule of the later Cholas between 1218, starting with Rajaraja Chola II, to the last emperor Rajendra Chola III was not as strong as those of the emperors between 209 850–1215. Around 1118, they lost control of Vengi to the Western Chalukya and Gangavadi (southern Mysore districts) to the Hoysala Empire. However, these were only temporary setbacks, because immediately following the accession of king Vikrama Chola, the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola I, the Cholas lost no time in recovering the province of Vengi by defeating Chalukya Someshvara III and also recovering Gangavadi from the Hoysalas. The Chola Empire, though not as strong as between 850–1150, was still largely territorially intact under Rajaraja Chola II (1146–1175) a fact attested by the construction and completion of the third grand Chola architectural marvel, the chariotshaped Airavatesvara Temple at Dharasuram on the outskirts of modern Kumbakonam. Chola administration and territorial integrity until the rule of Kulothunga Chola III was stable and very prosperous up to 1215, but during his rule itself, the decline of the Chola power started following his defeat by Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II in 1215–16. Subsequently, the Cholas also lost control of the island of Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power. Portrait of Rajaraja Chola and his guru Karuvurar at Brihadeeswarar Temple. In continuation of the decline, also marked by the resurgence of the Pandyan dynasty as the most powerful rulers in South India, a lack of a controlling central administration in its erstwhile-Pandyan territories prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. Details of the Pandyan civil war and the role played 210 by the Cholas and Sinhalas, are present in the Mahavamsa as well as the Pallavarayanpettai Inscriptions. Decline The Cholas, under Rajaraja Chola III and later, his successor Rajendra Chola III, were quite weak and therefore, experienced continuous trouble. One feudatory, the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I, even .held Rajaraja Chola III as hostage for sometime.At the close of the 12th century, the growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the declining Chalukyas as the main player in the Kannada country, but they too faced constant trouble from the Seunas and the Kalachuris, who were occupying Chalukya capital because those empires were their new rivals. So naturally, the Hoysalas found it convenient to have friendly relations with the Cholas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III, who had defeated Hoysala Veera Ballala II, who had subsequent marital relations with the Chola monarch. This continued during the time of Rajaraja Chola III the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola III. Outline of South Asian history Palaeolithic (2,500,000–250,000 BC) Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC) Chalcolithic (3500–1500 BC) Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC) Iron Age (1500–200 BC) Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – AD 1206) Late medieval period (1206–1526)[ Early modern period (1526–1858)[show] Colonial states (1510–1961) 211 The mandalams of the Chola Empire, early 12th century CE In the age of the Cholas, the whole of South India was for the first time brought under a single government. 212 The Cholas' system of government was monarchical, as in the Sangam age which was a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and governing power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic (crowned republic), to restricted (constitutional.monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), combining executive, legislative and judicial power. However, there was little in common between the local chiefdoms of the earlier period and the imperial-like states of Rajaraja Chola and his successors. Aside from the early capital at Thanjavur and the later on at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Kanchipuram and Madurai were considered to be regional capitals in which occasional courts were held. The king was the supreme leader and a benevolent authoritarian. His administrative role consisted of issuing oral commands to responsible officers when representations were made to him. Due to the lack of a legislature or a legislative system in the modern sense, the fairness of king's orders dependent on his morality and belief in Dharma. The Chola kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth. The temples acted not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting the community as a whole. Some of the output of villages throughout the kingdom was given to temples that reinvested some of the wealth accumulated as loans to the settlements.. The Chola Dynasty was divided into several provinces called Mandalams which were further divided into Valanadus and these Valanadus were sub-divided into units called Kottams or Kutrams. According to Kathleen Gough, during the Chola period the Vellalar were the "dominant secular aristocratic caste ... providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry". Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily by various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. Some of the communities that identify themselves as a Vellalar are the numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar, Chozhia Vellalar, Karkarthar Vellalar, Kongu Vellalar, Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar. Despite being a relatively lowly group, they were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the Chola empire in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of Brahmins and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours. 213 Before the reign of Rajaraja Chola I huge parts of the Chola territory were ruled by hereditary lords and local princes who were in a loose alliance with the Chola rulers. Thereafter, until the reign of Vikrama Chola in 1133 CE when the Chola power was at its peak, these hereditary lords and local princes virtually vanished from the Chola records and were either replaced or turned into dependent officials. Through these dependent officials the administration was improved and the Chola kings were able to exercise a closer control over the different parts of the empire. There was an expansion of the administrative structure, particularly from the reign of Rajaraja Chola I onwards. The government at this time had a large land revenue department, consisting of several tiers, which was largely concerned with maintaining accounts. The assessment and collection of revenue were undertaken by corporate bodies such as the ur, nadu, sabha, nagaram and sometimes by local chieftains who passed the revenue to the centre. During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I, the state initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment and there was a reorganisation of the empire into units known as valanadus. The order of the King was first communicated by the executive officer to the local authorities. Afterwards the records of the transaction was drawn up and attested by a number of witnesses who were either local magnates or government officers. At local government level, every village was a self-governing unit. A number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram, Nadu or Kottam, depending on the area. A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu. These structures underwent constant change and refinement throughout the Chola period. Justice was mostly a local matter in the Chola Empire; minor disputes were settled at the village level. Punishment for minor crimes were in the form of fines or a direction for the offender to donate to some charitable endowment. Even crimes such as manslaughter or murder were punished with fines. Crimes of the state, such as treason, were heard and decided by the king himself; the typical punishment in these cases was either execution or confiscation of property. Military The Chola dynasty had a robust military, of which the king was the supreme commander. It had four elements, comprising the cavalry, the elephant corps, several divisions of infantry and a navy. There were regiments of bowmen and swordsmen while the swordsmen were the most permanent and dependable troops. The Chola army was spread all over the country and was stationed in local garrisons or military camps known as Kodagams. The elephants played a major role in the army and the dynasty 214 had numerous war elephants. These carried houses or huge Howdahs on their backs, full of soldiers who shot arrows at long range and who fought with spears at close quarters. The Chola rulers built several palaces and fortifications to protect their cities. The fortifications were mostly made up of bricks but other materials like stone, wood and mud were also used. According to the ancient Tamil text Silappadikaram, the Tamil kings defended their forts with catapults that threw stones, huge cauldrons of boiling water or molten lead, and hooks, chains and traps. The soldiers of the Chola dynasty used weapons such as swords, bows, javelins, spears and shields which were made up of steel. Particularly the famous Wootz steel, which has a long history in south India dating back to the period before the Christian era, seems also be used to produce weapons. The army consisted of people from different castes but the warriors of the Kaikolar and Vellalar castes played a prominent role. The Chola navy was the zenith of ancient India sea power. It played a vital role in the expansion of the empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Srivijaya. The navy grew both in size and status during the medieval Cholas reign. The Chola admirals commanded much respect and prestige. The navy commanders also acted as diplomats in some instances. From 900 to 1100, the navy 215 had grown from a small backwater entity to that of a potent power projection and diplomatic symbol in all of Asia, but was gradually reduced in significance when the Cholas fought land battles subjugating the Chalukyas of the Andhra-Kannada area in South India. Silambam: A martial art called Silambam was patronised by the Chola rulers. Ancient and medieval Tamil texts mention different forms of martial traditions but the ultimate expression of the loyalty of the warrior to his commander was a form of martial suicide called Navakandam. The medieval Kalingathu Parani text, which celebrates the victory of Kulothunga Chola I and his general in the battle for Kalinga, describes the practice in detail. Oral folklore traces Silambam back several thousand years to the siddhar (enlightened sage) Agastya. While on his way to Vellimalai, Agastya discussed Hindu philosophy with an old man he met, said to be the god Murugan in disguise. The old man taught him of kundalini yoga and how to focus prana through the body's nadi (channels). Agastya practiced this method of meditation and eventually compiled three texts on palm leaves based on the god's teachings. One of these texts was the Kampu Sutra (Staff Classic) which was said to record advanced fighting theories in verse. These poems and the art they described were allegedly passed on to other Siddha of the Agastmuni akhara (Agastya school) and eventually formed the basis of Silambam, 216 siddha medicine, and also influenced the southern style of kalaripayattu. Silambam became more common in Southeast Asia than its native India where it was banned by the British rulers. Silambam name has made its historical first time appearance in the world eyes as the committee of United Nations Assembly recommends Silambam Asia for United Nations status for representing Asia Continent. Occasion held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States on January 21, 2019 whereby China-Taipei government representatives arised border conflicts in ancient recording pertaining Silambam and requesting organisation of Silambam Asia to resolve prior to internal committee clearance request. On January 30, 2019 concluded substantive work as the Committee recommended Silambam Asia for Special Status in the United Nations Economy Land revenue and trade tax were the main source of income. The Chola rulers issued their coins in gold, silver and copper. The Chola economy was based on three tiers—at the local level, agricultural settlements formed the foundation to commercial towns nagaram, which acted as redistribution centres for externally produced items bound for consumption in the local economy and as sources of products made by nagaram artisans for the international trade. At the top of this economic pyramid were the elite merchant groups (samayam) who organised and dominated the regions international maritime trade. One of the main articles which were exported to foreign countries were cotton cloth. Uraiyur, the capital of the early Chola rulers, was a famous centre for cotton textiles which were praised by Tamil poets. The Chola rulers actively encouraged the weaving industry and derived revenue from it. During this period the weavers started to organise themselves into guilds. The weavers had their own residential sector in all towns. The most important weaving communities in early medieval times were 217 the Saliyar and Kaikolar. During the Chola period silk weaving attained a high degree and Kanchipuram became one of the main centres for silk. Metal crafts reached its zenith during the 10th to 11th centuries because the Chola rulers like Chembian Maadevi extended their patronage to metal craftsmen. Wootz steel was a major export item. The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society.These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group Agriculture was the principal occupation for many people. Besides the landowners, there were others dependent on agriculture.The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry. An early silver coin of Uttama Chola found in Sri Lanka showing the Tiger emblem of the Cholas In almost all villages the distinction between persons paying the land-tax (iraikudigal) and those who did not was clearly established. There was a class of hired day-labourers who assisted in agricultural operations on the estates of other people and received a daily wage. All cultivable land was held in one of the three broad classes of tenure which can be distinguished as peasant proprietorship called vellanvagai, service tenure and eleemosynary tenure resulting from charitable gifts. The vellan-vagai was the ordinary ryotwari village of modern times, having direct relations with the government and paying a land-tax liable to revision from time to time.[132] The vellan-vagai villages fell into two broad classes- one directly remitting a variable annual revenue to the state and the other paying dues of a more or less fixed character to the public institutions like temples to which they were assigned.The prosperity of an agricultural country depends to a large extent on the facilities provided for irrigation. Apart from sinking wells and excavating tanks, the Chola rulers threw mighty stone dams across the Kaveri and other rivers, and cut out channels to distribute water over large tracts of land. Rajendra Chola I dug near his capital an artificial lake, which was filled with water from the Kolerun and the Vellar rivers. 218 There existed a brisk internal trade in several articles carried on by the organised mercantile corporations in various parts of the country. The metal industries and the jewellers art had reached a high degree of excellence. The manufacture of sea-salt was carried on under government supervision and control. Trade was carried on by merchants organised in guilds. The guilds described sometimes by the terms nanadesis were a powerful autonomous corporation of merchants which visited different countries in the course of their trade. They had their own mercenary army for the protection of their merchandise. There were also local organisations of merchants called "nagaram" in big centres of trade like Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram. Hospitals Hospitals were maintained by the Chola kings, whose government gave lands for that purpose. The Tirumukkudal inscription shows that a hospital was named after Vira Chola. Many diseases were cured by the doctors of the hospital, which was under the control of a chief physician who was paid annually 80 Kalams of paddy, 8 Kasus and a grant of land. Apart from the doctors, other remunerated staff included a nurse, barber (who performed minor operations) and a waterman. The Chola queen Kundavai also established a hospital at Tanjavur and gave land for the perpetual maintenance of it. Society During the Chola period several guilds, communities and castes emerged. The guild was one of the most significant institutions of south India and merchants organised themselves into guilds. The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds though other guilds such as Anjuvannam and Valanjiyar were also in existence.The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society. These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group. The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry. The Vellalar were also sent to northern Sri Lanka by the Chola rulers as settlers. The Ulavar community were working in the field which was associated with agriculture and the peasants were known as Kalamar. The Kaikolar community were weavers and merchants but they also maintained armies. During the Chola period they had predominant trading and military roles. During the reign of the Imperial Chola rulers (10th-13th century) there were major changes in the temple administration and land ownership. There was more involvement of non-Brahmin elements in the temple administration. This can be 219 attributed to the shift in money power. Skilled classes like the weavers and the merchant-class had become prosperous. Land ownership was no longer a privilege of the Brahmins (priest caste) and the Vellalar land owners. There is little information on the size and the density of the population during the Chola reign. The stability in the core Chola region enabled the people to lead a productive and contented life. However, there were reports of widespread famine caused by natural calamities. The quality of the inscriptions of the regime indicates a high level of literacy and education. The text in these inscriptions was written by court poets and engraved by talented artisans. Education in the contemporary sense was not considered important; there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that some village councils organised schools to teach the basics of reading and writing to children, although there is no evidence of systematic educational system for the masses. Vocational education was through hereditary training in which the father passed on his skills to his sons. Tamil was the medium of education for the masses; Religious monasteries (matha or gatika) were centres of learning and received government support. Foreign trade The relationship between the Chinese and Cholas dates back to second century BC. Ancient Chinese scholar Ban Gu had told that China had sent its ambassador to the court of the Cholas.[1] Ban Gu in his work the Book of Han (Ch'ien Han Shu) had written that he had seen many unprecedented objects which are unseen at China, at the city of kuvangtche. Berend, an acoustics expert, annotates that the city named by Ban Gu is analogous with the ancient Chola city kanchi (the present day's city of Kancheepuram at Tamil Nadu, India). This proves the relationship of Kanchi with China. Coins: Arrays of ancient Chinese coins have been found in recent years at the place which is considered to be the homeland of the Cholas (i.e. the present Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukkottai districts of Tamil Nadu, India), which confirms the trade and the commercial relationship which existed between the Cholas and the Chinese. Place Number of coins Olayakkunnam 323 Thaalikkottai 1822 Other details These coins belong to 142-126 BC. This village is situated in Pattukkottai taluk in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, India This village is situated in Mannargudi taluk in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India 220 The later Cholas too continued to maintain a healthy relationship with the Chinese. During the reign of Rajendra Chola I (i.e. 1016–1033 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (i.e. in 1077 AD), commercial and political diplomats were sent to China. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity.The south Indian guilds played a major role in interregional and overseas trade. The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds who followed the conquering Chola armies. The encouragement by the Chola court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures. The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid Kalifat at Baghdad were the main trading partners. Some credit for the emergence of a world market must also go to the dynasty. It played a significant role in linking the markets of China to the rest of the world. The market structure and economic policies of the Chola dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, cross-regional market trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty. A Chola record gives their rationale for engagement in foreign trade: "Make the merchants of distant foreign countries who import elephants and good horses attach to yourself by providing them with villages and decent dwellings in the city, by affording them daily audience, presents and allowing them profits. Then those articles will never go to your enemies.” Song dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in 1077, and that the king of the Chulian at the time, Kulothunga I, was called Ti-hua-kia-lo. This embassy was a trading venture and was highly profitable to the visitors, who returned with copper coins in exchange for articles of tribute, including glass and spices.[170] Probably, the motive behind Rajendra's expedition to Srivijaya was the protection of the merchants' interests. Canals and water tanks There was tremendous agrarian expansion during the rule of the imperial Chola Dynasty (c. 900-1270 AD) all over Tamil Nadu and particularly in the Kaveri Basin. Most of the canals of the Kaveri River belongs to this period e.g., Uyyakondan canal, Rajendran vaykkal, Sembian Mahadegvi vaykkal. There was a well-developed and highly efficient system of water management from the village level upwards. 221 The increase in the royal patronage and also the number of devadana and bramadeya lands which increased the role of the temples and village assemblies in the field. Committees like eri-variyam (tankcommittee) and totta-variam (garden committees) were active as also the temples with their vast resources in land, men and money. The water tanks that came up during the Chola period are too many to be listed here. But a few most outstanding may be briefly mentioned. Rajendra Chola built a huge tank named Solagangam in his capital city Gangaikonda Solapuram and was described as the liquid pillar of victory. About 16 miles long, it was provided with sluices and canals for irrigating the lands in the neighbouring areas. Another very large lake of this period, which even today seems an important source of irrigation was the Viranameri near Kattumannarkoil in South Arcot district founded by Parantaka Chola. Other famous lakes of this period are Madurantakam, Sundra-cholapereri, KundavaiPereri (after a Chola queen) . (See my Book III in the DEVRAJ series -Capter III on Angkor Wat as a Hydraulic City) Detail of the main vimanam (tower) of the Thanjavur Temple. Chola Art and Temple influences in Greater India:Under the Cholas, the Tamil country reached new heights of excellence in art, religion, music and literature- all of these spheres, the Chola period marked the culmination of movements that had begun in an earlier age under the Pallavas. Monumental architecture in the form of majestic temples and sculpture in stone and bronze reached a finesse never before achieved in India. 222 The Chola conquest of Kadaram (Kedah) and Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures. Examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Cholas. For example, the great temple complex at Prambanan in Indonesia exhibit a number of similarities with the South Indian architecture. According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu, the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola Empire. Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia today as many princes there have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such being Raja Chulan, the Raja of Perak. Art and architecture The Cholas continued the temple-building traditions of the Pallava dynasty and contributed significantly to the Dravidian temple design. They built a number of Shiva temples along the banks of the river Kaveri. The template for these and future temples was formulated by Aditya I and Parantaka. The Chola temple architecture has been appreciated for its magnificence as well as delicate workmanship, ostensibly following the rich traditions of the past bequeathed to them by the Pallava Dynasty.. Architectural historian James Fergusson says that "the Chola artists conceived like giants and finished like jewelers" A new development in Chola art that characterised the Dravidian architecture in later times was the addition of a huge gateway called gopuram to the enclosure of the temple, which had gradually taken its form and attained maturity under the Pandya Dynasty. The Chola school of art also spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. Temple building received great impetus from the conquests and the genius of Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola I. The maturity and grandeur to which the Chola architecture had evolved found expression in the two temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram. The magnificent Shiva temple of Thanjavur, completed around 1009, is a fitting memorial to the material achievements of the time of Rajaraja. The largest and tallest of all Indian temples of its time, it is at the apex of South Indian architecture. The temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram at Gangaikondacholapuram, the creation of Rajendra Chola, was intended to excel its predecessor. Completed around 1030, only two decades after the temple at Thanjavur and in the same style, the greater elaboration in its appearance attests the more affluent state of the Chola Empire under Rajendra. The Brihadisvara Temple, the temple of 223 Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO and are referred to as the Great living Chola temples. The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. Among the existing specimens in museums around the world and in the temples of South India may be seen many fine figures of Shiva in various forms, such as Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, and the Shaivite saints.[182] Though conforming generally to the iconographic conventions established by long tradition, the sculptors worked with great freedom in the 11th and the 12th centuries to achieve a classic grace and grandeur. The best example of this can be seen in the form of Nataraja the Divine Dancer. Rajendra Chola I was one of the greatest emperors of the Chola dynasty. He expanded the Chola Empire from where his father Rajaraja Chola had left. Apart from reaching northwards to River Ganges and moving overseas to Maldives and Sri Lanka, he also invaded the Southeast Asian territories of 224 Srivijaya in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand. He continued to maintain and improve commercial relations with China, started off by his father. He assumed the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ (The Chola who took the Ganges) after defeating the Gangas, Chalukyas, Cheras, Palas, Pandyas, Kalinga and other rulers. Besides, he was also known by various other titles, such as Mudigonda Chola, Virarajendra, and Pandita Chola, apart from inheriting the title of ‘Mummudi Chola’ (The Chola with three crowns) from his father. He established a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram, where he constructed a Shiva temple, resembling the Brihadeeswara Temple built by his father Rajaraja Chola at the previous capital Thanjavur. He built a vast empire and a strong military and naval force. His rule came to be known as the ‘Golden Age of Cholas’. He was succeeded by his son Rajadhiraja Chola, who was then followed by his other two sons – Rajendra Chola II and Virarajendra Chola Childhood & Early Life Rajendra Chola I was born on the occasion of South Indian festival of Thiruvathira in the Tamil month of Margalzhi Thingal, to Raja Raja Chola I and his queen, Vaanathi or Thiripuvana Madeviyar. He was declared the crown prince by his father in 1012, though he started assisting him in his conquests from 1002 and led campaigns against the Western Chalukyas, Vengi and Kalinga. Accession & Reign In 1014, he officially ascended the throne and four years later in 1018, he made his eldest son, Rajadhiraja Chola I, as the yuvaraja (co-regent). His early expeditions on behalf of his father included conquest of Rashtrakuta country and areas surrounding northwestern Karnataka, Pandharpur, and southern Maharashtra till Kolhapur. His control over Ceylon was challenged by Sinhala king Mahinda’s son Kassapa, following which a war was fought between the two, with the Cholas turning victorious and resuming power till the reign of Kulothunga Chola III. In 1018, he raided the territories of the Pandyas and Cheras and seized precious stones. Since his father had previously conquered these territories, it is unclear whether Rajendra added any further territories or not. He defeated the forces of Vijayaditya, who was installed as the Vengi king by the Western Chalukyas after forcing Rajaraja Narendra into exile, and helped Rajaraja in regaining his throne. After suppressing the Western and the Eastern Chalukyas, he moved northwards through Kalinga to River Ganges and reached the Pala kingdom of Bengal, where he defeated Mahipala and acquired elephants, women and treasure. His other conquests included battles against Dharmapala, the ruler of the Kamboja Pala Dynasty in 225 Dandabhukti, Govindachandra of the Chandra Dynasty in present-Bangladesh, and Bastar in modernChhattisgarh. The territories of the Ganges country were initially included in the empire, but were later made subordinates with annual tributes. While the northern kingdoms enjoyed autonomy, the Tamilian territories were under absolute Chola power. He took upon the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ post his victories over the Palas, Chalukyas, Kalinga, Gangas, Pandyas, Cheras, etc. and moved his capital from Thanjavur to Gangaikondacholapuram, where he built a Shiva temple. He carried out successful invasion expeditions to Tambralinga kingdom in southern Thailand and Langkasuka kingdom in Malaysia, following which he supported Tamil merchants trading in Southeast Asia. The Cholas were believed to have maintained good relations with the Chinese kingdoms, with the earliest mission sent from Chola king Rajaraja to the Song Dynasty in 1015, with subsequent visits in 1033 and 1077. The extensive trade between the Cholas and Chinese could have triggered disputes from Srivijaya kingdom, with the Cholas, as it was situated in-between the trade routes. A second expedition to Sri Lanka in 1041 included wars against Vikramabahu, Jagaitpala, Sinhalese, and the expelled Pandyas, all of whom were defeated, allowing Rajendra to bring the Ceylonese territory under the Chola Empire. Till the end of his reign, he was constantly at campaigns and conflicts to protect his huge empire from invasions and hold it together. Eventually, he let his sons suppress revolts caused by the Pandyas and Cheras and in Sri Lanka. Major Battles He led the famous campaign against the Western Chalukyas and succeeded in invading Kollipakkai or modern-Kulpak in the north of Hyderabad. While his father was successful in capturing the northern part of Sri Lanka, he went ahead in annexing the entire island in 1017, defeating the Sinhala king, Mahinda V and imprisoning him in the Chola Country, where he died in captivity. He fought the Western Chalukya king, Jayasimha II, in the Battle of Maski, in 1021, who attempted to control the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi by supporting Vijayaditya VII and sending his nephew, Rajaraja Narendra, into exile. In 1025, he invaded Sangrama Vijayatungavarman’s Srivijaya kingdom, imprisoning him and capturing 226 its capital Kadaram, Pannai (present-Sumatra), Kedah (present-Malaysia) and Malaiyur (Malayan peninsula). Achievements He got a large artificial lake, measuring 16 miles long and 3 miles wide, constructed at his capital Gangaikondacholapuram, which is, till date, one of the largest manmade lakes in India. Being a devout and religious ruler, he got most of the brick-structured temples in his empire converted into stone shrines. Personal Life & Legacy He was believed to have had several queens, some of them being Mukkokilan, Arindhavan Madevi, Tribuvana or Vananan Mahadeviar, Panchavan Mahadevi, and Viramadevi, who committed sati upon his death in 1044. He was succeeded by three of his sons – Rajadhiraja Chola, Rajendra Chola II and Virarajendra Chola. He had two daughters – Pranaar Arul Mozhi Nangai and Ammanga Devi, who was married to Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja Narendra and bore the first Chalukya Chola emperor, Kulothunga Chola I. 227 Tamil in the Malay World: A number of medieval inscriptions written in Tamil language and script that have been found in Southeast Asia and China, mainly in Sumatra and peninsular Thailand. These texts arose directly from trade links between south India and certain parts of Southeast Asia and China, which involved the residence in those regions of Tamil-speaking Indians. Several of these overseas Tamil inscriptions mention well-known medieval Indian merchant associations." A good number of Tamil inscriptions, as well as Hindu and Buddhist icons emanating from South India, have been found in Southeast Asia (and even in parts of south China). On the Malay Peninsula, inscriptions have been found at Takuapa, not far from the Vishnuite statues of Khao Phra Narai in Southern Thailand. It is a short inscription indicating that an artificial lake named Avani-naranam was dug by Nangur-Udaiyan, which is the name of an individual who possessed a military fief at Nangur, being famous for his abilities as a warrior, and that the lake was placed under the protection of the members of the Manikkiramam (which according to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, was a merchant guild) living in the military camp. Since Avani-narayana is a surname of the Pallava King Nandivarman III who reigned from 826 to 849, we can deduce the approximate date of this inscription. In the capital of Tabralinga there is a sanctuary in which there is a bronze image of Ganesa bearing a Tamil inscription Majapisedesa in modern characters. Naval Raids: In 1025, Rajendra Chola I or Raja Ranganathan, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on the city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia,[1] and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time. Rajendra's overseas expedition against Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the day Malaysia and Indonesia were states of Southeast invaded Asia. by Rajendra Several Chola places I of in present the Chola dynasty.[2][3] The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025.[8] The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya, and Malay princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, such as Raja Chulan of Perak. 228 Throughout most of their shared history, ancient India and Indonesia enjoyed friendly and peaceful relations, therefore this Indian invasion is a unique event in Asian history. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Srivijaya maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 860 Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda Mahavihara in Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006 CE a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty — king Maravijayattungavarman — constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam. However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relations deteriorated as the Cholas attacked Srivijayan cities. The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. Sometimes Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia. While Srivijaya that controlled two major naval choke points; Malacca and Sunda Strait; at that time was a major trading empire that possess formidable naval forces. Malacca strait's northwest opening was controlled from Kedah on Peninsula side and from Pannai on the Sumatran side, while Malayu (Jambi) and Palembang controlled its southeast opening and also Sunda Strait. They practiced naval trade monopoly that forced any trade vessels that passed through their waters to call on their ports or otherwise being plundered. The reasons of this naval expedition are unclear with Nilakanta Sastri suggesting that the attack was probably caused by Srivijayan attempt to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East (especially China), or more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra to extend his digvijaya to the countries across the sea so well known to his subject at home, and therefore add luster to his crown. Another theory suggests that the reasons for the invasion was probably motivated by geopolitics and diplomatic relations. King Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga kingdom. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had religious nuance, since both Chola and Khmer empire are Hindu Shivaist, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya are Mahayana Buddhist. The Chola raid against Srivijaya was a swift campaign that left Srivijaya unprepared. To sail from India to the Indonesian Archipelago, vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the 229 Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda. The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola invasion was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. The unexpected attack led to the Cholas sacking the city and plundering the Kadatuan royal palace and monasteries. Thanjavur inscription states that Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor. After plundering the royal palace of Palembang, the Cholas launched successive attacks on other Srivijayan ports including Malayu, Tumasik, Pannai and Kedah. The Chola invasion did not result in administration over defeated cities as the armies moved fast and plundered the Srivijayan cities. The Chola armada seems to have taken advantage of the Southeast Asian monsoon for moving from one port to another swiftly. The tactic of a fast-moving unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate.The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region. Repurcussions: With the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman. This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Vijayottunggavarman, a Srivijayan princess who managed to escape the destruction of Palembang and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. 230 Despite the devastation, Srivijaya mandala still survived as the Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder. Nevertheless, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kahuripan and its successor, Kediri in Java based on agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Sri Deva was enthroned as the new king and the trading activities resumed. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. (See the paper of the authors on Ancient Tamil Traders academia.edu and research gate ) With the growing presence of Tamil guilds in the region, relations improved between Srivijaya and the Cholas. Chola nobles were accepted in Srivijaya court and in 1067 CE, a Chola prince named Divakara or Devakala was sent as a Srivijayan ambassador to the Imperial Court of China. The prince who was the nephew of Rajendra Chola later was enthroned in 1070 CE as Kulothunga Chola I. Later during the Kedah rebellion, Srivijaya asked the Cholas for help. In 1068 CE, Virarajendra Chola launched a naval raid to help Srivijaya reclaim Kedah, Virarajendra reinstated the Kedah king at the request of the Srivijayan Maharaja and Kedah accepted the Srivijayan sovereignty. 231 Artist fantasy art of ganesh from Srivijaya times sitting on a bed of skulls by DARKGRIMREAPER-above CHOLA PERIOD DEPICTION OF TAMIL TEMPLE DANCER 232 CHAPTERV Cōḻar kadatpadai The Chola Navy Timeline of events The major events which had direct and some of them deep impact in the development of the Chola Naval capability are listed here, which is in no case comprehensive. Archeological evidence: The dated excavations, 3000 BCE - Dugout canoes were found in Arikamedu, what is now in Puducherry.[  2400 BCE - Highly functional port is in operation in Lothal of what is now Gujarat.[  700 BCE - The first mention of the word Yavana in pottery around korkai.(meaning Greeks or Romans)  300 BCE - A load-stone compass with Chinese inscriptions is found off the coast of Kaaveripoompatnam.[  100 BCE - A settlement of Tamil/Pakrit speaking merchants founded in Rome  Late 1st century BCE - Roman glass was found in southern coastal regions of Tamil Nadu,[48] see: Indo-Roman trade relations Literary references and recordings 233 I. 356-321 BCE: The Periplus of Niarchus, an officer of Alexander the Great, describes the Persian coast. Niarchus commissioned thirty oared galleys to transport the troops of Alexander the Great from northwest India back to Mesopotamia, via the Persian Gulf and the Tigris, an established commercial route. II. 334-323 BCE: Eratosthenes, the librarian at Alexandria, drew a map which includes Sri Lanka and the mouth of the Ganges. Which states the exchange of traffic and commodity in the regions. III. 1st century BCE : When Vennikkuyithiar mentions about Karikala, he mentions several class of inland vessels by name. Some are Kalam, Punai, and Patri. Maritime Southeast Asia (as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia) comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia (East Malaysia), Philippines, Singapore and East Timor.[1] Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Southeast Asia. The 16th-century term "East Indies" and the later 19th-century term "Malay Archipelago" are also used to refer to maritime Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, the Old Javanese term "Nusantara" is also used as a synonym for Maritime Southeast Asia. The term, however, is nationalistic and has shifting boundaries. It usually only encompasses the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands, Maluku, and often Western New Guinea; excluding the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. 234 Stretching for several thousand kilometres, the area features a very large number of islands and boasts some of the richest marine, flora and fauna biodiversity on Earth. 235 The main demographic difference that sets Maritime Southeast Asia apart from modern Mainland Southeast Asia is that its population predominantly belongs to Austronesian groups. The region contains some of the world's most highly urbanized areas: Metro Manila, Singapore, Greater Jakarta. Geography The land and sea area of Maritime Southeast Asia exceeds 2 million km2.[4] These are more than 25,000 islands of the area that comprise many smaller archipelagoes.[5] The major groupings are:  Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei o o   Sunda Islands  Greater Sunda Islands  Lesser Sunda Islands Maluku Islands Philippines o Visayan Islands o Sulu Archipelago New Guinea and surrounding islands (when included) The seven largest islands are New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java in Indonesia; and Luzon and Mindanao in the Philippines. In the natural sciences, the region is sometimes known as the Maritime Continent. Geologically, the archipelago is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. Producing many volcanoes especially in Java, Sumatra and Lesser Sunda Islands region where most volcanoes over 3,000 m (9,843 ft) situated. Tectonic uplifts also produced large mountains, including the highest in Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with a height of 4,095.2 m and Puncak Jaya on Papua, Indonesia at 4,884 m (16,024 ft). Other high mountains in the archipelago include Puncak Mandala, Indonesia at 4,760 m (15,617 ft) and Puncak Trikora, Indonesia, at 4,750 m (15,584 ft). The climate throughout the archipelago is tropical, owing to its position on the equator. Culture and demographics As of 2017, there were over 540 million people live in the region, with the most populated island being Java. The people living there are predominantly from Austronesian subgroupings and correspondingly speak western Malayo-Polynesian languages. This region of Southeast Asia shares social and cultural ties with both the peoples of mainland Southeast Asia and with other Austronesian peoples in the 236 Pacific. Islam is the predominant religion, with Christianity being the dominant religion in the Philippines and East Timor. Buddhism, Hinduism, and traditional Animism are also practiced among large populations. Historically, the region has been referred to as part of Greater India, as seen in Coedes' Indianized States of Southeast Asia, which refers to it as "Island Southeast Asia" and within Austronesia or Oceania, due to shared ethnolinguistic and historical origins of the latter groups (Micronesian and Polynesian groups) being from this region. History Historians have emphasized the maritime connectivity of the Southeast Asian region whereby it can be analyzed as a single cultural and economic unit, as has been done with the Mediterranean basin. This region stretches from the Yangtze delta in China down to the Malay Peninsula, including the South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand and Java Sea. The region was dominated by the thalassocratic cultures of the Austronesian peoples. 237 Ancient Indian Ocean trade The first true maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean was by the Austronesian peoples of Island Southeast Asia,[9] who built the first ocean-going ships. They established trade routes with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 1500 BC, ushering an exchange of material culture (like catamarans, outrigger boats, lashed-lug and sewn-plank boats, and paan) and cultigens (like coconuts, sandalwood, bananas, and sugarcane); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China. Indonesians, in particular were trading in spices (mainly cinnamon and cassia) with East Africa using catamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of the Westerlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued up to historic times. Maritime Silk Road The ancient Austronesian trade networks was later used by the first Chinese trading fleets of the Song Dynasty at around 900 AD. It led to a renewed flourishing of trade between China and Southeast Asia, now known as the Maritime Silk Road. Demand for Southeast Asian products and trade was partially driven by the increase in China’s population in this era, whereby it doubled from 75 to 150 million. Trade with China ceased after the collapse of the Song Dynasty due to invasions and famine. It was restored during the Ming Dynasty from the 14th to 16th centuries. The naval expeditions of Zheng He 238 between 1405 and 1431 also played a critical role in opening up of China to increased trade with Southeast Asian polities Chinese trade was strictly controlled by the Imperial Court, but the Hokkien diaspora facilitated informal trade and cultural exchange with Southeast Asia, settling among Southeast Asian polities during this time period. Despite not having the official sanction of the Chinese government these communities formed business and trade networks between cities such as Melaka, Hội An and Ayutthaya. Many of these Chinese businesspeople integrated into their new countries, becoming political officials and diplomats. The Chola Navy comprised the naval forces of the Chola Empire along with several other naval-arms of the country. The Chola navy played a vital role in the expansion of the Chola Empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Sri Vijaya (present-day Indonesia). The navy grew both in size and status during the Medieval Cholas reign. The Chola Admirals commanded much respect and prestige in the society. The navy commanders also acted as diplomats in some instances. From 900 to 1100, the navy had grown from a small backwater entity to that of a potent power projection and diplomatic symbol in all of Asia, but was gradually reduced in significance when the Cholas fought land battles for subjugating the Chalukyas of Andhra-Kannada area in South India. 239 The Chola Military was, on the other hand organized in the medieval era by emperor Rajaraja Chola I. The Cholas of the Vijayalaya Dynasty, who ruled parts of South India and Lanka between the tenth and thirteenth centuries CE, were dependent on their army and navy to expand and maintain order in their vast empire. Chola was the head of this army and navy. Origins: Chola inscriptions mention numerous regiments by specific names. Rajaraja Chola I created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy, which achieved even greater success under his son Rajendra Chola I. The army consisted of the Infantry, Cavalry and Elephant corps. There is no evidence of traditional Chariot corps found in ancient Hindu literature; rather, there were other specialists, like bowmen (villaligal). By Arunprasada Natarajan, 2016 At its peak, the Cholan army is said to have had two million soldiers simultaneously fighting for their kingdom. Chinese geographer Chau Ju-kua, writing in around 1225, gave the following account of the Chola Army: 240 This [Chola] country is at war with the kingdom of the [west] of India. The government owns sixty thousand war elephants, every one seven or eight feet high. When fighting these elephants carry on their backs houses, and these houses are full of soldiers who shoot arrows at long range, and fight with spears at close quarters. Organisation: The Army of the Cholas followed the ancient Indian tradition of Chaturangabala for organization and Sadangabala for administration, the fourfold force and sixfold control. In its shortened form, it is called RathaGajaTuraPadai, where Ratha is the chariot, Gaja the elephant, Tura the horses, and Padai the infantry. It was said that an army with proportional growth of the said forces was a balanced and well-composed one. In addition to the divisions, there were the Nadapu – the commissariat and Payanam – the admiralty and logistics. The addition to these, bureaucratic reforms revolutionized the Chola Army, resulting in victories on a massive scale. The regiments of the Chola Army had a degree of autonomy and were free to endow benefactions and build temples in their own names. Some regiments were entrusted with the management of minor temple shrines and were expected to provide for them. Others took money from the temple on interest, which they agreed to pay in cash. It is not known for what purposes they used this money, although the transactions serve to reveal the army's interest and involvement in the temples. 1. Senai 241 2. Commanding Officer's Rank: Senathipathi (Lord of the Army) Modern equivalent: Marshal of the Army 3. The standing army was organized into multiple Senais. The composition of each depended on its deployment or stationed location and role. Normally, a Chola Senai was the largest organizational unit. At various times in its existence, the army had between one and three Senais. 4. Thalam 5. Commanding Officer's Rank: Thalapathi – equivalent to the naval rank of Kalapathi. Modern equivalent: General The Senai is divided into various Thalams. A Thalam is a self-sustaining army formation with its own material resources and inventory. A Thalam usually contains: 1) 3 Yanaipadai – elephant corps, each with 300–500 elephants. 2) 3 Kudhiraipadai – cavalry corps, each with 500–1000 horses. 3) 6 Kaalaatpadai – infantry corps, each with 2000–3000 men. 4) 2 Thalpadai – auxiliaries, a mix of infantry & cavalry, each with 1000–2000 Men and 500– 1000 Horses. They could be used as rear-guard units as well as a guerilla force in times of withdrawal. 5) 2 Marathuvarani – medical corps of about 200–300 doctors with horse-drawn carriages and medical provisions. 6) 1 or 2 Oosipadai – strike corps 6.Ani-Commanding Officer's Rank': Anipathi (Lord of Group) Modern equivalent: Colonel A Thalam is subdivided into various Anis, which is one-third of a Thalam, with  1 Yanaipadai  1 Kudhiraipadai  2 Kaalatpadai  2 Thalpadai Regiments: The prominence given to the army from the conquest of the Pandyas down to the last year of the king’s reign is significant and shows the spirit with which the king treated his soldiers. Rajaraja evidently gave his army its due share in the glory derived from his extensive conquests. The army composed chiefly of Kaikolars (men with stronger arms), which were royal troops receiving regular 242 payments from the treasury. (e.g. Arul mozhideva-terinda-kaikola padai; in this, arulmozhideva is the king's name, terinda means well known, and padai means regime) The following regiments are mentioned in the Tanjavur inscriptions: 1) Uttama- Chola-terinda-Andalagattalar 2) Perundanattu Anaiyatkal – Elephant corps. 3) Pandita-Chola-Terinda-villigal – Archers 4) Nigarili- Chola terinda-Udanilai-Kudiraichchevagar – Cavalry 5) Mummadi- Chola-terinda-Anaippagar – Elephant corps 6) Vira- Chola-Anukkar 7) Parantaka-Kongavalar – Light Infantry 8) Mummadi- Chola-terinda-parivarattar 9) Keralantaka-terinda-parivarattar 10) Mulaparivara-vitteru alias Jananatha-terinda-parivarattar 11) Singalantaka-terinda-parivarattar 12) Sirudanattu Vadugakkalavar 13) Valangai-Parambadaigalilar 14) Sirudanattu-Valangai-Velaikkarappadaigal 15) Aragiya- Chola-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 16) Aridurgalanghana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 17) Chandaparakrama-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 18) Ilaiya-Rajaraja-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 19) Kshatriyasikhamani-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 20) Murtavikramabharana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 21) Rajakanthirava-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 22) Rajaraja-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 23) Rajavinoda-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 24) Ranamukha-Bhima-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 25) Vikramabharana-terinda-Valangai-Velaikkarar 26) Keralantaka-vasal-tirumeykappar 27) Anukka-vasal-tirumeykappar – Personal bodyguards 28) Parivarameykappargal – Personal bodyguards 29) Palavagai-Parampadaigalilar 243 30) Perundanattu-Valangai-Velaikkarappadaigal Guards Regiment or Velaikkarappadaigal or Velaikkarar is the equivalent of "Guards regiment" or "King's Regiment"—a royal suffix given in honor of their loyalty and bravery. Some historians like Stein also propose that they were drawn from the civilian population during wartime, suggesting they were more like a national guard. They are mentioned in the Mahavamsa; according to that account, the Sinhalese kingdom tried to use them as mercenaries against the Chola empire. They were later silenced and decommissioned when they refused and rebelled. There are almost seventy of such regiments that have been found in these inscriptions. In most of the foregoing names, the first portion appears to be the surnames or titles of the king himself or that of his son. That these regiments were called after the king or his son shows the attachment that the Chola king bore towards his army. It may not be unreasonable to suppose that these royal names were prefixed to the designations of these regiments after they had distinguished themselves in some engagement or other. It is worthy of note that there are elephant troops, cavalry and foot soldiers among these regiments. Top officers took various titles after the different kings such as I. II. Rajaraja chola Brahmarajan, Rajarajakesari Muvendavelar, Jayamkondachola Villuparaiyar, III. Uttamachola Muvendavelar, IV. Manukula Muvendavelar, V. Nittavinotha Muvendavelar, VI. Atirajendra Muvendavelar, VII. VIII. Mummudi chola pallavaraiyar, and Viranarayanan Muvendavelan. Garrisons: The army was stationed throughout the country in the form of local garrisons and in cantonments called Kadagams. After the troubles in the Pandya country, Kulothunga Chola I stationed his army in a number of military colonies along the main route to Pandya from Chola lands. One such colony was found at Kottaru and another at Madavilagam near South Arcot district in Tamil Nadu. Recruitments to both Navy and Army: There are no records of Chola recruitment methods or the number of permanent troops in the army. In feudal times, the children of warriors and soldiers readily 244 joined the army in keeping with the spirit of chivalry and Tamil martial tradition. They were a highly motivated and professionally trained force with a very strong martial tradition. Some of the regiments clearly had martial customs and history of their own and the members of such regiments clearly exhibited high levels of discipline, pride and self-esteem. Mlitary cantonments called Kadagam in Sangam Tamil indicates that there were regular training and military practices as part of the Tamil martial arts tradition. The Palayam system was based on a feudal class structure of warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants, where the distinctions between the caste statuses of the constituent classes were strictly enforced. To symbolize this society, Tamil warriors wore swords in everyday life because the system was maintained by their military prowess. These martial tradition and practices were later outlawed by the British. The modern Indian army has a Madras regiment that serves as the sole unit for all of South India. There were military colonies known as nilai puram. A nilaipuram contained a number of forts. In Keralasinga Valanadu of the North Pandya country, there were five nilaipurams. These were named after the five coronational names of the Pandyas: Sundara, Kulasekhara, Vikrama, Vira, and Parakrama Pandya. The Chola Navy comprised the naval forces of the Chola Empire along with several other naval arms of the country. It played a vital role in the expansion of the Chola Empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and Sri Vijaya (present-day Indonesia), the spread of Shaivism, Tamil architecture and Tamil culture to Southeast Asia, and in curbing the piracy in Southeast Asia in the tenth century. There is evidence that even in the time of Parantaka I, there was a considerable navy involved in the numerous invasions of Lanka. Rajendra Chola's naval victories in Srivijaya were a culmination of centuries of naval tradition. All the Tamil kingdoms had some sort of navy in their arsenal. The Cholas continued the ancient tradition and gave much attention to developing their naval strength. The conquest of Sri Lanka and Maldivesand the embassies sent to China show the success of the Chola Navy. The Chola Admirals acted as ambassadors in many South-East Asian Kingdoms during this time. During the reigns of RajaRaja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, it is said that the Cholan navy had over one million naval soldiers. 245 Many types of ships (including Colandia) and naval weapons were employed in the navy. Judging from the inscriptions of the Cholas themselves, life was made intolerable for the population living on either side of the Tungabhadra by the bitterness and the regularity of the Chola-Chalukya wars that eventually exhausted both empires. The evidence from Lanka and the Chalukya countries[ndicates that even the common rules of fair fighting and chivalry were often ignored and wanton injury was inflicted upon the non-combatant population.The Chola army collected much loot from these conflicts. The treasure collected must have been enormous and were distributed by the king to public endowments and institutions. East, South and Southeast Asia A Song dynasty naval river ship with a Xuanfeng traction-trebuchet catapult on its top deck, from an illustration of the Wujing Zongyao (1044) 246 A Chinese paddle-wheel driven ship, from a Qing dynasty published in 1726. Korean turtle ship on right. A 17th-century model of Vietnamese "Mông đồng" ship. The vessel appears to be propelled by a score of oars and armed with one bombard and a smaller culverin. The roof is recorded to be protected against projectiles with hide or bronze plates. The Chola dynasty of medieval India was a dominant seapower in the Indian Ocean, an avid maritime trader and diplomatic entity with Song China. Rajaraja Chola I (reigned 985 to 1014) and his son Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–42), sent a great naval expedition that occupied parts of Myanmar, Malaya, and Sumatra. The Cholas were the first rulers noted to have a naval fleet in the Indian subcontinent; there are at least two evidences to cite use of navies. Narasimhavarman Pallava I transported his troops to Sri Lanka to help Manavarman to reclaim the throne. Shatavahanahas was 247 known to possess a navy that was widely deployed to influence Southeast Asia, however the extent of their use is not known. The Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties of China were involved in several naval affairs over the triple set of polities ruling medieval Korea (Three Kingdoms of Korea), along with engaging naval bombardments on the peninsula from Asuka period Yamato Kingdom (Japan). The Tang dynasty aided the Korean kingdom of Silla (see also Unified Silla) and expelled the Korean kingdom of Baekje with the aid of Japanese naval forces from the Korean peninsula (see Battle of Baekgang) and conquered Silla's Korean rivals, Baekje and Goguryeo by 668. In addition, the Tang had maritime trading, tributary, and diplomatic ties as far as modern Sri Lanka, India, Islamic Iran and Arabia, as well as Somalia in East Africa. From the Axumite Kingdom in modern-day Ethiopia, the Arab traveller Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas sailed from there to Tang China during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Two decades later, he returned with a copy of the Quran, establishing the first Islamic mosque in China, the Mosque of Remembrance in Guangzhou. A rising rivalry followed between the Arabs and Chinese for control of trade in the Indian Ocean. In his book Cultural Flow Between China and the Outside World, Shen Fuwei notes that maritime Chinese merchants in the 9th century were landing regularly at Sufala in East Africa to cut out Arab middle-men traders. Some argue that there is no evidence to support naval warfare in a contemporary sense. Others say that ships routinely carried bands of soldiers to keep pirates at bay. However, since the Arabs were known 248 to use catapults, naptha, and devices attached to ships to prevent boarding parties, one may conclude that Chola navies not only transported troops but also provided support, protection, and attack capabilities against enemy targets. In Nusantara archipelago, large ocean going ships of more than 50 m in length and 4-7 m freeboard are already used at least since the 1st century AD, contacting West Africa to China. Srivijaya empire since the 7th century AD controlled the sea of the western part of the archipelago. The Kedukan Bukit inscription is the oldest record of Indonesian military history, and noted a 7th-century Srivijayan siddhayatra expedition led by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa. He was said to have brought 20,000 troops, including 200 seamen and 1,312 foot soldiers. The 10th century Arab account Ajayeb alHind (Marvels of India) gives an account of invasion in Africa, probably by Malay people of Srivijaya, in 945-946 CE. They arrived in the coast of Tanganyika and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as ivory, tortoise shells, panther skins, and ambergris, and also because they wanted black slaves from Bantu people (called Zeng or Zenj by Malay, Jenggi by Javanese) who were strong and make good slaves. Srivijaya remained a formidable sea power until the 13th century. It is theorized that the main warship of the Srivijaya was an outrigger ship called akin to Borobudur ship. In 1293, Mongol Yuan Dynasty launched an invasion to Java. The Yuan sent 1000 ships and 20,00030,000 soldiers, but ultimately defeated in the land by surprise attack, forcing the army to fall back to the beach. In the coast, Javanese junk ships already attacked Mongol ships. After all of the troops had boarded the ships on the coast, the Yuan army battled the Javanese fleet. After repelling it, they sailed back to Quanzhou. Gunung Butak inscription from 1294 mentioned that naval commander Aria Adikara intercepting a further Mongol invasion and successfully defeating it before landing in Java. Although with only scarce information, travellers passing the region, such as Ibn Battuta and Odoric of Pordenone, however noted that Java had been attacked by the Mongols several times, always ending in failure. After those failed invasions, Majapahit empire quickly grew and became the dominant naval power in the 14-15th century. The usage of cannons in the Mongol invasion of Java, led to deployment of cetbang cannons by Majapahit fleet in 1300s and subsequent near universal use of the swivel-gun and cannons in the Nusantara archipelago. The main warship of Majapahit navy was the jong. The jongs were large transport ships which could carry 500-800 tons of cargo and 200-1000 people, 70-180 249 meter in length. The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350. In this era, even to the 17th century, the Nusantaran naval soldiers fought on a platform on their ships called Balai and performed boarding actions. Majapahit navy used breech-loading cannon called cetbang to counter this type of fighting, firing scattershots against the enemy personnel. In the 12th century, China's first permanent standing navy was established by the Southern Song dynasty, the headquarters of the Admiralty stationed at Dinghai. This came about after the conquest of northern China by the Jurchen people (see Jin dynasty) in 1127, while the Song imperial court fled south from Kaifeng to Hangzhou. Equipped with the magnetic compass and knowledge of Shen Kuo's famous treatise (on the concept of true north), the Chinese became proficient experts of navigation in their day. They raised their naval strength from a mere 11 squadrons of 3,000 marines to 20 squadrons of 52,000 marines in a century's time. Employing paddle wheel crafts and trebuchets throwing gunpowder bombs from the decks of their ships, the Southern Song dynasty became a formidable foe to the Jin dynasty during the 12th–13th centuries during the Jin–Song Wars. There were naval engagements at the Battle of Caishi and Battle of Tangdao. With a powerful navy, China dominated maritime trade throughout South East Asia as well. Until 1279, the Song were able to use their naval power to defend against the Jin to the north, until the Mongols finally conquered all of China. After the Song dynasty, the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China was a powerful maritime force in the Indian Ocean. 250 The Yuan emperor Kublai Khan attempted to invade Japan twice with large fleets (of both Mongols and Chinese), in 1274 and again in 1281, both attempts being unsuccessful (see Mongol invasions of Japan). Building upon the technological achievements of the earlier Song dynasty, the Mongols also employed early cannons upon the decks of their ships. 251 While Song China built its naval strength, the Japanese also had considerable naval prowess. The strength of Japanese naval forces could be seen in the Genpei War, in the large-scale Battle of Dan-noura on 25 April 1185. The forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune were 850 ships strong, while Taira no Munemori had 500 ships. In the mid-14th century, the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) seized power in the south amongst many other rebel groups. His early success was due to capable officials such as Liu Bowen and Jiao Yu, and their gunpowder weapons (see Huolongjing). Yet the decisive battle that cemented his success and his founding of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was the Battle of Lake Poyang, considered one of the largest naval battles in history. In the 15th century, the Chinese admiral Zheng He was assigned to assemble a massive fleet for several diplomatic missions abroad, sailing throughout the waters of the South East Pacific and the Indian Ocean. During his maritime missions, on several occasions Zheng's fleet came into conflict with pirates. Zheng's fleet also became involved in a conflict in Sri Lanka, where the King of Ceylon traveled back to Ming China afterwards to make a formal apology to the Yongle Emperor. The Ming imperial navy defeated a Portuguese navy led by Martim Affonso in 1522. The Chinese destroyed one vessel by targeting its gunpowder magazine, and captured another Portuguese ship. A Ming army and navy led by Koxinga defeated a western power, the Dutch East India Company, at the Siege of Fort Zeelandia, the first time China had defeated a western power. The Chinese used cannons and ships to bombard the Dutch into surrendering. Ancient China An Eastern Han (25–220 AD) Chinese pottery boat fit for riverine and maritime sea travel, with an anchor at the bow, a steering rudder at the stern, roofed compartments with windows and doors, and miniature sailors. 252 In ancient China, the first known naval battles took place during the Warring States period (481–221 BC) when vassal lords battled one another. Chinese naval warfare in this period featured grapple-andhook, as well as ramming tactics with ships called "stomach strikers" and "colliding swoopers". It was written in the Han dynasty that the people of the Warring States era had employed chuan ge ships (dagger-axe ships, or halberd ships), thought to be a simple description of ships manned by marines carrying dagger-axe halberds as personal weapons. The 3rd-century writer Zhang Yan asserted that the people of the Warring States period named the boats this way because halberd blades were actually fixed and attached to the hull of the ship in order to rip into the hull of another ship while ramming, to stab enemies in the water that had fallen overboard and were swimming, or simply to clear any possible dangerous marine animals in the path of the ship (since the ancient Chinese did believe in sea monsters; see Xu Fu for more info). Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC), owed much of his success in unifying southern China to naval power, although an official navy was not yet established (see Medieval Asia section below). The people of the Zhou dynasty were known to use temporary pontoon bridges for general means of transportation, but it was during the Qin and Han dynasties that large permanent pontoon bridges were assembled and used in warfare (first written account of a pontoon bridge in the West being the oversight of the Greek Mandrocles of Samos in aiding a military campaign of Persian emperor Darius I over the Bosporus). During the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the Chinese began using the stern-mounted steering rudder, and they also designed a new ship type, the junk. From the late Han dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD), large naval battles such as the Battle of Red Cliffs marked the advancement of naval warfare in the East. In the latter engagement, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei destroyed a large fleet commanded by Cao Cao in a fire-based naval attack. In terms of seafaring abroad, arguably one of the first Chinese to sail into the Indian Ocean and to reach Sri Lanka and India by sea was the Buddhist monk Faxian in the early 5th century, although diplomatic ties and land trade to Persia and India were established during the earlier Han dynasty. However, Chinese naval maritime influence would penetrate into the Indian Ocean until the medieval period. 253 Medieval navy The model of a Chola Era Ship's hull, built by the expand abbreviation based on a wreck 19 miles off the coast of Poombuhar, displayed in a Museum in Tirunelveli Little is known about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (c. 300) up to the time when the Pandyas and Pallavas dominated the Tamil country (c. 600). An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras, invaded the Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled for around three centuries. They were displaced by the Pallavas and the Pandyas in the 6th century. The period from the 3rd century to the 7th century, which is known as the blind spot is a blind spot in the maritime tradition of the Cholas. Little is known of the fate of the Cholas during the succeeding three centuries until the accession of Vijayalaya in the second quarter of the 9th century. In the Interregnum, the Cholas were probably reduced to Vassals of Pallavas, though at times they switched sides and allied with Pandyas and tried to dispose their overlords. But, there is no concrete line of kings or court recordings. 254 However, even during this time the Cholas had maintained a small but potent Naval force based inland in the Kaveri river. During this time they dominated the inland trade in the Kaveri basin and Musuri is their major inland port. Dry-docks built during this period exist to this day. Imperial navy with blue-water capabilities The power of cholas empire attained peak (c. 1050) during the reign of Rajendra Chola I. This phase of the history is the most well documented one, partly due the survival of the edicts and inscriptions from the time along with reliable foreign narratives. This has enabled historians to interpolate various accounts and come up with a clear account of Chola Naval activities of the time. The Imperial Chola navy took its shape in the aftermath of the resurgence of Chola power, with the rise of Vijalaya dynasty. During the Pallavas rule, the Cholas took control of not only the territories, but the cultural and socio-economic mantle. Thus, the Medieval Cholas inherited the will to dominate trade and control seas from the Pallavas. The evolution of combat ships and naval-architecture elsewhere played an important part in the development of the Pallava Navy. There were serious efforts in the period of the Pallava king Simavishnu was to control the piracy in South East Asia and to establish a Tamil friendly regime in the Malay peninsula. However, this effort was accomplished only three centuries later by the new Naval power of the Cholas. The three decades of conflict with the Sinhala King Mahinda V came to a swift end, after Raja Raja Chola I's (985-1014) ascent to the throne and his decisive use of the naval flotilla to subdue the Sinhalese. This period also marked the departure in thinking from the ageold traditions. Rajaraja commissioned various foreigners (Prominently, the Arabs and Chinese) in the naval building program. These effort were continued and the benefits were reaped by his successor, Rajendra Chola I. Rajendra led a successful expedition against the Sri Vijaya kingdom (present day Indonesia) and subdued Sailendra. Though there were friendly exchanges between the Sri Vijaya empire and the Chola Empire in preceding times (including the construction of chudamani Pagoda in Nagapattinam), the raid seems to have been motivated by the commercial interests rather than any political motives. Trade, commerce and diplomacy A Chinese flame thrower of the 9th century, Designs like this were incorporated into the Chola Navy The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. A fragmentary Tamil inscription found in Sumatra cites with the name of a merchant guild Nanadesa Tisaiyayirattu Ainnutruvar 255 literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions", a famous merchant guild in the Chola country. The inscription is dated 1088, indicating that there was an active overseas trade during the Chola period. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity, especially with the Chinese and Arabs. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures. The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire in the Malayan archipelago under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid caliphate at Baghdad were the main trading partners. The trade with the Chinese was a very lucrative enterprise, and Trade guilds needed the king's approval and the license from the customs force/department to embark on overseas voyages for trade.[23] The normal trade voyage of those day involved three legs of journey, starting with the Indian goods (mainly spices, cotton and gems) being shipped to China and in the return leg the Chinese goods (silk, incense,iron) were brought back to Chola ports. After some materials were utilized for local consumption, the remaining cargo along with Indian cargo was shipped to the Arabs. Traditionally, this involved transfer of material/cargo to many ships before the ultimate destination was reached. The auxiliary forces of the Chola Navy has its additional services. which had a naval arm of its own. Notable among them are the customs department, militia and the state monopoly of pearl fisheries. In addition to the state services, a small but formidable forces were maintained by various trade-guilds, these guilds are highly regulated and acted as mercenaries and reinforcements in times of need. Customs and excise The Customs force, called Sungu (SUNGA ILLAKA) was highly organized and has its own reputation in the ancient world. It was under the command of a Director-general like position called Thalai-Thirvai. Thalai - Head, Thirvai - duty (customs). It was highly evolved and had various departments . Coast guard In the later years of the 10 th century, the navy was constantly battling in many fronts to protect Chola commercial, religious and political interests. So the home ports were literally, undefended. This led to a change in Chola naval strategy, the sturdier and larger vessels were repeatedly called to reinforce the high-sea flotilla, leading to the development of a specialized auxiliary force of fast and heavily armed light ships in large numbers. The erstwhile Karaipirivu was the natural choice for this 256 expansion and in time they became an autonomous force vested with the duties of protecting the Chola territorial waters, home ports, patrol of newly captured ports and coastal cities.1 Early activit: The earliest Chola kings of whom there is tangible evidence are mentioned in the Sangam literature. Scholars now generally agree that this literature belongs to the first few centuries of the common era. The Sangam literature is full of names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. Ancient navy The earliest record of Chola naval activity by an external source dates to around the 1st century, the Roman report of Kaveripoompattinam (presently known as Poombuhar) as Haverpoum and a description of how the Trade vessels were escorted by the King's fleet to the estuary as it was a natural harbor in the mouth of the river Kaveri. Little archeological evidence exists of the maritime activities of this era, except some excavated wooden plaques depicting naval engagements in the vicinity of the old city (See Poompuhar for more details. However, much insight into the naval activities of the Cholas has been gathered from Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. In this work, the unknown merchant describes the activity of escort-ships assigned to the merchant vessels with valuable cargo. These early naval ships had some sort of a rudimentary flame-thrower and or a catapult type weapon. By this they sailed to pacific islands from Kaveripatnam(as center).. At that time, Pattinathu Pillai is the chief of the Chola's Navy. Medieval navy. Interregnum Little is known about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (c. 300) up to the time when the Pandyas and Pallavas dominated the Tamil country (c. 600). An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras, invaded the Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled for around three centuries. They were displaced by the Pallavas and the Pandyas in the 6th century. This period from the 3rd century until the 7th century is a blind spot in the maritime tradition of the Cholas. Little is known of the fate of the Cholas during the succeeding three centuries until the 257 accession of Vijayalaya in the second quarter of the 9th century. In the Interregnum, the Cholas were probably reduced to Vassals of Pallavas, though at times they switched sides and allied with Pandyas and tried to dispose their overlords. But, there is no concrete line of kings or court recordings. However, even during this time the Cholas had maintained a small but potent Naval force based inland in the Kaveri river. During this time they dominated the inland trade in the Kaveri basin and Musuri is their major inland port. Dry-docks built during this period exist to this day. A Chinese flame thrower of the 9th century, Designs like this were incorporated into the Chola Navy 258 Trade, commerce and diplomacy: The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. A fragmentary Tamil inscription found in Sumatra cites the name of a merchant guild Nanadesa Tisaiyayirattu Ainnutruvar (literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions"), a famous merchant guild in the Chola country.The inscription is dated 1088, indicating that there was an active overseas trade during the Chola period. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity, especially with the Chinese and Arabs. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures. The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire in the Malayan archipelago under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid caliphate at Baghdad were the main trading partners. The trade with the Chinese was a very lucrative enterprise, and Trade guilds needed the king's approval and the license from the customs force/department to embark on overseas voyages for trade.[24] The normal trade voyage of those day involved three legs of journey, starting with the Indian goods (mainly spices, cotton and gems) being shipped to China and in the return leg the Chinese goods (silk, incense,iron) were brought back to Chola ports. After some materials were utilized for local consumption, the remaining cargo along with Indian cargo was shipped to the Arabs. Traditionally, this involved transfer of material/cargo to many ships before the ultimate destination was reached. Combating Piracy in Southeast Asia The Strategic position of Sri Vijaya and Khamboj (modern-day Cambodia) as a midpoint in the trade route between Chinese and Arabian ports was crucial. Up to the 5th century, the Arabs traded with Chinese directly using Sri Vijaya as a port of call and replenishment hub. Realizing their potential, the Sri Vijaya empire began to encourage the sea piracy surrounding the area. The benefits were twofold, the loot from piracy was a good bounty and it ensured their sovereignty and cooperation from all the trading parties. Piracy also grew stronger due to a conflict of succession in Sri Vijaya, when two princes fought for the throne and in turn, relied on the loot from the sea-piracy for their civil war. 259 The pirate menace grew to unprecedented levels. Sea trade with China was virtually impossible without the loss of 1/3 of the convoy for every voyage. Even escorted convoys came under attacks, which was a new factor. Repeated diplomatic missions urged the Sri Vijaya empire to curb the piracy, with little effect. With the rise in piracy, and in the absence of Chinese commodity, the Arabs, on whom the Cholas were dependent of horses for their cavalry corps, began to demand high prices for their trade. This led to a slew of reduction in the Chola army. The Chinese were equally infuriated by the piracy menace, as they too were losing revenue. The culmination of three century's combined naval traditions of Pallavas and Cholas led to the most known accomplishment of the Chola Navy (or any Indian power for that matter). Namely the 1st expedition of the Chola navy into the Malay peninsula. In one particular note, the Cholas went as far as to conquer the Kamboja and gave it to the Sri Vijaya kings (as per their request) to ensure cooperation in the curbing piracy. Cooperation with the Chinese: Chinese Song Dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in the year 1077, and that the king of the Chulien at the time was called Ti-hua-kia-lo. It is possible that these syllables denote "Deva Kulo[tunga]" (Kulothunga Chola I). This embassy was a trading venture and was highly profitable to the visitors, who returned 260 with '81,800 strings of copper coins in exchange for articles of tributes, including glass articles, and spices'. The close diplomatics tie between the Song dynasty of China and the Medieval Cholas facilitated many technological innovations to travel both ways. The more interesting ones to have reached Chinese shores are:  The famous Chola ship-designs employing independent water tight compartments in the hull of a ship.  The mariner's compass  The continuously shooting flamethrowers for naval warfare. Organization and administration Trade Routes of Southeast Asia around the Srivijaya Empire and Kediri around the 12th and early 13th century. The Ancient Chola navy was based on trade vessel designs with little more than boarding implements, though this changed throughout the history. The later day navy was a specialized force with specially built ships for each type of combat. The Imperial Navy of the Medieval Cholas was composed of a multitude of forces in its command. In addition to the regular navy (Kappal-Padai), there were many auxiliary forces that could be used in naval combat. The Chola Navy was an autonomous service unlike many of its contemporaries. The Army depended on the Naval-fleets for transportation and logistics. The navy also had a core of marines. Even saboteurs, who were trained pearl-fishermen ,were used to dive and disable enemy vessels by destroying or damaging the rudder. The Chola Navy could undertake any of the following combat and non-combat missions,  Peacetime patrol and interdiction of piracy.  Escort trade conveys.  Escort friendly vessels.  Naval battle close to home ports and at high-seas. 261  Establish a beachhead and or reinforce the army in times of need.  Denial of passage for allies of the state's enemies.  Sabotage of enemy vessels This multi-dimensional force enabled the Cholas to achieve the Military, Political and cultural hegemony over their vast dominion. Administration The king/emperor was the supreme commander of all the military forces including the navy. The navy is organized mostly on role based squadrons ans divisions, containing various types of ships assigned for a specific role and home-ported in an associated base/port. This procedure became necessary, especially after the conquest of Ceylon. Normally, a Ganam (Fleet-Squadron) would (the largest individual unit) be commanded by a Ganathipathy (not to be confused with the elephant headed god Ganapathy). Rank structure The Chola navy used a hybrid rank structure. There were dedicated naval ranks as well as army-derived ranks. The Chola Navy used both naval ranks and army-style ranks. While some of the modern-day convention of ranks did apply, for example, the army captain is equal to a lieutenant in the navy and a navy captain is equal to a colonel in the army; others were totally different. So a small comparison is provided for comparison. 262  The supreme commander :Chakravarthy - The emperor  The commander-in chief of navy :Jalathipathhi - roughly, the admiral of the navy.  The commander of the navy :Tandalnayagam - roughly, the admiral of the navy.[36]  The commander of the fleet : Pirivu+ Athipathy or Devar/n or Nayagan - The equivalent of an admiral  The commander of the fleet-squadron : Ganathipathy - roughly the equivalent of a rearadmiral  The commander of a group : Mandalathipathy#(refer below) - the equivalent of a vice-admiral  The commander of the ship : Kalapathy -The equivalent of a captain in modern navies.  The officer in-charge of arms in a ship : Kaapu - Roughly the executive officer and weapons officer rolled into one.  The officer in-charge of the oarsmen/masts : Seevai - roughly the equivalent of the master chief and engineering officer.  The officer in-charge of boarding party (marines) : Eeitimaar - major or captain in marines. Other naval arms The auxiliary forces of the Chola Navy In addition to the standing navy of the state, there were other services which had a naval arm of its own. Notable among them are the customs department, militia and the state monopoly of pearl fisheries. In addition to the state services, a small but formidable forces were maintained by various trade-guilds, these guilds are highly regulated and acted as mercenaries and reinforcements in times of need.[37] Customs and excise The Customs force, called Sungu (SUNGA ILLAKA) was highly organized and unlike anything in the ancient world. It was under the command of a Director-general like position called Thalai-Thirvai. Thalai - Head, Thirvai - duty (customs). It was highly evolved and had various departments[38] Some are Department Duties Assets Thirvai This unit employed some of the brilliant They normally had boarding officers, (Customs duty merchants of the time and most were boarding crafts and some sea vessels; as 263 and Excise) professional economists. They deduced most of their duty was inland. and fixed the percentage of the Customs duty of a commodity for a particular season. (trade-voyages were influenced by ocean currents and hence the price changed accordingly) This unit was the Action arm of the trade These units employed some of the fast Aaivu law, they inspected ships for contraband, assault and boarding vessels of the time and (Inspection and illegal goods, wrong declaring of tonnage, in more than one reported occasion, the enforcement) small crimes control and the protection of navy had sought its help in intercepting the Harbors under Chola dominion. rogue vessels.† They operated highly capable vessels which They were the intelligence corps of the territorial waters of the Chola dominion. Ottru They normally tailed foreign vessels, (intelligence performed path-finding for larger forces corps) or convoys and gave periodic updates for the kings and the trade guilds of the happenings in the sea. are noted for stealth and speed, rather than brute force and weapons platforms. Most of the ships they operated were privateers and contained no national markings. We have some understandings of their crafts, which seemed to have been equipped with concealable catapults and napalm throwers (not trebuchets like the ones employed by the naval ships.) Technically, they were not employed by either the sovereign or the state. But rather, they are pirates themselves who These mercenaries operated anything that have received the Royal Pardon on the they could capture and composed of multiKallarani pledge of their support of the Chola national-ethnic corps. Notable among them (pirate squad) Empire. They had been used in more than are the Arabian Amirs, who were highly a few instances to deal with Arab piracy respected upon their oath of allegiance and in western waters. They have also been their fervor in combat. used as auxiliary units of the Coast Guard. 264 They performed duties akin to the modern Karaipirivu coast-guard, search and rescue and coastal (Coastal patrols. But mainly they were land-based defense) and scattered along the long coast-line to provide a seaward defense. They operated substantially smaller crafts and occasionally even catamarans . Nevertheless, they were feared by petty crooks and coastal thieves. Coast guard In the later years of the 110 the navy was constantly battling in many fronts to protect Chola commercial, religious and political interests. So the home ports were literally, undefended. This led to a change in Chola naval strategy, the sturdier and larger vessels were repeatedly called to reinforce the high-sea flotilla, leading to the development of a specialized auxiliary force of fast and heavily armed light ships in large numbers. The erstwhile Karaipirivu was the natural choice for this expansion and in time they became an autonomous force vested with the duties of protecting the Chola territorial waters, home ports, patrol of newly captured ports and coastal cities. Privateer The state's dependence on overseas trade for much valued foreign exchange created the powerful Trade-guilds, some of which grew more powerful than the regional governors.[39] And in the increasingly competitive field of international trade, the state faced with difficulties to reinforce and or rescue stranded Merchant ships in high seas, in a timely manner. This led to the establishment of privateer navies. Like its European counterparts, they had no National markings and employed multinational crews. But, they were employed by the Trade-guilds rather than the Empire, giving the Traders an edge in the seas. Normally, they performed path-finding, escort and protection duties. but, in more than a few occasions, these forces had been summoned to serve the Empire's interests. Notable Trade guilds which employed a privateer navy were,  Nanadesa Tisaiyayirattu Ainnutruvar - literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions" 265  Maalainattu Thiribuvana Vaanibar kzhulumam - The merchants from the high-country in three worlds (meaning the 3 domiciles of Chinese, Indian and Arabian empires)  Maadathu valaingair (or valainzhr)vaanibar Kzhu - The pearl exporters form the Kanchipuram. Vessels and weapons A Song Dynasty junk ship, 13th century; Chinese ships of the Song period featured hulls with watertight compartments. Some of these vessels are believed to have been employed by the Chola Navy too. Even before the accounts of the 1st century BCE, there were written accounts of shipbuilding and warcraft at sea. Professor R. C. Majumdar says that there existed a comprehensive book of navalarchitecture in India dating back to the 2nd century BCE, if not earlier. During the reign of Raja Raja and his son, there were a complex classification of class of vessels and its utility. Some of the survived classes' name and utility are below.  Dharani - The equivalent of modern-day destroyers designed to take combat to high-seas.  Loola - The equivalent of modern-day corvettes; designed to perform light combat and escort duties.  Vajra - The equivalent of a frigate maybe, a fast attack craft lightly armored. 266  Thirisadai - Probably the battle cruisers or battleships of the day, they are reported to be armored heavily and could engage more than 2 targets in combat, and relied on its built rather than speed to survive and attack. Though all ships of the time employed a small Marine force (for boarding enemy vessels), this class of ship seems to have had a separate cabins and training area for them. This ship also is said to be able to engage in asymmetrical warfare. The primary weapons platform with extensive endurance (up Dharani to 3 months), they normally engaged in groups and avoided one on one encounters. They were lightly armored, fast attack vessels. Normally Lola performed escort duties. They could not perform frontal assaults. Probably reinforce/rescue a stranded fleet. to modern-day Destroyers. Equivalent to modern-day Corvettes. They were highly capable fast attack crafts, typically used to Probably Vajara equivalent equivalent to modern-day Frigates. The heaviest class known, they had extensive war-fighting capabilities and endurance, with a dedicated marine force of This Thirisadai class can around 400 Marines to board enemy vessels. They are attributed/compared be to reported to be able to engage three vessels of Dharani class, modern Battle cruisers or hence the name Thirisadai, which means, three braids. (Braid Battleships. was also the time's name for oil-fire.) Apart from class definitions, there are names of Royal Yachts and their architecture. Some of which are,  Akramandham - A royal Yacht with the Royal quarters in the stern.  Neelamandham - A royal Yacht with extensive facilities for conducting courts and accommodation for hi-officials/ministers.  Sarpammugam - these were smaller yachts used in the Rivers (with ornamental snake heads) In addition to these, we find many names of Ship classes in Purananuru and its application in both inland waters and open oceans. Some of them are, 267  Yanthiram - Hybrid ship employing bot sails and oars or probably Paddle wheels of some type (as Yanthiram is literally translated to mechanical wheel)  Kalam - Large vessels with 3 masts which can travel in any direction irrespective of winds.  Punai - medium-sized vessels that can be used to coastal shipping as well as inland.  Patri - Large barge type vessel used to ferrying trade goods.  Oodam - Small boat with large oars.  Ambi - Medium-sized boat with a single mast and oars.  Toni - small boat used in rocky terrain. Campaigns In the tenure spanning the 700 years of its documented existence, the Chola Navy was involved in confrontations for probably 500 years.[44] There were frequent skirmishes and many pitched battles. Not to mention long campaigns and expeditions. The 5th centuries of conflict between the Pandyas and Cholas for the control of the peninsula gave rise to many legends and folktales. Not to mention the heroes in both sides. The notable campaigns are below.  War of Pandya Succession (1172)  War of Pandya succession (1167)  The destruction of the Bali fleet (1148)  Sea battle of the Kalinga Campaign (1081-1083)  The second expedition of Sri Vijaya (1031-1034)  The first expedition of Sri Vijaya (1027-1029)  The Annexation of Kedah (1024-1025)  Annexation of the Kamboja (?-996)  The invasion of Ceylon/Sri Lanka.(977-?)  Skirmishes with Pallava Navy (903-8) Recruitment and service The chola emperors gave a free hand to the admirals in recruiting and training of sailors, engineers, oarsmen and marines. There were no complicated tests and evaluation process. Any citizen or even non citizen could sign up for the naval service. But, one did not end up in the work of his choice. Preference 268 were given to ex-servicemen, their sons and noblemen. But, this attitude changed in later days. And many class of soldiers / sailors distinguished themselves, irrespective of rank and class. Ports and fleets The most ancient of ports used by Cholas was Poompuhar. Later on, they used many more ports and even built some new ones. Some of the famous ports are:  Arikamedu  Poombuhar.  Kancheepuram  Nagapattinam  Kulachal  Korkai  Kadalur.  Thoothukudi In addition to these sea ports there were many inland ports and dry dock connected by Rivers Kaveri and Thamarabarani which served commercial fleets and in times of war, to facilitate mass production, ships were built inland and ferried through the rivers to the Ocean.  Musuri  Worayur or Urayur The fleets were normally named after the dead monarchs and god's name. The most distinguished ones were granted Royal prefixes like Theiva-sovereign's name-fleet name. During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I, there were 5 fleets, each catering to particular needs. The main fleet was home ported in Nagapatinam. The other fleets were home ported in Kadalur and a small fleet was also based in Kanchipuram. In addition to the main fleets of war ships, there were two fleets of logistics and transport ships to serve the needs of the army; involved in a bloody war in Ceylon and later in southeast Asia. 269 In the later years these numbers increased drastically and a several fleets were created anew. During the late 11th century, there were a total of nine battle fleets, based in various dominians across the vast expanses of the Chola empire ranging from the present day Aceh, Ankorwat to the southern reaches of Ceylon/Sri Lanka. Political, cultural and economic impact The Grand vision and imperial energy of the Father and son duo Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I is undoubtedly the underlying reason for expansion and prosperity. But, this was accomplished by the tireless efforts and pains of the navy. In essence, Raja Raja was the first person in the sub-continent to realize the power projection capabilities of a powerful navy. He and his successors initiated a massive naval buildup and continued supporting it, and they used it more than just wars. The Chola navy was a potent diplomatic symbol, the carrier of Chola might and prestige. It spread Dravidian culture, its literary and architectural grandeur. For the sake of comparison, it was the equivalent of the " Gunboat diplomacy " of the modern-day Great powers and super powers. There is evidence to show that the king of Kambujadesa (modern Cambodia) sent an ornamental chariot to the Chola Emperor, probably to appease him to limit his strategic attention to the Malay peninsula. Popular culture From the Sangam age poems to commemorate the victory of the sovereign of the day to the immortalized Kalinga Campaign of the Kulothunga Chola I in the Kalingattuparani. Parani is a special type of literary work, which; according to the traditions and rules of linguistics of Tamizh can only be composed on a king/general whose forces have killed a thousand elephants in combat. In modern times, more than a few Romance has been inspired by the Chola Navy, and mostly in Tamil Language and literature.  Yavana rani : A historical novel by Sandilyan surrounding the events of the Karikala's Ascendence to throne. 270  Ponniyin selvan : The crowning glory of the Rajaraja is idolized in this Novel surrounding the assassination of his brother and crown prince Aditha Karikalan. More than a passing note is given of the navy and its organization in this Magnum opus by Kalki. Krishnamoorthy.  Kadal Pura : Another historical novel by sandilyan surrounding the foundation of the Chalukya Chola dynasty in India and the Song Dynasty in china. Sandilyan gives more than a passing evidence to prove that the song-emperor and Kulothunga chola were friends. By far, this work gives the most intricate details of the navies of the day and naval warfare. In this work he describes the various weapons and tactics employed by the Cholas and Chinese navies and their combined efforts to overthrow the Sri Vijaya dynasty.  Kanni Maadam : A historical novel by Sandilyan in the time of Rajathiraja Chola. The work describes the Pandyas' civil war .It elaborates the war by proxy, between the sinhalese and cholas. The pallavas are all but gone, they are in the service of both Cholas and pandyas. It features some of the most detailed tactical maneuvering in battlefield. It also highlights the importance of the Naval power and logistics in an overseas campaign.  Aayirathil Oruvan (2010 film) : A movie about the search for an exiled Chola prince directed by Selvaraghavan. R E F E R E N C E S 1. Excellence of the Cholas Navy,Dr.L.Sangeetha, M.A(History) M.A (Assistant Professor of History),A.P.C. Mahalaxmi College for Women, Thoothukudi. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336317794_Excellence_of_the_Cholas_Navy 271 CHAPTER VI South Indian Traders of the Ancient Maritime World Bala kote district Seal OM in Tamil Introduction: We have seen in the previous Chapters the might of the Chola Empire and the capabilities of its leadership. The Cholas being Tamil, encouraged Tamil merchants to use ships and conduct international trade. By doing this they were able to get first hand information about the neighbouring sea states and whether they were ripe for plundering as well as other strategic and military information. India has had a maritime history dating back to around 4,500 years, since the Indus Valley Civilization. The impetus to later re-develop maritime links was trade (primarily in cotton, pepper and other spices), due to the monopoly of the Persians and later the Arabs over landbased caravan routes. The later maritime journeys spread the influence of ancient and medieval Indian civilisation as far as the islands ofIndonesia to the east, the islands of Japan to the north, and the east coast of Africa to the west. Proper rules of conduct of trade were laid by the head of trade guilds, known as Sarthavaha or Srenipramukha. The rules were called Samay and Srenidharma.Taxila, Pushkalavati, Kapisa and Vidisha prospered as trade centres, under the Indo-Greek rulers.Kautilya asked the king to develop measures to stop obstruction of the trade routes by his favourite men (vallabhas). 272 Frontier guards (Antapalas) were also appointed.Guilds of merchants were proper-ly registered and even served as banks.Ships in ancient period were usually of the two-masted type. In the 2nd century A.D., a regular sea-route was in operation for the quest for gold (swarna). CHOLA INSTRUCTING HIS TAX COLLECTORS There are ample sources of information, supplying authentic material for the construction of a short history of South Indian International commerce in ancient times; and they may be arranged under the usual following heads: (1) archaeological evidences, which include monuments, buildings and works of art; (2) inscriptional or epigraphic evidences; (3) linguistic or evidence of words, adduced by the similarity in origin and of sounds; (4) religious treatises; 273 (5) purely literary works, containing hidden historical allusions and references; (6) coins or numismatic evidence; (7) traditions, as recorded in literature and in verbal circulation; (8) the recent ethnological researches of great value and importance; and (9) ancient and modern historical writings, consisting of almost all the accounts, left by foreigners and native historians. All these original authorities for the early history of South India and her international commercial enterprises need a careful examination. Archeology: Let us take the archaeological evidence for scrutiny. A scientific examination of buildings, monuments and works of art throw much light upon the South Indian early commerce and her civilisation. The Obelisks of Shalmeneser III, bearing figures of Indian elephants and apes, proved ancient trade connections between India and Babylonia in or about 860 B.C. The temple of the moon at Mugheir and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, belonging to the sixth century B.C. contain a number of pillars and beams, made of teak wood, a native product of India, and confirm that the trade in teak wood flourished between India and Barygaza and Euphrates, in the early days; and the tombs of Egypt reveal the presence of indigo, tamarind wood and such other products, and they un- mistakably speak of the earliest trace of South Indias commercial intercourse with Egypt. As regards the inscriptional evidences, we should say that they form the most important and reliable source of our knowledge of the early commercial history of South India. In fact, the earliest trade relations between Assyria and India are revealed by the Cuneiform Inscriptions of the Hittite Kings of Mitani, in Cappadocia, belonging to the fifteenth or fourteenth century B.C. The Nimrud Inscriptions of the Assyrian King, Tiglath Pileser III, referring to the Indian exports of the day, like spices and clothing, as having been received in Assyria as tributes from a King, by name Yakim; and the Egyptian Inscriptions of the Queen Hatshepsust, recording the monarchs expedition to Punt and the booty of cinnamon wood are very important evidence relating to South Indian international connections with the rest of the world. 274 Next, we proceed to the linguistic source of information. Similarity or resemblance between various words, the names of commercial products, prevalent in different countries, to some extent, adduce proof of their ancient commercial relations for example, the Hebrew word "shen habbin" for ivory, a literal translation of the Sanskrit "ibha danta"; the Egyptian word "kafu" for ape, from the Sanskrit word "kapi"; the Balylonian word "sindu" for muslin, from the Dravidian word "sindhi"; the Indian word "sini" for sugar given to it, as it was imported from China. While examining the next important species of evidence, religious treatises, we should divide and study them under three heads: Hindu, Buddhist and Christian sacred works. Taking first the Hindu treatises into consideration, we find that the Vedic Mantras contain many allusions to seavoyages undertaken by Indians perhaps chiefly by South Indians. "Mahabharata" mentions Yudishtara of the Pancha Pandavas having received Chinese silk, as tribute, from China, in the second millennium B.C.; while the Buddhist "Jataka Stories" (e.g. Baberu Jataka) narrate Indian merchants, presumably South Indian merchants, having taken periodical voyages to the land of Babylon (Balylonis). Lastly, comes the Christian sacred literature: a reference to ebony, an Indian article of trade is found in "Ezekiel" XXVII. 13, having been a commodity in the trade of Tyre; a similar reference to cinnamon having become one of the ingredients of the sacred anointing oil of the Hebrew priests, in "Exodus" XXX and a specific mention in the Book of Genesis relating to the Indian merchants going to Egypt to trade doubtless establish South Indian commercial relations with Palestine and Egypt in the ancient times. 275 Proceeding to the ancient Indian literature, containing many historical facts and truths, as a significant source of information, we find that the classical Puranic literature of India, like "Tholkapyam," contain several allusions to the Roman settlements and their occupations under 276 various Tamil kings. We have also numerous Egyptian records of the receipt of several articles like ivory in commerce and as tribute under the seventh dynasty 1580-1350 B.C. Next, we may examine tradition as a very valuable source of information. Traditions, as recorded in Literature and as they are current in mere "verbal circulation" constitute, indeed, a chief supplier of some important historical information. The Queen Hatshepsusts expedition and Queen Shebas meeting with King Solomon and the fabulous tributes that the former gave the latter indicate an extensive trade between Egypt and India even in the tenth century B.C., and also the kinds of articles that Egypt and India exchanged in commerce. As regards the ethnological sources from the face-type of the average Indian of today and a strong resemblance which exists between the ethnic type of the Sumerians marked strongly in their statues and to the Dravidian ethnic type of the average Indian, H. R. Hall concludes that a South Indian tribe should have migrated and settled in Sumeria. Likewise, there are other ethnological facts which throw much light upon ancient South Indian commerce with the rest of the progressive countries. Lastly, we should examine the historical accounts left behind by several of the ancient and modern writers of history. The accounts of the ancient Greek writers like Herodotus, Homer. Aristophanes, and Sophocles, the great and valuable Chinese Annals, the diary of the German scholar, Buhler, the interesting writings of the Roman historians, Strabo and Pliny, and, last but not least, the modern historical; treatises of the celebrated English historians. H. R. Hall, Mommsen, Warmington, Sewell and Smith and a host of others all these give us practically true and valuable information regarding the ancient maritime and international relations that existed between ancient South India and the rest of the known and progressive world, as well as an account of the flourishing ports of South India. It is a geographical fact that the coastal line of South India is not even, and so there must have been the possibility of the formation and establishment of many ports in the peninsular South India in ancient times. The great author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, in his Guide-book to the Indian Ocean, writes about these South Indian ports. Among others, he mentions India, Musiri, and Comari (Cape Comorin). He also speaks of Colchi (Korkai), Camara, Poduka, Sopatma, Kodikkaraim, Negapatam, Nelkynda and Kaviri Paddinam. All these ports were in excellent and flourishing condition. Either they played the role of important stations of imports 277 and exports or they served merely as calling stations. These ports were owned by one or other of three important Tamil Kings, Colchi or Korkai, whose pearl fisheries were carried on on a large scale, belonged to the Pandyan Kingdom. Camara, Poduka and Sopatma were "Sola" ports; Kodikkarai, Negapatam and Kavari Paddinam also belonged to the Cholas, while Musiri and Nelkynda were the ports of Chera Kings. These various South Indian ports, favourably situated as they were, facilitated South Indian trade with the rest of the world, in the pre-historic and later ages. It must be remembered that as far back as in the fourth milliennium B. C., when the most civilised countries of today were steeped in darkness, South India was a flourishing country in civilisation and commerce. In fact, trade began in South India as a matter of necessity. "Her geographical features helped her to become a commercial country." Says a historian, that as a large part of the Tamil peninsular India is near the sea, the knowledge of easy sea-travels and the comparatively rich commercial animal, mineral and agricultural products of the same naturally tempted the inhabitants of the coastal districts, called "Baradavar" or sailors, to take to seatravels and to contract commercial relations with other countries. We have reasons to believe that South Indian sailors sailed along, hugging the shores, up to Afghanistan and Persia, from very early times. Excessive travels, both by land and sea, in the very ancient times, could have made possible the colonisation of the Mesopotamian Valley by the South Indians by the Tamils which, according to a recent theory, gave birth to the ancient Sumerian civilisation of that region. H. R. Hall says: "The ethnic type of Sumerians, so strongly marked in their statues and reliefs, was as different from those of the races which surrounded them as was their language from those of the Semites, Aryans or others; they were decidedly Indian in type." The face type of the average Indian today is just the same as that of his Dravidian ancestors, years ago. And, according to H. R. Hall, "it is to this ethnic type of India that the ancient Sumerian bears most resemblance, so far as we can judge from his monuments."He was very much like a Southern Hindu of the Deccan." It is quite improbable that the Sumerians were an Indian tribe which migrated to the valley of the two rivers, through Persia, by land and perhaps by sea, as well. It recently was proved that in Baluchistan there exists a Dravidian population, "the Brahuis"; the Dravidian type is noted in Southern Persia; and perhaps, the non-Aryan people of ancient Persia were of the Dravidian race, who formed connection between Babylonia and India. The legends of OannesMan-fish swimming up the Persian Gulf to the earliest Sumerian cities, like Eridu, denote an 278 early maritime relationship between Sumeria and India which was by then a civilised land. It would not be too much to presume that the Sumerian culture was developed in the Indian home. It was their writing that, later on, was adapted by Babylonia and it was the seeds of their culture that were afterwards left in Elam. Till the writings of Mohenjo Daro are definitely deciphered, nothing positive or more could be said about the South Indian trade with Sumeria. If there was commercial intercourse between South India and Sumeria, there must have been greater intercourse between South India and Babylonia. By means of evidence. Sarce mentions two instances: in the first place, there were found in the ruins of Ur (Mugheir), pillars of Indian teak, probably South Indian teak; and it was a well-known fact that, in the fourth millennium B.C., Mugheir or Ur was the capital of the Sumerian Kings. Secondly, the word Sindhu or muslin shows a distinctly South Indian product that was to be found in an ancient Babylonian list of clothing. Mr. P. T. Sreenivasa Chary thinks that muslin should have been taken from the Tamil coast to Babylonia by sea. Passing on, we again hear of the South Indian trade with " Balyloni" in 606 B.C. during the period of the Babylonian Empire. After the fall of the Assyrian Empire, the great city of Babylon took the place of Nineveh as the centre of commerce and trade with Western India. In the crowded market of Babylonia met all the races of the world, including South Indians who went there to sell their wares. In the Baberu Jataka, Indian merchants, perhaps both South and North Indian merchants, took periodical voyages to the land of Babylon. The classical literature of South India is full of references to ships, shipping and distant voyages. There was soon established in that great town a colony of South Indian merchants, which continued to thrive till the seventh century A.D. There is ample evidence that the trade of South India extended not only to the Mesopotamian valley, but also to Egypt in the third millennium B.C. "Thousands of years before the emergence of the Greeks from savagery.Egypt and the nations of Ancient India came into being, and a commercial system was developed for the interchange of products within those limits, having its centre of exchange near the head of the Persian Gulf.The growth of civilisation in India created an active merchant marine and trading to the Euphrates and Africa." (W. H. Schoff). The Arabs, who played the intermediaries, carried muslins and Indian spices from South Indian "Baradavars," who took those articles in their boats to Aden and the East African Coast, and carried them, in turn, to Thebes or Memphis, by sea or land. In the Book of Genesis there is 279 mention of a company of traders with spicery and myrrh going to Egypt. In exchange for these articles, Egypt sent to South India incense, sweet-smelling gums, etc. The Vedic Mantras are burdened with allusions to the "interchange" of merchandise: South Indian traders must have sent their ships to sea and sailed to distant lands for sale and barter, long before North Indians took to maritime commerce. In the second millennium B.C., when the old land-route was destroyed, the tide of trade bent southward and led to a great development in the sea trade of South India. Under the seventeenth Egyptian dynasty (1580-1530 B.C.), there were several records of the receipt of ivory in trade and as tribute, which fact indicates that in the early times, ivory and ivory-articles, like chairs, tables, statues and whips, went from the west coast of India to the Nile Valley. Under the eighteenth Dynasty, great Egyptain ships fetched, from the Arab intermediaries, South Indian ebony, precious stones, ivory, gold, cinnamon, incense, apes, monkeys, dogs and panther skins. In the days of the twentieth Dynasty, under Rameses III (11981167 B.C.), Egypt continued to get ebony and precious stones from South India. During the heyday of Egytian prosperity, under the twenty-eighth Dynasty, the garments of royal linen used in Egypt were considered to be of South Indian muslin. The cinnamon, which Egypt largely imported, was not an article of Punt, as it was believed, but it grew in Malabar and Cochin; and South India traded in it with the Arab intermediaries, who sold it in their turn to Egypt. Among the eastern treasures, mentioned as supplied from Punt to Egypt, were grain and gingelly oil, which, according to the Periplus, were largely exported to far off countries only from South India. The Egyptian priests underwent the "anointment" ceremony. with the "South Indian gingelly oil," and the Egytian Queen Hatshepsust got her excellent ebony only from the Malabar coast and not from Punt, as she believed!" So, trade between South India and Egypt flourished from very early times to the second millennium B.C. A little before the end of the second millennium B.C., the Hebrews ended their servitude in Egypt and migrated to Palestine. Sweet spices were considered very holy among the Hebrews in Palestine. After Israels rise to prosperity, the Palestine trade with South India and other countries grew by leaps and bounds. South India not only imported cinnamon and sapphires to Palestine, but also all the other articles which she had been sending Egypt through the Arab intermediaries. In the tenth century B.C., we hear of Queen Shebas lavishing presents upon King Solomon: spices and precious stones, which were undoubtedly South Indian articles. "The almug trees, 280 which are identified with sandalwood, native to South India, especially Mysore, Coimbatore and Salem Districts, and a large quantity of gold should have gone to Palestine from South India." South Indian ivory and peacocks were, among several other articles imported to Palestine. The Hebrew word for ivory" Shen habbin" resembles "Ibha danta" in Sanskrit, and the Hebrew word "Thakki" for peacock bears semblance to the Tamil word "Thogai." In Ezekiel, XXVII, 13, in the Old Testament, South Indian trade with Palestine in ebony is mentioned; it was prior to the seventh century. 281 It is fairly certain that there was commercial intercourse between South India and China also, in the second millennium B.C. The reference to Chinese silk having been sent to Yudhishtra of the Pancha Pandavas by the Chinese King in "Mahabharatha" and referenecs in the Chinese Annals to several voyages made to Malacca and farther by the Chinese, indicate that South India must have had some commercial dealings with China. Her chief trade was in sugar and silk, originally made in China and then imported to India. Sugar was called "Sini," a product of China: and silk was called "Sinan," foldable cloth of China. In exchange for these, China got from South India incense, red coral, costus and pepper. Recently, it has been discovered that South Indians also acted as intermediaries between China and Western Asia; and the Tamil ports served as the meeting points of the trade between the West and the East of Asia. For a long time, down to 500 B.C., we may suppose, the trade of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts with China did not languish: Chinese cardamom, for instance, continued to find its way to Western Asia and Eastern Africa by South Indian ships. Even passing on to the first century A.D., we find South Indian trade extending to China and Japan in the farthest east, beyond the small colonies of Java and Sumatra. Throughout the first and second centuries A.D., during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors, Hoti (85-105 A.D.) and Hiwanti (158-159 A.D.), there arrived in China, according to the Chinese Annals, many South Indian Embassies, with merchandise, in the name of tributes. In the sixth century A.D., there was a continued development of the maritime intercourse between China and South India. The North Indian religious missions to China, in the early times, facilitated the inter-commercial relations of China and South India, to a very great extent. There is some evidence that there were commercial relations between South India and Arabia in the second millennium. The Arabs were good sailors and merchants. They acted as intermediaries between South Indian merchants and Western purchasers of Egypt and Palestine, in the olden days. Tactful and artful as they were, they would not reveal the Indian origin of several articles of trade to their Customers. They wished to monopolise the privilege of being intermediaries and also to keep South Indian trade in their hands. South India sent cinnamon, ivory and precious stones, pepper, ebony and sandal wood, besides her native birds and animals to Arabia, which passed them on to Egypt and Palestine in the course of trade. 282 The earliest trace of South Indian intercourse with Assyria can be found in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of the Hittite Kings of Mitani in Cappadocia, belonging to the fifteenth or fourteenth century B.C. These kings bore Indian names and worshipped the Vedic gods. "Assurbanipal, a great cultivator, seemed to have got South Indian plants including wool-bearing trees (cotton)." The Ninrud Inscriptions of the great Assyrian monarch, Tiglath Pileser III, mentions several articles of tribute paid by Yakim, a king of the Sea-country to "Ashur," among which many were the articles of South Indian exports of the day: pearls, spices, gold, precious stones. On the Obelisks of Shalmeneser III (860 B.C.) are the figures of apes and Indian elephants, indicating early South Indian trade with Assyria. In the markets of Tyrus, South Indian iron and steel were sold. Sennacherib (704-681 B. C.) enlarged the city of Nineveh and built a palace and a garden, where he introduced the "wool-bearing trees." Fine skins of lions, tigers and leopards, aromatics and spices and ghee and gingelly oil, in later times were also sent to Assyria by South India. South Indian teak was also in great demand is Assyria: the remnants of teak wood are found in the ruins of the temple of the Moon at Mugheir, "the Ur of the Chaldees" as well as in the ruined palace of Nebuchednazzar. Thus, South Indian trade with Assyria was both profitable and beneficial. In 606 B,C., the Assyrian Empire was overthrown; and soon after, Babylon became the headquarters of trade in Asia. In 538 B.C., even the last of the great Semitic Empires of Western Asia came to an end with the storming of Babylon by Cyrus, the great monarch of Persia. His son, Darius helped sea trade between Persia and South India. South India might have sent, either directly or indirectly, her native commercial goods to Persia, either by land or by sea. Details of their trade relations are not available. With the break-up of the Persian Empire by Greece, South Indian trade with Persia came to an end. 283 Just as in the early days the Arabs served as the intermediaries between South India and the Asiatic and Semitic Empires, Greece was the greatest intermediary between South India and Europe, in the half millennium prior to the birth of Christ. As a result of this international commercial intercourse, the Hellenes borrowed several South Indian names of articles: e.g., "Oryza" for "Arisi" (price); "Karpion" for "Karova" (cinnamon); "Peperi" for "pippali"; "beryllos" for "vaidurya" (a precious stone). "In the processions of Ptolemy Philadelphus were to be found South Indian women, hunting-dogs, crows and spices! Homer referred to the black people of the Deccan and their sea-faring nature." 284 Image of Calicut, India from Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg's atlasCivitates orbis terrarum, 1572. Mauryan Empire The earliest known reference to an organization devoted to ships in ancient India is to the Mauryan Empire from the 4th century BC. The word navigation is derived from the sanskrit word "Navgath" also. Its believed that the navigation as a science originated on the river Indus some 5000 years ago. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya's Prime Minister Kautilya's Arthashastra devotes a full chapter on the state department of waterways under navadhyaksha (Sanskrit for Superintendent of ships) . The term, nava dvipantaragamanam (Sanskrit for sailing to other lands by ships) appears in this book in addition to appearing in the Buddhist text, Baudhayana Dharmasastra as the interpretation of the term, Samudrasamyanam. Journeys to the East and later centuries Indian maritime expertise helped disperse the Indian civilisation (including Hinduism and Buddhism) as far as the islands of Indonesia, Java and Sumatra. The Tamil people are speakers of the Tamil language and trace their ancestry to the present day State of Tamil Nadu in India and to Sri Lanka Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu), 15% in Sri Lanka,[note 2] 6% in Mauritius, 7% in Malaysia and 5% in Singapore. Tamils, with a population of around 76 million and with a documented history stretching back over 2,000 years, are one of the largest and oldest extant ethnolinguistic groups in the modern world. From the 4th century BC onwards, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil political states, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and Pallavas and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, inhabited by Sri Lankan Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka, and controlled much of the north of the island. Tamils were noted for their influence on regional trade throughout the Indian Ocean. Artifacts marking the presence of Roman traders show direct trade was active between Rome and southern India, and the Pandyas were recorded as having sent at least two embassies directly to 285 Emperor Augustus in Rome. The Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka. The Chola dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia, including the powerful Srivijaya and the Malay city-state of Kedah. Medieval Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian trading networks. Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to Southeast Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Scripts brought by Tamil traders to Southeast Asia, like the Grantha and Pallava scripts, induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts such as Khmer, Javanese Kawi script, Baybayin and Thai. 286 The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages, with a history dating back to 300 BCE. Tamil literature is dominated by poetry, especially Sangam literature, which is composed of poems composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. The most important Tamil author was the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, who wrote the Tirukkuṛaḷ, a group of treatises on ethics, politics, love and morality widely considered the greatest work of Tamil literature. Tamil visual art is dominated by stylised Temple architecture in major centres and the productions of images of deities in stone and bronze. Chola bronzes, especially the Nataraja sculptures of the Chola period, have become notable symbols of Hinduism. A major part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance, the Bharatanatyam, whereas the popular forms are known as Koothu. Classical Tamil music is dominated by the Carnatic genre, while gaana and dappan koothu are also popular genres. Although most Tamil people are Hindus, many (especially those in the rural areas) practice what is considered to be Dravidian folk religion, venerating a plethora of village deities, while a sizeable number are Muslims and Christians. A small Jain community survives from the classical period as well. Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non-vegetarian items usually spiced with locally available spices. The music, the temple architecture and the stylised sculptures favoured by the Tamil people as in their ancient nation are still being learnt and practised. English historian and broadcaster Michael Wood called the Tamils the last surviving classical civilisation on Earth, because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their past regarding belief, culture, music and literature despite the influence of globalization. The cholas were experts in ship building, sea trade flourished under their empire with trade routes established well in south-east Asia. Further cholas also spread Hinduism in Indonesia(java) and other south-east Asian countries. Finally, the advent of Portuguese sailor, Vasco Da Gama in 1496 opened up the trade routes to India to the Europeans. As a result of the Battle of Swally, the Portuguese monopoly began to crumble and the rise of the British East India Company began. 287 Indians of old were keenly alive to the expansion of dominions, acquisition of wealth, and the development of trade, industry and commerce.The material prosperity they gained in these various ways was reflected in the luxury and elegance that characterized the society.Some find allusion in the Old Testament to Indian trade with Syrian coast as far back as 1400 B.C. Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the eighth century B.C., there was a regular trade relation, both by land and sea, between India on the one hand and Mesopotamia, Arabia, Phoenica, and Egypt on the other. (For more information refer to chapter on India and Egypt). The Chinese literary texts refer to maritime and trade activity between India and China as far back as the seventh century B. C. Recent excavations in Philippines, Malay Peninsula, and Indonesia confirm of early and extensive trade which continued down to the historical period. It was this naval supremacy that enabled Indians to colonize the islands in the Indian Archipelago. Shortly, after, there grew up a regular traffic between India andChina, both by land and sea. India also came in close contact with the Hellenic world. We learn from ancient authority that in the processions of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) were to be found Indian women, Indian hunting dogs, Indian cows, also Indian spices carried on camels, and that the yachts of the ruler of Egypt had a saloon lined with Indian stones. Everything indicates that there was a large volume of sea-trade between India and the western countries as far as African coast. From the coast the goods were carried by land to the Nile, and then down the river to Alexandria which was a great emporium in those days. There was a mercantile colony of Indians in an island off the African coast in the first century A.D. The adventurous spirit of the Indians carried them even as far as the North Sea, while their caravans traveled from one end of Asia to the other. Towards The West S. R. Rao says that the Indian traders first settled in Bahrein and used the circular seal. Later on the different sections of the Indian merchants colonized the different cities of Mesopotamia after the name of their race. The Chola colonized the land where the two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, approach most nearly and the banks touch the so called Median wall. They called their colony Cholades which later came to be known as Chaldea (i.e. the land of the Cholas) as a 288 result of corrupt pronunciation. Similarly the Asuras of Vedic India colonized the city Asura after their name and later they established the Assyrian empire. The ancient Egyptian traders sailed there boats not only on the Nile but also ventured into the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and even into the Indian Ocean, for they are said to have reached "God's land" or the land of Punt (India). Similarly the Indian traders sailed their ships not only on the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, they also ventured into the Red Sea and even into the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. From the very beginning Indian traders had a very fair knowledge of all the ancient oceans and seas of the populated world. the Egyptians called India as "God's land" because India was in those days culturally very much developed. The priest of ancient Egypt required vast quantities of aromatic plants for burning as incense; frankincense, myrrh and lavender were also used for embalmment purpose. Herodotus has left us a sickening description of the great number of spices and scented ointments of which India was the center. Beauty products from India also attracted the women of Egypt. The cosmetic trade was entirely dependent on imports chiefly from India. The Pharaohs of the fifth and sixth dynasties made great efforts to develop trade relations with the land ofPunt. Knemphotep made voyages to Punt eleven times under the captainship of Koui. This expedition was organized and financed by the celebrated Queen Halshepsut. Towards The East Southeast Asia has always been an integral part of the Indian consciousness is borne out by the fact that the countries of Southeast Asia so comprehensively embraced Hinduism and Buddhism in all its aspects. This spiritual and cultural affinity became an inseparable part of their ethos and way of life. Successive Indian kings and kingdoms from the first century AD and even before to the beginning of the 15th century, had regarded Southeast Asiaand the lands lying beyond as vital for their own strength, security and sustained development. This intricate and abiding web of relationships in turn contributed significantly to Indias sense of security in an extended neighborhood in whichIndia is neither seen as an alien power nor as a country with a colonial past. The advent of the British in India and the struggle for influence between European powers that ensued all over Southeast Asia, suspended the continuous interaction that had existed between India and the region. Southeast Asia itself was carved up into areas of influence by the major 289 colonial powers, viz., the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese. Indias cultural and commercial interaction with this region was therefore subordinated to the political and strategic considerations of the great powers. The relationship spanning nearly 2500 years was founded and nurtured on mutual interest and security in which both partners constantly enriched and reinforced each other. The control of the Indian seas belong predominantly to India till the thirteenth century A.D.In respect of the Arabian Sea this control meant only the freedom of navigation. There was no colonizing activity in that area, though Socotra, or Sukhadhara dwipa (the island of the blest) was discovered long before the Christian era and was probably under the Indian occupation at that time. Indian communities existed in Alexandria and other Egyptian towns and there were also settlements on the coasts of the Persian Gulf. But generally speaking, the navigation of the Arabian Sea was only for the purpose of trade. In case of Bay of Bengal, it was different. The supremacy in that sea was naval and political, based on an extensive colonization of the islands and this supremacy ceased only with the breakdown of Chola power in the thirteenth century. 290 The naval activity of the Hindus was controlled by organized corporations of which the most important were the Manigramam Chetties and the Nanadesis. Of the Manigramam Chetties who traded all over the world we have authentic records in grants and inscriptions. The Bhaskara Ravi Varman plate of the Kerala King grants certain special privileges to the Manigramam guild. This body was given charter..including "the sword of sovereign merchantship" and monopoly rights of trading. Other "merchant adventurers" known from records are the Nanadesis, the Valangai and the Elangai who are described in the inscription at Baligami in Mysore as bodies of "brave men born to wander over many countries since beginning of the Krta Age (the first of the Indian Cycle of Yugas) penetrating regions of the six continents by land and water routes, and dealing in various articles, such as horses and elephants, precious stones, perfumes and drugs either wholesale or in retail." Kalidasa, in the Raghuvamsa, tells of a tour of conquest of India, made by Raghy, the greatgreat-grandfather of Rama; starting from Ayodhya he went eastward to the ocean, having conquered the Bangalis, who trusted in their ships. The textile industry of both Trichinopoly and Tanjore has been famous from early times. There can be little doubt that some of the finest fabrics that reached the Roman world came from this kingdom of Chola. From this part of India, in the middle ages, came those gold-threaded embroideries which were to such demand in the Saracen markets. Marco Polo called Chola the kingdom of Maalabar called Soli, which is the best and noblest province in India, and where the best pearls are found. 291 Arco Polo-Source: Periplus of the Erythrean Sea - W.H. Schoff "The Mauryan emperor Chandragupta, who ruled from 321 to 297 B.C had even at that time, an actual Board of Admiralty, with a Superintendent of Ships at its head." References to it can be found in Kautilya's Arthasastra. From their voyages of conquest and trade, we can infer that although much later, the Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas of South India must also have had an efficient naval organization. The merchants of Surat, who relied upon ships built by the Wadias of Bombay (who had not taken long to copy prevailing European designs) were particularly rich - one of them Virji Vora (who died in the beginning of the 18th century) left a fortune of 22 million gold francs. "According to certain travelers, Surat was then the most beautiful city of India. One small detail will give an idea of the unparalleled luxury that prevailed there: certain streets were paved with porcelain. The isles of the Archipelago were colonized by the Suryas (Surya- Vamsa Kshatriyas), whole mythological and heroic history is sculptured in their edifices and maintained in their writings. Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone says: "The histories of Java give a distinct account of a numerous body of Hindus from Kalinga who landed on their island, civilized the inhabitants and established an era still subsisting, the first year of which fell in the seventh year before Christ." "These pilgrims sailed from the Ganges to Ceylon, from Ceylon to Java and from Java to China in ships manned by crews professing the Brahmmanical religion." 292 (source: History of India - By Mountstuart Elphinstone London: John Murray Date of Publication: 1849 p. 168-185). Most of the sculptures show in splendid relief ships in full sail and scenes recalling the history of the colonization in Java by Indians in the earlier centuries of the Christian era. Of one of them E. B. Havell thus speaks in appreciation: "The ship, magnificent in design and movement, is a masterpiece in itself. It tells more plainly than words the perils which the Prince of Gujarat and his companions encountered on the long and his companions encountered on the long and difficult voyages from the west coast of India. But these are over now. The sailors are hastening to furl the sails and bring the ship to anchor." Big ships were built. They could carry anywhere upwards from 500 men on the high seas. The Yuktialpataru classifies ships according to their sizes and shapes. The Rajavalliya says that the ship in which King Sinhaba of Bengal sent Prince Vijaya, accommodated full 700 passengers, and the ship in which Vijaya's Pandyan bride was brought over to Lanka carried 800 passengers on board. The ship in which Buddha in the Supparaka Bodhisat incarnation made his voyages from Bharukachha (Broach) to the "sea of the seven gems," carried 700 merchants besides himself. The Samuddha Vanija Jataka mentions a ship which accommodated one thousand carpenters. The study of corporate bodies of various sorts has taken a significant place in the historiography of medieval south India. Among these corporate bodies, the Ayyàvoëe Five Hundred (Ayyàvoëe ainåŸuvar in Kannada and Aiyappo×il ain域uvar in Tamil), supposed to be a guild of itinerant merchants1 met with all over south India, has been studied by several scholars as an economic and social institutionThousands of years ago, the process wasn't nearly as simple. If you or someone in your town didn't grow it, herd it or make it, you needed to abandon that desire or else travel for it, sometimes over great distances. For many towns, the effort of trade was too much. Those ancient towns make only rare appearances in our history books. When the first civilizations did begin trading with each other about five thousand years ago, however, many of them got rich…and fast. Trade was also a boon for human interaction, bringing cross-cultural contact to a whole new level. 293 Luxury goods When people first settled down into larger towns in Mesopotamia and Egypt, self-sufficiency – the idea that you had to produce absolutely everything that you wanted or needed – started to fade. A farmer could now trade grain for meat, or milk for a pot, at the local market, which was seldom too far away. Southern Indian trade guilds were formed by merchants in order to organise and expand their trading activities. Trade guilds became channels through which Indian culture was exported to other lands. From the 11th century to the 13th century, South Indian trade in Southeast-Asia was dominated by the Cholas; and it replaced the Pallava influence of the previous centuries.[1] Early guilds Before the rise of the Cholas, inscriptions from Java, Indonesia, mention only the Kalingas as foreign visitors from the eastern coast of India. In 1021 AD an inscription added Dravidas to the list of maritime powers, and they were then replaced by the Colikas (Cholas), in the year 1053 AD. The Kalinga traders (of modern Orissa) brought red colored stone decorative objects for trade. Kalinga was also an important source of cotton textiles to Southeast Asia at an early date. In the Tamil Sangam classic, Chirupanattuppadai (line 96), there is a mention of blue Kalingam. Fine garments of high quality cotton imported from Kalinga country into the Tamil country were called Kalingam, which shows that Kalinga was an exporter of cotton at an early date. Description Several trade guilds operated in medieval Southern India such as the Gatrigas, Nakaras, Mummuridandas, Ayyavole-500, Ubhayananadesigal, Settis, Settiguttas, Birudas, Biravaniges, Gavares, etc. Temples were the pivot around which socio-economic activities of the land revolved. Some trade guilds, such as the Nakaras and Gavares, met only in the temple premises. Some trade guilds were very powerful and decided the fortunes of the kingdom. One example is the trade guild of Nanadeshis who not only financed local development projects and templeconstructions but also lent money to the kings. The rulers did their best to accommodate the guilds because of the benefit they derived from them. Trade guilds employed troops, enjoyed immunities, and had international connections and thus constituted a state within a state. 294 Trade guilds were often independent bodies over which kings tried to exercise control; and sometimes failed. One such example relates to the bankers and money-changers of the Bahmani Kingdom who ignored all warnings and melted all new coins that fell into their hands and supplied the metal to the mints of Warangal and Vijayanagar. (See my paper on the Ayollaye 500 in academis.edu) The economy of the ancient Tamil country (Sangam era: 500 BCE – 300 CE) describes the ancient economy of a region in southern India that mostly covers the present-day states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The main economic activities were agriculture, weaving, pearl fishery, manufacturing and construction. Paddy was the most important crop; it was the staple cereal and served as a medium of exchange for inland trade. Pepper, millets, grams and sugarcane were other commonly grown crops. Madurai and Urayur were important centers for the textile industry; Korkai was the center of the pearl trade. Industrial activity flourished. Inland trading was conducted primarily through barter in busy market places by merchant associations and commercial lending institutions. Merchants formed associations that operated autonomously, without interference from the state. The people of ancient Tamil country engaged in brisk overseas trade with Rome; the trade reached a peak after the discovery of a direct route for merchant ships between Tamilakam and Egypt, taking advantage of the monsoon winds. Pepper, pearls, ivory, textiles and gold ornaments were exported from Tamilakam, and the main imports were luxury goods such as glass, coral, wine and topaz. Foreign trade brought in a large amount of internationally convertible Roman currency. The state played an important role in building and maintaining infrastructure such as roads and ports—funded through taxation—to meet the needs of economic and social activity. Wealth was unequally divided among the people, giving rise to distinct economic classes.Farmers believed that ploughing, manuring, weeding, irrigation and the protection of crops must be done according to a specific method in order to obtain a good yield. A wide range of tools needed for agriculture, from ploughing to harvesting, were manufactured. The basic tool was the plough also known as meli, nanchil and kalappai. Palliyadutal referred to the process of removing weeds using a toothed implement attached to a plank and drawn by oxen. Lower-class peasants used stone sling devices to scare animals and birds away from the standing crops. Sickles were used for harvesting mature rice paddies. Since the rivers of the region were not perennial, 295 several irrigation techniques were developed to ensure an adequate and continuous supply of water. Farmers used a bullock-propelled device called Kapilai for bailing out water from deep wells and a manual setup called Erram, for shallow wells. Tanks, lakes and dams were used as water storage systems and the water regulated using sluices and shutters. Kallanai, a dam built on river Kaveri during this period, is one of the oldest water-regulation structure in the world. Surface irrigation, sprinkler mechanism and drip irrigation methods were followed to prevent wastage of water. Most farmers cultivated their own plots of land and were known by different names such as Mallar, Ulutunbar, Yerinvalnar, Vellalar, Karalar and Kalamar.[10] There were also absentee landlords who were mostly brahmins and poets who had received donations of land from the king and who gave these donations to tenant farmers. Sometimes independent farm laborers, known as Adiyor, were hired for specific tasks. Landlords and peasants paid tax on the land and its produce – the land tax was known as Irai or Karai and the tax on produce was called Vari. One sixth of the produce was collected as tax. Taxes were collected by revenue officials known as Variya and Kavidi, who were assisted by accountants called Ayakanakkar. For survey and taxation purposes, various measurements were used to measure the land and its produce. Small lots of land were known as Ma and larger tracts as Veli. Produce was measured using cubicmeasures such as Tuni, Nali, Cher and Kalam and weight-measures such as Tulam and Kalanju. Industry in Ancient Tamil times: During the Sangam age, crafts and trade occupations were considered secondary to agriculture. Carpenters crafted wooden wares and blacksmiths worked in simple workshops. Weaving, pearl fishing, smithy and ship building were prominent industries of ancient Tamilakam. Spinning and weaving was a source of income for craftsmen; weaving was practised part-time by the farmers in rural areas. Madurai and Urayur were important industrial centers, known for their cotton textiles. Muslin cloth was woven with fine floral work of different colors. Silk cloth was manufactured with its threads gathered in small knots at its ends. Clothing was embroidered for the nobles and aristocrats who were the main customers. Material was often dyed; the blue dye for the loin cloth was a preferred color. In addition to silk and cotton fabrics, cloth 296 made of wood fibre called Sirai Maravuri and Naarmadi was used by the priestly class. The cloth manufacturers wove long pieces of cloth and delivered it to the dealers. The textile dealers then scissored off bits of required length, called aruvai or tuni, at the time of sale. Hence, the dealers were called aruvai vanigar and the localities where they lived aruvai vidi. Tailors, called tunnagarar in Madurai and other big towns, stitched garments . Pearl fishing flourished during the Sangam age. The Pandyan port city of Korkai was the center of the pearl trade. Written records from Greek and Egyptian voyagers give details of the pearl fisheries off the Pandyan coast. According to one account, the fishermen who dove into the sea avoided attacks from sharks by bringing up the right-whorled conch and blowing on the shell. Convicts were used as pearl divers in Korkai. The Periplus mentions that "Pearls inferior to the Indian sort are exported in great quantity from the marts of Apologas and Omana".Pearls were woven together with muslin cloth before being exported and were the most expensive product imported by Rome from India. The pearls from the Pandyan kingdom were in demand in the kingdoms of North India as well. Several Vedic mantras refer to the wide use of the pearls, describing poetically that royal chariots and horses were decked with pearls. The use of pearls was so great that the supply of pearls from the Ganges could not meet the demand. The blacksmith, working in the Panikkalari (literally: workplace), played an important role in the lives of ancient Tamils. Some of the essential items produced by blacksmiths were weapons of war, tools such as the plough, domestic utensils and iron wheels. They used a blow pipe or a 297 pair of bellows (a turutti) to light the fire used for smelting and welding. There were not many blacksmith shops in the rural areas. Blacksmiths were overworked as they had to serve the needs of neighboring villages. Shipbuilding was a native industry of Tamilakam. Ocean craft of varying sizes, from small catamarans (logs tied together) to big ships, navigated Tamil ports. Among the smaller crafts were ambi and padagu used as ferries to cross rivers and the timil, a fishing boat. Pahri, Odam, Toni, Teppam, and Navai were smaller craft. The large ship, called Kappal, had masts (Paaymaram) and sails (Paay). Other industries were carpentry, fishing, salt-manufacture, forestry, pottery, rope making, chankcutting, gem cutting, the manufacture of leather sheaths for war weapons, the manufacture of jewellery, the production of jaggery, and the construction of temples, and other religion-related items such as procession cars and images. Baskets made of wicker for containing dried grains and other edible articles were also constructed. Inland Trade: Ancient Tamilians were active traders in various commodities, both locally and outside Tamil country. The kingdoms of northern India sought pearls, cotton fabrics and conch shells from Tamilakam in exchange for woollen clothing, hides and horses. Locally most trading was in food products – agricultural produce was supplemented by products from hunters, fishermen and shepherds who traded in meat, fish and dairy products. In addition, people bought other goods such as items for personal hygiene, adornment and transportation. Mercantile transactions took place in busy market places. Traders used various modes of selling: hawking their goods from door to door, setting up shops in busy market places or stationing themselves at royal households. Sellers of fish, salt and grain hawked their goods, the textile merchants sold cloths from their shops in urban markets and the goldsmith, the lapidary and sellers of sandalwood and ivory patronised the aristocrats' quarters. Merchants dealt in conches and ivory. Most trade was by barter. Paddy was the most commonly accepted medium of exchange, followed by purified salt. Honey and roots were exchanged for fish liver oil and arrack, while sugarcane and rice flakes were traded for venison and toddy. Poems in Purananuru describe the prosperous house in Pandya land well stocked with paddy that the housewife had exchanged for grams and fish. Artisans and professionals traded their services for goods. Quantities were measured by weighing balance, called the Tulakkol named after Tulam, the standard weight. 298 Delicate balances made of ivory were used by the goldsmiths for measures of Urai, Nali and Ma. A different kind of barter involving deferred exchange was known as Kuri edirppai – this involved taking a loan for a fixed quantity of a commodity to be repaid by the same quantity of the same commodity at a later date. Since barter was prevalent locally, coins were used almost exclusively for foreign trade. markets in big cities. The market, or angadi, was located at the centre of a city. It had two adjacent sections: the morning bazaar (nalangadi) and the evening bazaar (allangadi). The markets of Madurai were cosmopolitan with people of various ethnicities and languages crowding into the shops. Foreign merchants and traders came to Madurai from such northern kingdoms as Kalinga to sell merchandise wholesale. According to the Mathuraikkanci, the great market was held in a large square and the items sold included garlands of flowers, fragrant pastes, coats with metallic belts, leather sandals, weapons, shields, carts, chariots and ornamented chariot steps. Garment shops sold clothing of various colours and patterns made of cotton, silk or wool, with the merchandise neatly arranged in rows. On the grain merchants' street, sacks of pepper and sixteen kinds of grains (including paddy, millet, gram, peas and sesame seeds) were heaped by the side. The jewellers, who conducted business from a separate street, sold precious articles such as iamonds, pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topaz, 299 coral beads and varieties of gold. Vanchi, the capital of the Cheras, was a typical fortified city, with two divisions inside the fort – the Puranakar and the Akanakar. The Puranakar was the outer city adjacent to the fort wall and was occupied by the soldiers. The Akanakar, the inner city, included the king's palace and the officers' quarters. The city market was located between these two divisions; the artisans and traders lived close to the market. Kaveripumpattinam, the port city of the Cholas, had its market in a central open area close to the two main suburbs of the city – Maruvurpakkam and Pattinapakkam. Maruvurpakkam was adjacent to the sea where the fishermen and the foreign merchants lived. The main streets of the market met at the centre where there was a temple dedicated to the local guardian deity of the city. The market of Kaveripumpattinam was similar to the one in Madurai. Large quantities of dyes, scented powder, flowers, textiles, salt, fish and sheep were sold. Flowers were in great demand, especially during festivals such as Indira vizha. Near the bazaar were warehouses with little ventilation located underground..Since merchants from various places thronged the bazaar, each 300 package for sale had the name and details of its owner written on it. Simple advertisements were used to indicate the goods available at different locations. Mercantile organization There were different types of merchants who operated in the ancient Tamil market, which gave rise to a wealth-based class distinction among them. Merchants in the lower levels of the hierarchy were of two varieties: the itinerant merchants who sold goods that they manufactured themselves and the retailers who sold goods manufactured by others. Itinerant traders were found in both the rural and urban markets, but the retailers were concentrated in the cities. In the rural markets, salt and grain merchants usually produced the goods, transported them and sold them directly to the consumers. Salt merchants, known as umanar, travelled with their families in trains of carts. In the cities, artisans such as the blacksmiths and the oil mongers sold their products directly to the consumers. The bulk of the retailers operated in the textile industry. The textile dealers (aruvai vanigar) bought their products from the weavers (kaarugar) and resold them to the consumers. Merchants selling agricultural produce in the cities were also retailers. At the upper end of the merchant hierarchy, were the rich merchants who participated in the export trade. There were three classes among them - ippar, kavippar and perunkudi - based on the extent of their wealth; the perunkudi made up the wealthiest class. Foreign merchants, mainly Romans, also did business in the Tamil markets – not just in the port cities, but in inland cities such as Madurai, where they exchanged indigenous goods for their offerings. Another category of merchants were the intermediaries or the brokers, who acted as information channels and offered their services mainly to the foreign merchants. Merchants organized themselves into groups called Sattu or Nikamam. Stone inscriptions 301 Tamil Sweeper girl.1897 at Mangulam (c. 200 BCE) and pottery inscriptions found at Kodumanal refer to merchant guilds as nikamam and the members of the guilds as nikamattor. These findings suggest that merchant guilds were established at several industrial and trade centres of ancient Tamil country. Many of 302 these merchant associations acted in union in their public activities. They were autonomous, meaning that they enjoyed freedom from state interference but also suffered from the lack of state backing. Merchants were expected to abide by a code of conduct, which was: "Refuse to take more than your due and never stint giving to others their due. Therefore, they went about running their business by openly announcing the profit they were aiming at, known as Utiyam. The mercantile community of Tamilakam was aware of elementary banking operations. Lending through houses specializing in monetary transactions and fixation of rates were common. This was, evidently, necessitated by the extensive overseas trade. Accountants were in demand in view of monetary transactions and considerable trading activity. Merchant groups from Madurai and Karur made endowments, or donations, as attested by inscriptions found in Alagarmalai (c. 1st century BCE) and Pugalur (c. 3rd century CE). These inscriptions also mention that the various commodities traded by such merchants included cloth, salt, oil, plowshares, sugar and gold. Trade with Other Lands: The economic prosperity of the Tamils depended on foreign trade. Literary, archaeological and numismatic sources confirm the trade relationship between Tamilakam and Rome, where spices and pearls from India were in great demand. With the accession of Augustus in 27 BCE, trade between Tamilakam and Rome received a tremendous boost and culminated at the time of Nero who died in 68 CE. At that point, trade declined until the death of Caracalla (217 CE), after which it almost ceased. It was revived again under the Byzantine emperors. Under the early Roman emperors, there was a great demand for articles of luxury, especially beryl. Most of the articles of luxury mentioned by the Roman writers came from Tamilakam. In the declining period, cotton and industrial products were still imported by Rome. The exports from the Tamil country included pepper, pearls, ivory, textiles and gold ornaments, while the imports were luxury goods such as glass, coral, wine and topaz. The government provided the essential infrastructure such as good harbours, lighthouses, and warehouses to promote overseas trade. 303 304 Trade route The trade route taken by ships from Rome to Tamilakam has been described in detail by the writers, such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder. Roman and Arab sailors were aware of the existence of the monsoon winds that blew across the Indian Ocean on a seasonal basis. A Roman captain named Hippalus first sailed a direct route from Rome to India, using the monsoon winds. His method was later improved upon by merchants who shortened the voyage by sailing due east from the port of Cana or Cape Guardafui, finding that by this way it was possible to go directly from Rome to Tamilakam. Strabo writes that every year, about the time of the summer solstice, a fleet of one hundred and twenty vessels sailed from Myos Hormos, a port of Egypt on the Red Sea, and headed toward India. With assistance from the monsoons, the voyage took forty days to reach the ports of Tamilakam or Ceylon. Pliny writes that if the monsoons were blowing regularly, it was a forty-day trip to Muziris from Ocelis located at the entrance to the Red Sea from the south. He writes that the passengers preferred to embark at Bacare (Vaikkarai) in Pandya country, rather than Muziris, which was infested with pirates. The ships returned from Tamilakam carrying rich cargo which was transported in camel trains from the Red Sea to the Nile, then up the river to Alexandria, finally reaching the capital of the Roman empire. Evidence of Tamil trading presence in Egypt is seen in the form of Tamil inscriptions on pottery in Red Sea ports. Imports and exports Fine muslins and jewels, especially beryls (vaiduriyam) and pearls were exported from Tamilakam for personal adornment. Drugs, spices and condiments as well as crape ginger and other cosmetics fetched high prices. Even greater was the demand for pepper which, according to Pliny, sold at the price of 15 denarii (silver pieces) a pound. Sapphire, called kurundham in Tamil, and a variety of ruby were also exported. The other articles exported from Tamilakam were ivory, spikenard, betel, diamonds, amethysts and tortoiseshell. The Greek and Arabic names for rice (Oryza and urz), ginger(Gingibar and zanjabil) and cinnamon (Karpion and quarfa) are almost identical with their Tamil names, arisi, inchiver and karuva. The imports were mostly luxury items such as glass, gold and wine. Horses were imported from Arabia. 305 Foreign exchange The flourishing trade with the Romans had a substantial impact on the economy of ancient Tamil country and the royal treasury and the export traders accumulated large sums of Roman currency. Pliny writes that India, China and Arabia between them absorbed one hundred million sesterces per annum from Rome. This sum is calculated by Mommsen to represent 1,100,000 pounds, of which nearly half went to India, the preponderance to South India. Coins hoarded by the early Roman emperors from Augustus to Nero have been found in the vicinity of the South Indian beryl mines which produced the best and purest beryl in the world. At fifty-five different locations, mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore districts, these coins have been unearthed; the number of gold coins discovered has been described as a quantity amounting to five coolly loads. The quantity of silver coins has been variously described as "a great many in a pot", "about 500 in an earthen pot", "a find of 163 coins", "some thousands enough to fill five or six Madras measures". Coins of all the Roman emperors from Augustus (27 BCE) to Alexander Severus (235 CE]) have been discovered, covering a period of nearly three centuries. By far the greatest number of these Roman coins belong to the reigns of Augustus 306 and Tiberius. After 235 CE, for the next one hundred years, there are no coins that can be dated, suggesting a temporary abeyance of trade between Rome and South India. This could have been due to internal revolts and external attacks suffered by the Roman empire during that period. When order and good government were restored in Rome, trade with Tamilakam revived, as indicated by the finding of an increased number of coins from this period. Zeno's coins have been traced to the end of the Roman empire. Scholars believe there was a Roman settlement near Madurai and that little copper coins with the Roman Emperors' heads on them might have been minted locally. The role of the state in trade related to two aspects: first, to provide an adequate infrastructure necessary to sustain the trade and second, to organise an efficient administrative apparatus for taxation. During the Sangam period, the main trade routes, such those going over the Western Ghats, went through thick forests. It was the duty of the state to protect the merchant caravans on these trade routes from robbers and wild life. Main roads, known as Peruvali, were built that connected the distant parts of the country. These roads were as important to the army as they were to the merchants. Commodities like salt had to be transported long distances, such as from the sea coast to the interior villages. The state also built and expanded the infrastructure for shipping such as ports, lighthouses and warehouses near the ports to promote overseas trade. Several ports were constructed on both the east and the west coasts of Tamilakam. Kaveripumpattinam (also known as Puhar) was the chief port of the Cholas; their other ports were Nagapattinam, Marakkanam and Arikamedu, all on the east coast. The Pandyas had developed Korkai, Saliyur, Kayal, Marungurpattinam (present day Alagankulam) and Kumari (present day Kanyakumari) as their centers of trade along the east coast, while Niranam and Vilinam were their west coast ports. Custom Collection: To collect revenue from commerce, the state installed customs checkposts (sungachavadi) along the highways and the ports. In the ports, duty was collected on inland goods, before being exported, and on overseas goods meant for the local markets, which were stamped with the official seal before being allowed into the country. The volume of trade in the port cities was high enough to warrant a large workforce to monitor and assess the goods. The state issued licenses to liquor shops, which were required to fly the license flag outside their 307 premises. Flags were used by foreign merchants too, to indicate the nature of goods they were selling. The state also kept records of the weights and counts of all the goods sold by merchants. One of the significant aspects of the state intervention in commerce was that it reinforced the authority of the ruler. Personal Wealth: How wealth was assessed varied from one community to another. Farmers counted the number of ploughshares owned and among the pastoral folk it was the number of cows. Wealth was distributed unequally among the people, leading to distinct economic classes the rich, the poor and the middle class. The nobility, state officers, export traders and court poets formed the wealthy class. Most agriculturists and inland merchants made up the middle class. The lowest class consisted of labourers and wandering minstrels. It was believed that this economic division of people was the result of a divine arrangement; the poor people were made to feel that their miserable condition was due to their past sins, tivinai, and was inevitable. The extreme opulence of some people as well as the abject poverty of some others are clearly portrayed in the contemporary literature. Most of the rich spent a part of their wealth on charity, the king's philanthropy setting an example. It was believed that one needed to accumulate wealth in order to give donations and perform righteous obligations. Sometimes, the men of the household undertook a long journey to the north of the Venkata Hill or the northern boundary of Tamilakam, to earn wealth. One possible region that they might have gone to is the Mysore region, where the gold mines were getting famous. F. R. Allchin, who has discussed the antiquity of gold mining in the Deccan, says that the high period of mining in South India was the last centuries of the pre-Christian era and the first two centuries of the Christian era, which coincides with the Sangam period. Sangam: The most important source of ancient Tamil history is the corpus of Tamil poems, referred to as Sangam literature, dated between the last centuries of the pre-Christian era and the early centuries of the Christian era. It consists of 2381 known poems, with a total of over 50000 lines, written by 473 poets. Each poem belongs to one of two types: Akam (inside) and Puram (outside). The akam poems deal with inner human emotions such as love, while the puram poems deal with outer experiences such as society, culture and warfare. These poems contain descriptions of various aspects of life in the ancient Tamil country. The Maduraikkanci by Mankudi Maruthanaar and the Netunalvatai by Nakkirar contain a 308 detailed description of the Pandyan capital Madurai, the king's palace and the rule of Nedunj Cheliyan, the victor of the Talaialanganam battle. The Purananuru and Agananuru collections contain poems sung in praise of various kings and poems that were composed by the kings themselves. The Pathirruppaththu provides the genealogy of two collateral lines of the Cheras and describes the Chera country. The Pattinappaalai talks about the riches of the Chola port city of Kaveripumpattinam and the economic activities in the city. The historical value of the Sangam poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Historians agree that the descriptions of society, culture and economy in the poems are authentic, for the most part: many eminent scholars including Sivaraja Pillay, Kanakasabhai, K.A.N Sastri and George Hart have used information from these poems to describe the ancient Tamil society. Herman Tieken, a Dutch scholar, has expressed his disapproval of doing so, arguing that the poems were composed much later in the 8th-9th centuries CE. Tieken's methodology and his conclusions about the date of Sangam poems have been criticized by other scholars. Among literary sources in other languages, the most informative ones are Greek and Roman accounts of the maritime trade between the Roman empire and the kingdoms of Tamilakam. Strabo and Pliny the Elder give the details of the trade route between the Red Sea coast and the western coast of South India. Strabo (c. 1st century BCE) mentions the embassies sent by the Pandyas to the court of Augustus, along with a description of the ambassadors. Pliny (c. 77 CE) talks about the different items imported by the Romans from India and complains about the financial drain caused by them. He also refers to many Tamil ports in his work The Natural History. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 60 - 100 CE) an anonymous work, gives an elaborate description of the Tamil country and the riches of a 'Pandian Kingdom'. Archaeological excavations at many sites in Tamil Nadu including Arikamedu, Kodumanal, Kaveripumpattinam and Alagankulam, have yielded a variety of artifacts belonging to the Sangam era, such as various types of pottery and other items including black and red ware, rouletted ware, Russet coated ware, brick walls, ring wells, pits, industrial items, and the remains of seeds and shells. Many of the pottery sherds contain Tamil-Brahmic inscriptions on them, which have provided additional evidence for the archaeologist to date them. Archaeologists agree that activities best illustrated in these material records are trade, hunting, agriculture and crafts. These excavations have provided evidence for the existence of the major economic 309 activities mentioned in Sangam literature. Remnants of irrigation structures like reservoirs and ring wells and charred remains of seeds attest to the cultivation of different varieties of crops and knowledge of various agricultural techniques. Spinning whorls, cotton seeds, remains of a woven cotton cloth and dyeing vats provide evidence for the activities of the textile industry. Metallurgy has been supported by the discovery of an ancient blast furnace, along with its base and wall, anvil, slags and crucibles. The remains have indicated that, in addition to iron, the blacksmith may have worked with steel, lead, copper and bronze. The Kodumanal excavation recovered several jewellery items and semi precious stones at different stages of manufacture, suggesting that they were locally manufactured. Remains of import and export articles recovered from Arikamedu indicate the important role it played as an Indo-Roman trading station. Building construction, pearl fishery and painting are other activities that have been supported by findings from these excavations. Inscriptions are another source of deducing ancient Tamil history: most of them are written in Tamil-Brahmi script and found on rocks or pottery. The inscriptions have been used to corroborate some of the details provided by the Sangam literature. Cave inscriptions found at 310 places such as Mangulam and Alagarmalai near Madurai, Edakal hill in Kerala and Jambai village in Villupuram district record various donations made by the kings and chieftains. Brief mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities, occupations and names of cities are found in these inscriptions. Several coins issued by the Tamil kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most of them carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty, such as the bow and arrow of the Cheras; some of them contain portraits and written legends. Numismatists have used these coins to establish the existence of the Tamil kingdoms during the Sangam age and associate the kings mentioned in the legends to a specific period. A large number of Roman coins have been found in Coimbatore and Madurai districts, providing more evidence for the brisk maritime trade between Rome and Tamilakam. Changing Character of the country: With the growth of agriculture, the rural economy of the people gradually changed its character because of surplus production. It gave rise to the development of towns on land and sea-routes and the centres of pilgrimage, commercial relationship, development of guilds and the introduction of metallic currency. Trade and commerce became a civilizing force in the world. The diversity of natural resources and differences in human wants automatically lead to the surplus production. For the distribution of the produce among the world population, trade appears as a guiding force to bring economic change in the world. Thus surplus agricultural production and human wants led to the origin of the overseas trade. From the earliest days, India has been a trading country. Indian merchants carried an extensive trade with the foreign countries. Because India was endowed with abundance of raw materials and its natural products found appreciated markets in the Middle East, Far East and South East Asia. There were classes of people belonging to certain castes such as Paris, Veta, Sambar and Vaisyas who were mainly concerned with commerce. They were mighty and intelligent people who accumulated fabulous wealth through extensive maritime trade and made India a great exporting centre. He believes that the feudalization of Indian economy led to the languishing of trade, especially long-distance trade between the 4th and the 12th centuries CE. Commercial activities gradually declined in two stages, first from 700 to 900 CE and then from 900 311 to 1300 CE. At the same time he accepts the notion of a partial revival of trade in 11th and 12th centuries CE due to changing perspective of Indian feudalism. Several contradictory arguments have been given in the preceding discussion regarding the presence of trade in the early medieval period. India's natural wealth and extensive seaboard distinguished it from other Asiatic lands. In contrast with the Arabian peninsula on the West, with the Malayan peninsula on the East or with the equally fertile empire of China, India has always maintained an active trade with foreign countries in spices, medicinal herbs, dyes, woods etc Fabrics of silk and cotton, jewels and gems were the temptations, which attracted the foreign traders to India. Pliny calls India as 'Mother of Gems'. The Romans loved precious stones and India was the only country at that time which could export all varieties of gems.3 With the growth of commercial enterprise, trade began to assume certain fixed forms and passed through many stages of development. In this process production was earmarked for some definite markets. Markets arose as the centres of commerce and industry. In markets trade became a permanent feature. Trade plays a significant and permanent role in economic history. In the second process trade with distant places was usually conducted by itinerant merchants. They met periodically at markets and fairs to dispose of their commodities, which gradually gave birth to merchant guilds. In this process, some traders collected commodities from the place of production and sold them to the local merchants for regular sale among the common masses. Moreover the traders of Tamil country had both the knowledge of navigation and land routes. They maintained close commercial contacts with the outside countries like Egypt, Rome, Middle East, Far East and South East Asia. Favorable overseas trade was still and important source of country's wealth. The overseas commerce which flourished under the Cholas was continued by the Pandyas. The foreign accounts of a galaxy of travellers had given an excellent peep into the commercial activities of the age. 312 In the medieval Tamil country, the corporate trading communities were called 'guilds'. There were different kinds of guilds. Among them the 'Manigramam, Ayyavole, Nanadesi, Padinenvisayatar, Chitrameli Periyanattar, Valanjiyar and Anjuvarattar were itinerant trade guilds. They played a vital role in the multipurpose activities of trade and commerce. They also played a prominent role in matters concerning social, religious, administrative and judicial affairs of the country. They acted as trustees of both the rulers and ruled. They received endowments of money from the rulers. They built and maintained charity houses, temples and tanks for the welfare of the people. EXPORTS from India: India exported to Arab, many valuable merchandise which made them earn huge profits. India exported several articles such as perfumes like musk, aloes, amber and camphor, pearls of various varieties and sizes, diamonds, corals and innumerable kind of medicinal herbs. Another source mentioned other items of exports such as diverse species of aloe-wood, sandalwood, camphor, nutmeg, clovepink, cubeb, cocoanut, vegetable stuffs, textiles of velvety cotton and ivory. Spices were the chief merchandise to export from India. Foreign accounts give details of merchandise exported by different Indian ports such as Sind exported costus, canes and bamboos; Gujarat exported to Arabia a great quantity of indigo, red kino, myrobalans and foreign cotton stuff of all colours; the Rastrakuta kingdom exported teak; several slaves were exported to Persia from Gujarat Coast. India also seems to have exported varied kind of textiles, aloe wood, teak for shipbuilding, coconut coir, grains specially rice of various type, spices both indigenous and those brought from the South-east Asia. In the eleventh century the main items exported from India to China in return, were horses, sandalwood, gharuwood, sulphur, frankincense, sandalwood, elephant tusks, sapanwood, rosewater, rhinoceros horn, spices, camphor, ivory, putchuck and cinnabar. There were three changes witnessed by Tansen in the composition of products traded between India and China through the maritime routes, ’first the proportion of Buddhistrelated items marked by the seafaring traders seems to have dropped drastically. 313 Second, the export of non-luxury Indian products increased in the tenth and the eleventh centuries whereas by the twelfth century, third-country products, such as frankincense or products destined only for markets in the third country became essential components of Sino-Indian maritime trade’. Some products like frankincense and rosewater, originated in the Persian Gulf and transshipped to China through the south Indian ports. Most of these products were shipped to China from ports of Malabar and Coromandel. During the latter half of 13th century CE, cotton fabric from Bengal, Coromandel and Malabar became one of the most prominent Indian exports to Chinese markets. Imports from India India imported several commodities in exchange of its exports, the main merchandise were incense from the Middle East, copper and lead from the west, ivory came through the route of Oman to India; dye came from Persia and horses from the Arabia; Chinese silk, gold, silver and some amount of iron metal from China; several commodities were imported from Southeast Asia such as porcelain-ware, camphor, rhubarb, bees wax, cloves, lump-camphor, sandalwood, cardamoms and gharu-wood, spices (cloves, spikenard and other fine spices reached Malabar from Java and Sumatra), silk and metals such as gold, silver, copper and blue vitriol. India received pearls, dry ginger, tin and fine fabric from Ceylon. Many of these items were re-exported to Arabian world while others were consumed in India. The demand of war horses in India was huge, so during 600 CE from Central Asian steppes came the horses via land to the northwestern borderlands. Later these horses were imported to India preferably via sea-trade. The proliferation of regional powers and their expanding military plans created a huge increase in demand of the martial quality of war horses from Arabia, Persia and Syria, which cost huge sums of money and were generally called bahri (sea-borne). Early medieval Bengal was also famous for trade in horses, as the Pala inscriptions from the 8th to 12th century CE also give reference of supply of best quality horses from the northern quarters. There are also references that Bengal during the Sena rule, received supply of horses from the mountainous north-eastern parts . Varied kind of trade commodities and links related to Indian trade were established in the early medieval period. Meera Abraham made a detailed research on the list of commodities based on 314 inscriptions of the Ayyavole guild that shows the shift from luxury goods to commonly needed goods such as textiles, dyes, processed iron, yarn, pepper and horses. In the second process trade with distant places was usually conducted by itinerant merchants. They met periodically at markets and fairs to dispose of their commodities, which gradually gave birth to merchant guilds. In this process, some traders collected commodities from the place of production and sold them to the local merchants for regular sale among thecommon masses. Moreover the traders of Tamil country had both the knowledge of navigation and land routes. They maintained close commercial contacts with the outside countries like Egypt, Rome, Middle East, Far East and South East Asia. Favorable overseas trade was still and important source of country's wealth. The overseas commerce which flourished under the Cholas was continued by the Pandyas. The foreign accounts of a galaxy of travellers had given an excellent peep into the commercial activities of the age. Merchant Guilds and their Activities In the medieval Tamil country, the corporate trading communities were called 'guilds'.7 There were different kinds of guilds. Among them the 'Manigramam, Ayyavole, Nanadesi, Padinenvisayatar, Chitrameli Periyanattar, Valanjiyar and Anjuvarattar were itinerant trade guilds. They played a vital role in the multipurpose activities of trade and commerce. They also played a prominent role in matters concerning social, religious, administrative and judicial affairs of the country. They acted as trustees of both the rulers and ruled. They received endowments of money from the rulers. They built and maintained charity houses, temples and tanks for the welfare of the people. ROLE OF MERCHANT GUILDS IN THE OVERSEAS TRADE Ayyole: Aihole was also known as Ayyavole, Aryapura and Ahichchatra and these names are frequently used in the guild inscriptions. In one particular inscription of the mid-Twelfth century the members of the guild are described as Ahichchatra Vinirggatarum i.e. those coming from Ahichchatra. In another inscription of the same period Achichchatra and Ayyavole are 315 considered identical. Ayyavole, in the mystique which came to be associated with the guild was considered the parent city of this corporate association. The members of the guild are described in inscriptions in phrases such as 'ornaments on the brow of that great lady, the city of Ahichchatra or the five hundred swamis of the illustrious town of Ayyavole" and so on. Regarding Aihole, from a close and meticulous examination of the epigraphs in which the guild is mentioned and which are found in Aihole.We obtains some idea of what were the origins of this corporation. The Aihole had Khan temple epigraph of the eighth or ninth century considered to contain the first mention of this merchant guild. The inscription is a record of a charitable grant and the key phrase in its transliterated form reads, "Aryajana - samuday odita-var Aryapuraai-nuruvarkam ..." This has been translated 'the five hundred the great body of chaturvedis of the excellent capital of Aryapura which arose from a collection of worthy people Manigramam Manigramam was a merchant guild. One of the earliest records of this guild appeared in the port of Quilon on the Kerala coast. This region has got inscriptions of Manigramam in the Sthanuu Ravi copper plates .There were many theories regarding the nature of the association. 316 According to one theory Manigramam could have been a group of Christians following the heresy of the School of Manes. Sthanu Ravi Plates suggested them as Christians.Another theory was that the Manigramam consisted of Christians who were reconverted to Hinduism by Manikkavasakar The inscriptional record of this merchant group by name is of great value. It became the evidence of commerce between West Asia and the west coast of India in the ninth century. It also mentioned the trading stations and commodities of trade, which were referred to in Arab sailing guides and topographies. In these trading activities the manigramam played a vital role. There was a fragmentary ninth century Tamil inscription found in Takupa, Thailand give the impression that Manigramattar involved in overseas trade in ninth century. According to K.A.N.Sastri it belonged to reign of Pallava king Nandhivaram III (826 – 850) It referred to a tank protected by the Manigramam and to a group of armed warriors probably militia associated in medieval times with the protection of trade.The sculptures in Takupa also resembles the Pallava style of architecture Both the statues and the inscription point to the existence of a Hindu colony at Takupa. The tamil traders who came to Takupa in Pallava times included some armed soldiers since the inscription speaks of protection extended to a tank . The colony might have been founded by manigramam guild. At the mouth of Takupa river ceramic and glass deposits and beads were found. Some of them would have come from West Asia and the rest form China and possibly some from India. These findings indicate that the Takupa area was used by the manigramam traders who dealt in merchandise from both ends of the maritime route in the ancient times. . . Manigramam under the Cholas and Pandyas: Many inscriptions of Manigramam were found at various places of Tamil Country speak the glory of the guild. Some places in South East Asia, Srilanka also the bear the inscriptions of this guild. These attest the trading activities of the manigramam. In the coastal area of South East Asia was located the state of Tambralinga which was probably denote Madamahalingam of the Tanjore inscription of Rajendra Chola I The manigrmam inscriptions were found at Ramantali in former Malabar district,courtralam in Tirunelveli district, Srinivasa nallur in Tiruchirappalli district, Tiruvellarai in Trichirappalli district. Of these the Ramantali and Coiurtralam inscriptions belonged to the early tenth century. The others are of later period. 317 These inscriptions attest to the religious endowment activities of the manigramam guilds. At Talakkad in the Mukundapuram taluk a long inscription was found in which the manigramam was mentioned. The inscription consists of two sections, which would have been inscribed at different times. The first portion of the inscription could have belonged to the ninth or early tenth century on paleographic grounds but the content suggest an eleventh century date. Section one of the inscription describes the founding of a market. The urar or responsible citizens of the village defined the boundary of the market area. The inscription also suggest the area in which the merchants were permitted to put up shops. The urar also been the members of the assembly of the village levied tax inkind on the stalls but gave the merchants a free hand in running the market. The second half of the inscription was inscribed in the first half of the eleventh century. The second portion of the inscription mentions the two members of the manigramam who were given the right to set up shops in the market and were exempted from certain specific taxes. The taxes that were paid by all merchants included ulgu, the tax on goods coming in by sea. It was also stated in the inscription that local people were free to buy in the market. This inscription also attests to the existence of overseas trade contacts of the manigramam guild. The Manigramam merchants enjoyed a special position as compared to the other merchants. Goods form outside came into the locality and there was a local demand for these goods. On the other hand the movement of trade isindicated as well as the opening up of village communities to itinerant traders. There was buying capacity and a market in rural areas for goods other than those produced locally including overseas wares. The manigramam merchants had regional base of operation is clearly stated in the Chola inscriptions. Manigramam of Uraiyur, manigramam of Kodumbalur were frequently mentioned in the Chola inscriptions. The Syrian Christian tradition about the Manigrmam is that they were a group who had originally come from Chola Country manigramam of valikantapuram Thus they had regional base in Tamil Country and had overseas contacts. Another eleventh century inscription in Sukhavaneswara temple, Salem described a donation made to a temple by a merchant who belonged to manigramam of Kodumbalur. Koodumbalur is located in the Pudukottai tracts about equidistant between Madurai and Tanjore the Pandya and 318 Chola capitals. Another inscription is found at Piranmalai on the borders of the present Pudukottai district was issued by the Ayyavole guild and the Citrameli association. This inscription also refers to the manigramam of kodumbalur This inscription shows that the merchants of manigramam of Kodumbalur as one of the many groups which met to discuss the taxes to be levied on the goods passing through this area. This inscription listed out the commodities of overseas trade. Another inscription found in Tiruchirappali also referred the manigramam of Kodumbalur region. .The frequent mentioning of this region in the inscriptions attested the commercial importance of the region. Irukkuvels of this region were the important feudatories of the Cholas and they supported the rulers in wars and battles. Since the Chola rulers encouraged the itinerant traders, they also encouraged the traders who passed through this region.Moreover the location of this region also helped the traders to easily reach their destination point like Tondi and other ports in Pandimandalam. It is located in the equidistant between the capitals of Pandya and Chola. Thus the incoming foreign trade considerably had brought great prosperity to this region A eleventh century inscription in Natham in Dindigul region also attests to the activities of the guild. A twelfth century inscription refers to Vaisyapalan a trader enjoyed certain concessions in the hands of urar of Menaveli in Urtturkurram The name vaisyapalan indicates that the vaisyas continued their identity as traders. A 13th century inscription attested the activities of manigramattar in kovilpatti region Another inscription is found at Tanjore district. This inscription describes a donation to a temple near kombakonam Another inscription in Copper plates at kottayam Church is also belonged to thirteenth century. This inscription listed out the rights given to a manigramam merchant. From the port of Craganore the merchant traded cardamom, pepper, betel nuts and ginger to Arab countries. The inscription also describes the right of the manigramam guild. According to this, the manigramam had the right of levying tax on goods, which were arrived at the port. It had monopoly right on many commodities including musk, salt and sugar. Thus Manigramam guild was associated with the distribution of commodities of internal and overseas trade. Sarkarpriyapalayam inscription also refers to this Manigamama guild. This inscription refers to the joint action of the guilds. It also refers to the tax collected by the guild. Valikandapuram 319 was a centre of the commercial activities of the Manigramattar. Another inscription at Tittadanapuram in Ramnad district also mentioned about Manigramam guild. In this inscription the manigramam members had collaboration with Kaikolas ,valanjiyar and Anjuvannam. The merchants of manigramam purchased the cotton fabric form Kaikolas and exported the same to the foreign countries. Since this place is very near to the port Tondi, the manigramam members might have involved in overseas trade from this port. A thirteenth century inscription found at Melmangalam in Theni district refers to trader namely Kodumbalur manigramattuadalvallan chockan.This inscription mentions the donation made by the trader to the temple. A fourteenth century inscription found at Rajaraja Cholisvaramudaiyar temple. Another fourteenth century inscription attested the commercial activity of the manigramam in Kovilpatti region. This inscription also enumerates all the commodities of overseas trade, which passed through this little town. Thus kodumbalur was obviously a major centre of manigramam and overseas trade upto fourteenth century. Thus manigramam guild engaged in overseas trade from the 6th century to the fourteenth century. Conclusion: It was because of the activities of the merchant guilds, there was a marked increase in commercial activities of the guilds from the sixth century to the fourteenth century. They established their sway even in foreign countries. All these resulted in the increase of the overseas trade in Tamil Country. The guilds enjoyed their powers in Tamil Country and exercised their commercial supremacy in many trade and market centres in Tamil country Besides trade, they also involved in multidimensional works like charity, Social welfare, judicial, temple endowment etc. They contributed much for the development of economy in the medieval period Tamil Country. The commercial activities of the guild were also continued during the time of the Vijayanagar period also. One of the earliest inscriptional notices of the Manigramam guild traders appeared in the ninth or early tenth century at the port of Quilon on the Kerala coast. The contents of this inscription as well as many others referred to indicate that the Manigramam association was 320 undoubtedly a merchant guild. The evidence that this corporation of merchants was functioning at this port, at that time needs to be viewed in its wider context as part of the larger pattern of overland and maritime commercial activity which included areas bordering Arabian peninsula, part of the North-West India, the East and West coasts of India, and many areas of North East Asia and China. This wide ranging trade was particularly important in medieval times. But for a long time, there were several interpretations of the term Manigramam. Gundert first believed it was a Christian principality. It was held also that the Manigramam could have been a group of manicheans, that is a group of Christians following the heresy of the 'school of manes'. Richard Collins took it to be a village of students.12 It was also suggested that it was a title conferred upon a donee. In an old Malayalam song called Panyannur Pattola which describes these groups and which when translated read: 'strong guards ... are few required (to) take the children of Govatala chetti of Manigramam and Anjuvanam people, who together with ourselves, are the four (classes of) colonists in the port town". Another theory was that the Manigramam consisted of Christians who were reconverted to Hinduism by Manikkavasakar. Naccinarkiniyar takes it to be the name of a community (Kuluvinpeyar). His mention of the Vanigramam, a variant of the Manigramam gives the possible explanation to the word. Ravi plates undoubtedly indicate a close connection between Manigramam and the Christian community.All other epigraphic evidence, discovered in other parts of the peninsula referred to it as an association of Hindu traders. According to the Syrian Christian tradition about the Manigramattars is that they were a group who had originally come from the cola country. The Manigramattar were most probably Hindu traders. Membership of a guild seems to have been open to all merchants irrespective of their religion, on the west coast. Where trade was in the hands of the Christian merchants for a long time, it might have been possible that the Manigramam organization had Christian merchants also in its rolls along with many other Hindu merchants. Elsewhere it is possible that it consisted only of Hindus. The donors to the temples at Tirunelveli, Salem and Kutralam were Hindus and not Christians. Its activities seemed to have covered period from 9th to the middle of 14th century A.D. It also functioned in foreign countries as may be seen from an inscription at Takuapa in Siam. 321 At Talakkad in the Mukundapuram taluk of the former Cochin state (present-day Kerala) a long inscription was found in which Manigramam was mentioned.18 The inscription consists of two sections which may have been inscribed at different times. Among them, one section of the inscription describes the founding of a market. The urar or responsible citizens of the village defined the boundary of market area . "West of the boundary of Sirupalli, to the North of the big banyan tree, to the East of Kalapalli, and to the South of the lands belonging to the Devar of Kilattirukoyil". Within this area the merchants were permitted to put up shops. The Urar who might also have been members of the assembly of the village levied tax in kind on the stalls, but gave the merchants a free hand in running the market. The second portion of the inscription mentions two members of the Manigramam, who were given the right to set up shops in the market and were exempted from certain specific taxes. The taxes which irrespective all the merchants had to pay include ulgu, the tax or goods coming in by sea. It was also stated in the inscriptions that local people were free to buy in the market. Some conclusions of interest may be drawn from this inscription. The Manigramam merchants enjoyed a special position as compared to the other merchants. Goods from outside came into the locality and there was local demand for these goods. There was no hint here of self-sufficient isolated village communities and of a subsistence economy. On the other hand the movement of trade is indicated as well as the opening up of village communities to itinerant traders. They had the buying capacity and a market in rural areas for goods other than those produced locally including overseas wares flourished. The Talakkad inscription provides a useful insight into the relationship established between a village community and local and itinerant merchants on the West Coast of South India. We may consider the well-known copper plate inscription in the possession of the Syrian Christian church at Kottayam. The Kottayam plate of Vira-Rahava belonged to the thirteenth century.This inscription listed out the rights given to a Manigramam merchant. From the port of Cranganore the merchants traded cardamom, pepper, betel nuts and ginger to Arab countries. This inscription which may be interpreted as signalling the grant of certain export rights to Manigramam. Monopoly rights were granted as well as a commission on many commodities including musk, salt and sugar was allowed. The Manigramam was also given the right to levy customs duty on goods which arrived at the mouth of the river and 322 were then transported to the interior. All the inscriptions referred to goods coming by sea, and the right to handle foreign trade was formally granted by the king. At Talakkad, the arrangements were worked out between the king and the manigramam traders. At both Quilon and Kodungallur the incoming foreign trade was considered to have brought great prosperity to the city. In the Tamil country, in the thirteenth century and the first decade of the fourteenth century, the Manigramam was associated with the distribution of commodities of internal and overseas trade. Their base, judging by the content of the inscriptions in which they are mentioned, was at Kodumbalur in the present District of Pudukkottai. Dated in the early thirteenth century an inscription found in the Rajarajacolisvaramudaiyar temple at Koilpatti, Kullitalai taluk, Tiruchchirappalli district mentioned the Manigramam of Kodumbalur. A major inscription of the thirteenth century found at Piranmalai was issued by the Ayyavole guild and the Citrameli Periyanattar and in this also the Manigramam of Kodumbalur was mentioned. The Piranmalai inscription shows the merchants of the manigramam of Kodumbalur as one of the many groups in Manigramam which met to discuss the taxes to be levied on the goods passing through the area, for the benefit of temples. 323 Another important inscription of the thirteenth century A.D. 1269 was found at Tittandatanapuram, Tiruvadanai Taluk of former Ramanathapuram district. Here the members of the Manigramam were found in collaboration with the Kaikolas who in the thirteenth century had much to do with cotton weaving and were in contact with the Valanjiyar of Southern Srilanka, and the Anjuvanam. It is possible that one of the commodities they exported from this town was cotton fabric. The text of the inscription indicates this possibility. Tittandatanapuram was not far from the port of Tondi. Finally one notes the early fourteenth century inscription found in Rajarajacoliswaramudaiyar temple, Koilpatti. Here again the Manigramam of Kodumbalur is mentioned with Ayyavole and the Citrameli. This inscription enumerates all the commodities of overseas trade which passed through this little town and on which taxes were levied for the benefit of the temple. Kodumbalur was obviously a major centre of the Manigramam guild and overseas trade upto the Fourteenth century. Ainnurruvar Many subsequent inscriptional notices of the merchant guilds were located at coastal sites, the earliest inscription referring to the merchant guild of the five hundred swamis of Ayyavole. This guild is found in the Central Deccan Plateau at Aihole, which is the present day Hungund taluk of Bijapur district. Aihole is situated in the doab formed by the Krishna and the Tungabhadra rivers on the banks of the Malprabha river. Aihole inscriptions which refer to the merchant guild Ayyavole, range chronologically from the eighth century to the early twelfth century.28 Within the geographical area in which Aihole is situated, the Raichur doab, there are many other known inscriptions referring to the activity of the guild. These inscriptions begin about the early Eleventh century and continue till the mid-thirteenth century. 324 500 had extensive trade with China. Here is a water mill from China 325 Nanadesa-Tisaiyayirattu-Ainnurruvar 7 500 of a 1000 Directions Tamil Merchants Associationof Ancient Bharat The patron Goddess of the Ayyavole 500 is Durga. (at least the one stated in the inscription in Barus. The study of corporate bodies of various sorts has taken a significant place in the historiography of medieval south India. Among these corporate bodies, the Ayyàvoëe Five Hundred (Ayyàvoëe ainåŸuvar in Kannada and Aiyappo×il ain域uvar in Tamil), supposed to be a guild of wandering merchants gatheredtogether from all over south India, has been studied by several scholars as an economic and social institution ( app. 900 AD Onwards). There are still some crucial gaps in our knowledge pertaining to this and the related bodies, partly due to the fragmentary nature of the available data and partly due to insufficient comparative study of the evidence spread over different linguistic zones. Ayyavole is the name of a village mentioned in the “Kolhāpur stone inscription of Gaṇḍarāditya”. Ayyavole is well-known as modern town Aihole in the Bijāpur District of the Karnāṭak State. This stone inscription (mentioning Ayyavole) is on the right side of the temple of the Jaina Tīrthaṅkara Pārśvanātha near the former Śukravāra gate of Kolhāpur. It records certain taxes and dues levied by the Trading Corporation of the Vīra-Baṇañjas and certain merchants and 326 representatives of towns. It is dated year 1058, the cyclic year being Rākṣasa. The town of Aihole (pronounced "Eye-hoḷé"), also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India dated from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE, though the most of the surviving monuments date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples from this period, spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district. Aihole is 22 miles (35 km) from Badami and about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Pattadakal, both of which are major centres of historically important Chalukya monuments. Aihole, along with nearby Badami (Vatapi), emerged by the 6th century as the cradle of experimentation with temple architecture, stone artwork, and construction techniques. This resulted in 16 types of freestanding temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines. The experimentation in architecture and arts that began in Aihole yielded the group of monuments at Pattadakal, a UNESCO world heritage site. Over one hundred Aihole temples are Hindu, a few are Jain and one is Buddhist. These were built and coexisted in close proximity. The site is spread over about 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi). The Hindu temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya and other Hindu deities. The Jain Basadi temples are dedicated to Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Neminatha and other Jain Tirthankaras. The Buddhist monument is a temple and small monastery. Both Hindu and Jain monuments include monasteries, as well as social utilities such as stepwell water tanks with artistic carvings near major temples. It has been suggested that the 500 were original inhabitants of the current Aihole, being of Tamil descent who gradually emigrated out of the region but called themselves the Aihole 500 in memory of their descent. It is still not clear that the 500 was one single guild or loose factions who time and again called themselves as from Aihole or Ayyavolu or Ayyavole. Guild names: Of the various South Indian Merchant Guilds we can discern a few prominent ones who are mentioned in inscriptions found at various religious places. 1. Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavolu: also known as Ayyavole, Ainnuruvar, Vira Balanju, vira banajigaru, vira balanjya, vira Valanjiyar, vira balija, Nanadesi, etc. They were a group of 327 500 Swamis who constituted themselves into a board of merchants in Aihole. 2. The Anjuvannam guild: consisting of Jewish, Christian and Muslim traders operating in the ports of Malabar, Coromandal Coast and Java. This guild was defined by Y.Subbarayalu as a "body of west Asian traders". A Syrian Christian grant of 1220 AD bears signatures in Arabic, Hebrew and Pahlavi scripts, while a Tamil text refers to Muslim Anjuvannam traders in Nagapattinam. In a 1296 AD epigraphy of Tittandatanapuram, the Anjuvannam guild finds mention in a big assembly of several merchants and weavers including Manigramam and Valanjiyar of south Ilangai (Sri Lanka) indicating that it had an influential position in that settlement. The merchants of Anjuvannam guild of Manigramam (of Kerala) were called Vanigar and were found along with the Nadu, Nagara, and various itinerant merchants (Samasta-Paradesi) of the 18-bhumi. They find mention in 1279 AD making some contribution to a local temple on the merchandise imported and exported at a local port (Nellore Inscriptions, I, Gudur 45) 3. The Nanadesi guild: were a group of varied merchants. They find mention in the 14th century Tamil inscription recording the assurance of fair treatment by a local chief named Annapota Reddi. The Nanadesi guild and the Manigramam guild later joined the Ayyavole500 guild. 4. Sankarappadi guild and Saliya Nagarattar guild: were specialised merchant guilds that functioned in urban centres. 5. Manigramam guild: flourished in Tamil Nadu in the Pallava and Chola periods and was active in South-east Asia. 6. Nakara guild: also known as Nagara and Nakaramu. They were a body of Vaishya devotees of Nakaresvara. Penugonda of Andhra-desa was their headquarters. They were known as Nagara swamis or Nakarasvamulu. The word is found in Kannada inscriptions as Nakara and Nakhara, cf, as also Nagarathar, Nagarasvamin and Nagaravaru in other languages. The Nagarathars were a local guild of the Ainurruvar. 7. Mummuridandas: they were originally mercenary troops who protected the prabhumukhyalu (chiefs) of different pekkandru guilds. They were hired by traders to ensure protection of itinerant groups and caravans, and also to ensure safety of trading settlements. They were warriors first and merchants next and had branched off from the Ayyavole-500 guild 328 Mystique: The mystique which came to be associated with the guild was considered as being from the parent city of this corporate association. Close and meticulous examination of the epigraphs in which the guild is mentioned and which are found in Aihole one gets some idea of what were the origins of this corporation. The Ayyavole had Khan temple epigraph of the eighth or ninth century considered to contain the first mention of this merchant guild. The inscription is a record of a charitable grant and the key phrase in its transliterated form reads: "Aryajana - samuday odita-var Aryapura ai-nuruvarkam ..." This has been translated 'the five hundred the great body of chaturvedis of the excellent capital of Aryapura which arose from a collection of worthy people. 329 Wealthy Tamil Ladies 330 Srivijaya Around the year 500, the roots of the Srivijayan empire began to develop around presentday Palembang, Sumatra. The Kedukan Bukit inscription (683), discovered on the banks of the Tatang River near the Karanganyar site, states that the empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa and his retinue. He had embarked on a sacred siddhayatra. journey and led 20,000 troops and 312 people in boats with 1,312 foot soldiers from Minanga Tamwan to Jambi and Palembang.From the Sanskrit inscriptions, it is notable that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa launched a maritime conquest 20,000 men in 684 with in the siddhayatra journey to acquire wealth, power, and 'magical powers'. Under the leadership of Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, the Melayu Kingdom became the first kingdom to be integrated into Srivijaya. This possibly occurred in the 680s. Melayu, also known as Jambi, was rich in gold and held in high esteem at the time. Srivijaya recognised that the submission of Melayu would increase its own prestige. The empire was organised in three main zones: the estuarine capital region centred on Palembang, the Musi River basin which served as a hinterland, and rival estuarine areas capable of forming rival power centres. The areas upstream of the Musi River were rich in various commodities valuable to Chinese traders. The capital was administered directly by the ruler, while the hinterland remained under local datus or tribal chiefs, who were organised into a network of alliances with the Srivijaya maharaja or king. Force was the dominant element in the empire's relations with rival river systems such as the Batang Hari River, centred in Jambi. During the beginning of the 10th century CE, Srivijaya (in a port named Palembang in eastern part of Sumatra, today’s Indonesia) rulers developed close relations with both China and India. When the rulers of Java threatened to subordinate Srivijaya, it tried to develop friendly relations with China and the Cholas of south India, as both were keenly interested in the maritime trade of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The Cholas made great commercial ties with Srivijaya (Palembang) in South-east Asia, which is reflected by the cultural patronatage of Srivijaya king to the Buddhist monasteries at Nagapattinam (in 331 Coromandel coast). The Chola King Rajaraja also gave huge land grant for the maintenance of the monastery. Besides cultural exchanges there were brisk maritime trading activities between these two regions. Since the beginning of the 11th century, there are many references of brisk trade between Srivijaya and south India. The Cholas undertook the maritime expeditions to the Southeast Asia not for short term plunder motive, but with the goal of minimizing the role of Srivijaya as the intermediary between the Cholas and Sung China (Chakravarti, 2010, 333). During the early phase in 11th century CE, Rajendra Chola made campaigns against Srivijaya and reduced his empire. The Javanese inscriptions give references of brisk trade in the Malacca strait region in which merchants from different parts of north, south and east India participated. In late twelfth century Srivijaya could retain control over trade passing though the straits with the help of pirates but it lost the status of entrepot in the Asian trade by the late 13th and early 14th century CE as it was 6 overtaken by establishment of northern Sumatran trading centres (Chakravarti Java, Bali, Burma, Malya, Sumatra, Kambuja, Campa. The contributory factors in the decline of Srivijaya were foreign piracy and raids that disrupted trade and security in the region. Attracted to the wealth of Srivijaya, Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya in 1025 332 Economy and Commerce: The main interest of Srivijayan foreign economic relations was to secure a highly lucrative trade agreement to serve a large Chinese market, that span from Tang to Song dynasty era. In order to participate in this trade agreement, Srivijaya involved in tributary relation with China, in which they sent numbers of envoys and embassies to secure the Chinese court's favour. The port of Srivijaya served as an important entrepôt in which valuable commodities from the region and beyond are collected, traded and shipped. Rice, cotton, indigo and silver from Java; aloes, resin, camphor, ivory and rhino's tusks, tin and gold from Sumatra and Malay Peninsula; rattan, rare timber, camphor, gems and precious stones from Borneo; exotic birds and spices.including clove and nutmeg from Eastern Indonesian archipelago; various spices of Southeast Asia and India including pepper, cubeb and cinnamon; also Chinese ceramics, lacquerware, brocade, fabrics, silks and Chinese artworks are among valuable commodities being traded in Srivijayan port. What goods were actually native to Srivijaya is currently being disputed due to the volume of cargo that regularly passed through the region from India, China, and Arabia. Foreign traders stopped to trade their cargo in Srivijaya with other merchants from Southeast Asia and beyond. It was an easy location for traders from different regions to meet as opposed to visiting each other directly. The relations between Java and India were mainly based upon commercial exchanges. They and also had contacts through art and literature. The flourishing trade of Java with India and other countries was noticed by the fact that Arab and Indian merchants from Cambay travelled to Java to purchase several commodities such as pepper, spices and precious goods. Throughout early medieval period and especially in the 12th century, many traders from Cambay region of Gujarat were actively involved in the trade in archipelago. There were evidences of some commercial, cultural or political relations with one or other south-east Asian states during different periods in the early medieval era, 333 most prominent among them being Bali, Burma, Malaya and Sumatra. There are references of two way traffic between India and Kambuja by merchants, fortune seekers, scholars and pilgrims. Some inscriptions also highlight the trading activities between Indian and Khmers at ports of the Gulf of Surabaya. At this port, the people of Campa also participated in maritime activities, directly between China and west involving India also (Ibid., 775-782). Similarly there are also references of brisk trade between Orissa coast, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and East Africa. In regard to South Indian trade, Meera Abraham in her book Two Medieval Merchants Guilds of Southern India (1988) tried to highlight that merchant guilds provided the institutional framework for organized commerce internally and overseas. The encouragement by the Chola court promoted the expansion of Tamil merchant associations, such as the Manigramam and Ayyavole (two powerful medieval merchant guilds), into Southeast Asia and China. She stated that Tamil merchants were engaged in the transport and disbursement of a variety of commodities along the Indian Ocean trade routes, and also controlled trade on both the Coromandel and Malabar coasts in south India. The development of intimate association among the Chola state, merchant guilds and religious institutions became important features of Chola state synthesis (Abraham, 1988, 87). On the basis inscriptional records, Abraham highlights the import of large quantities of goods into South India from West-Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the mid 12th century while from the 13th century CE there was shift of importance towards western ports of South India and Sri Lanka reflecting probably the rise in Indian trade with Egypt and West Asia. After the decline of Chola state during the 12th century CE, the merchant guilds of South India became increasingly independent and less dependent on royal support. It was reflected as trading caravans started to move with armed protection whereas merchant guilds jointly began to fix tolls and cesses, and also made joint donations to temples. The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world's history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are in 334 inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire (Ashoka Major Rock Edict No.13). As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. Despite these ancient origins, the period when it is appropriate to speak of a "Chola Empire" only begins with the medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of three centuries and more between 907 and 1215 AD. Under Rajaraja Chola Virarajendra I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola, Chola, and Kulothunga Chola I, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The power of the new empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by naval raids on cities of the city-state of Srivijaya, as well as by the repeated embassies to China. The Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1153, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia. The Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity. They pioneered 335 a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity. The south Indian guilds played a major role in interregional and overseas trade. The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds who followed the conquering Chola armies. The encouragement by the Chola court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures. The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire under the Sailendras, and 336 the Abbasid Kalifat at Baghdad were the main trading partners. Some credit for the emergence of a world market must also go to the dynasty. It played a significant role in linking the markets of China to the rest of the world. The market structure and economic policies of the Chola dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, crossregional market trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty. A Chola record gives their rationale for engagement in foreign trade: "Make the merchants of distant foreign countries who import elephants and good horses attach to yourself by providing them with villages and decent dwellings in the city, by affording them daily audience, presents and allowing them profits. Then those articles will never go to your enemies." Song dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in 1077, and that the king of the Chulian at the time, Kulothunga I, was called Ti-huakia-lo. This embassy was a trading venture and was highly profitable to the visitors, who returned with copper coins in exchange for articles of tribute, including glass and spices. Probably, the motive behind Rajendra's expedition to Srivijaya was the protection of the merchants' interests. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. A fragmentary Tamil inscription found in Sumatra cites the name of a merchant guild Nanadesa Tisaiyayirattu Ainnutruvar (literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions"), a famous merchant guild in the Chola country. The inscription is dated 1088, indicating that there was an active overseas trade during the Chola period. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity, especially with the Chinese and Arabs. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire in the Malayan archipelago under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid caliphate at Baghdad were the main trading partners. The trade with the Chinese was a very lucrative enterprise, and Trade guilds needed the king's approval and the license from the customs force/department to embark on overseas voyages for trade. The normal trade voyage of those day involved three legs of journey, starting with the Indian goods (mainly spices, cotton and gems) being shipped to China and in the return leg the 337 Chinese goods (silk, incense,iron) were brought back to Chola ports. After some materials were utilized for local consumption, the remaining cargo along with Indian cargo was shipped to the Arabs. Traditionally, this involved transfer of material/cargo to many ships before the ultimate destination was reached. Ayyàvoëe-500 is usually referred to as a guild or sometimes as a corporation of itinerant merchants. Careful studies of the inscriptions relating to this body scholars suggest that it was not a single, unified guild or corporation for the entire south India, though inscriptions bearing almost identical eulogistic preamble are found throughout south India and Sri Lanka, written in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu languages. It was rather a concept of an overarching merchant organization that took shape in the early 10th century, to bring together all possible specialist merchant groups, itinerant and sedentary, local and foreign, and form potential networks spread over several regions.15 This seems to have taken shape concomitant with the growth of big states, like the Chola in Tamil area and the Chalukya in Karnataka. The areas of such networks were actually confined to certain geographical zones, like southern/northern Karnataka, Pandya-Kongu, etc. Under these circum- stances it is the local associates of these networks, transacting in different commercial centres (nakaram, paññi−am) who can be recognized as the chief figures of the concerned record. In most of the 338 Ayyàvoëe inscriptions this distinction can be made.16 In Camuttiràpaññi inscription, the Five Hundred of the local town called Paniyànàñu occupies a distinct position, whereas the Five Hundred of the 18-bhåmi and they developed a special category of commercial towns called eŸivãra-paññi−am (also called vãra-paññi−am, vãrataëam, and eŸivãra-taëam Chola and Srivijaja: Under both dynasties the Guilds of merchants were encouraged aswell as took initiatives to expand their reach and increase their activities. Moreover there is another piece of evidence in the same eulogies. It is said therein that the members of Ayyàvoëe-500 transacted their business in some 18 paññi−am, 32 v¹ëàpuram, and 64 kañikai-tàvaëam. Obviously the numbers 18, 32, and 64 are conventional attributes to denote that the places were several in number. The order of the description of these places would suggest that there was a kind of hierarchy among them: paññi−am was the bigger town, either on the coast or in the interior, the v¹ëàpuram was the harbour place, and part of a bigger town.23 Kañikai-tàvaëam is a compound of kañikai and tàvaëam. For tàvaëam there is good lexical authority and local usage to say that it is a seasonal market or fair. The term ghañika-sthàna is used as a Sanskrit equivalent of kañigai- tàvaëam. It may be noted sthàna, which has the generic sense of place or location, does not convey the exact meaning of tàvaëam. More so, the term ghañika, which in Sanskrit is associated with measure of time or pot. This is therefore a case of bad Sanskritisation. Actually kañigai must be a Dravidian word, related to the Tamil root kañi, meaning protection. That is, kañikaitàvaëam is a protected market or fair. This would imply the presence of some armed persons in those places. In Padaviya, Sri Lanka, a kañikai-tàvaëam was part of an Aipo×il-paññi−am. We cannot therefore assert that only eŸivãra-paññi−ams were protected commercial settlements. They took their designation only due to some extraordinary situation, as noted above. “The ports of Tamil Country contributed much to the development of overseas trade. The traders actively participated in sea-borne trade. The geographical location of Tamil Country itself provided natural harbour facilities. These ports were continuously maintained by the rulers of Tamil Country in the medieval period. There were many trade routes, which also helped the traders to trade with other 339 countries. Plenty of river system also provided an easy access to reach these ports. This river system linked the hinterland ports and other market centres. The guilds in the ports also utilized the natural facilities and the facilities provided by rulers. The market centres also served as distribution centres. These market centres were also maintained by the guilds with the support of the rulers. The royal cities also contributed much to the promotion of overseas trade. The port towns facilitated the overseas trade in Medieval Tamil Country. These port towns provided employment opportunities, such as loading and unloading the commodities, selling the foreign goods in the local markets, protecting the traders and their commodities. These activities facilitated the urbanisation process. R E F E R E N C E S and Bibliography 1. Ancient South Indian Commerce( BY SRIMATI V. T. LAKSHMI) 2. A UNIQUE TRADE GUILD OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL COUNTRY,– A STUDY Dr.PSelvi,Dr.M.Nageswari,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (IJCESR) Inter Regional Maritime Trade.Sukul Kundra, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303 697627 ee also 3. TRADE GUILDS AND THE CHARACTER OF STATE IN EARLY SOUTH INDIA,K.P. Velayudhan,Proceedings of the Indian History Congress,Vol. 39, Volume I (1978), pp. 200-207,Published by: Indian History Congress,https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139353 4. Trade guilds of south India up to the tenth century,Article · May 2015,Y. Subbarayalu ,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277904378_Trade_guilds_of_south_Indi a_up_to_the_t enth_century 5. https://peoplepill.com/people/lokaksema/ 6. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46055285 7. Read More at https://www.livehistoryindia.com/snapshort-histories/2017/07/30/theindian- 340 8. EŸivãrapaññi−am, Warriors and the State in Medieval South India Y. Subbarayalu9. .A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: Upinder Singh,Pearson Longmans BIBLIOGRAPHY NEW LIGHT ON THE LAST EPIGRAPHICAL REFERENCE TO THE FIVE HUNDRED SWAMIS OF AYYAVOLE,M. Nanjundappa,Proceedings of the Indian History Congress,Vol. 40 (1979), pp. 1130-1132,Published by: Indian History Congress,https://www.jstor.org/stable/44142075 Overseas Trade in tamil Country, Chapter I-TRADE TRANSACTION AT PORTS AND MARKET CENTRES https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/135393/7/07_chapter%201.pdf ABOUT THE AUTHOR- S R I S H T I D O K R A S 341 An Architect by choice and design, she completed a BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE Degree from the now famous Institute of Design Education and Architectural Studies, Nagpur,India. Her distinguished design and architectural experience has taken her to Mumbai, Pondicherry and Hyderabad. She has also visited Australia and Seattle, USA on study trip. Srishti has worked for Vivek Varma Architects , Mumbai ,Uday Dighe and Associates , Mumbai, Ashok Mokha Architects Nagpur ,and Shama Dalvi in Auroville.Currently working in the REVIT domain in BASE 4 corporation at Nagpur, the main work center of Base4,USA. She has been a part of the design map of the Nagpur Metro; Google corporate office Hyderabad, residential houses in the city of Pondicherry –AUROVILLE, India and Nagpur, India. Restaurant Designs for Kettle and Brew Beverages Pvt Ltd, PUNE,India       Attended the bamboo and earth construction workshop , Auroville Attended construction workshop organizedby Indian Institute of Engineers Participated in N.A.S.A. 2015 Held 1st position in Product Design/Competition “ Light em up ” at Regional Level Shortlisted for S.A. Deshpande Trophy/organized by Indian Institute of Architects , Nagpur Visiting Architectural scholar at Melbourne, Sydney , Australia and Seattle and New Jersey USA Srishti has published 16 research and allied papers and this book. All listed in as Chapters in this Book. Her particular area of interest is INTERIORS DESIGN. Some of the Collected works of Srishti: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. The GREAT WALL of CHINA an Architectural Foray Architecture of Hotels The Vastu-Purusha-Mandala in Temple Architecture Prambanan, a Hindu temple in Indonesia-general architectural and morphological analysis HINDU TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE of BHARAT-SOME MUSINGS Autodesk Revit for Project Management VERTICAL GARDENS - an Architectural Perspective.pdf Theme Park and Architecture Philosophy and Architecture AYODHYA in ITS ARCHITECTURE Myth and Reality The Nagara Architecture of Khajuraho Hotel Design- Architectural Breviary Hindu Temple Architecture Lanka Cambodia and Angkor Vat 342 16. Creativity and Architecture About the Author-Dr Uday Dokras The author has worked for 30 years in the human resources arena in India and abroad. He was Group Vice -President of MZI Group in New Delhi and has anchored Human Relations in Go Air and Hotel Holiday Inn;was General Manager-Health Human Resources at the Lata Mangeshkar Hospital amd Medical college. Is currently Consultant to Gorewada International Zoo,Nagpur and visiting Faculty at the Central Institute of Business Management and Research, Nagpur. In Sweden he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB and advisor to a multi millionaire. He has studied in Nagpur, India where he obtained degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts(Managerial Economics) and Bachelor of Laws. He has done his Graduate Studies in labour laws from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston; a MBA from USA, and Doctorate from Stockholm University, Sweden. Apart from that he has done a Management Training Program in Singapore. A scholar of the Swedish Institute, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and Wineroth Fund Awardee.A scholar for the Swedish Institute for 5 years. In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labour Law Project of the University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there. In 1985 he was invited by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the labour laws of Seychelles. Author of a book on a Swedish human resource law, his brief life sketch is part of the English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English. SPOTLIGHT 7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - “SPOTLIGHT 8- Lausnir.” BOOKS written by Dr Uday 1. Act on Co-determination at work-an efficacy study - 1990 Doctoral thesis published by Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm,Sweden This is a first of a kind empirical study of both employees and business owners reactions of how efficiently a labour law was functioning in a country(Sweden).Adorns Stanford and Harvard University Libraries and granted Copyright by the Library of Congress,USA in 1990. 2. Health Human Resource Management- 2006 A to Z of the Management of health workers starting from recruitment to training, development and enhancing their efficacy. Good book for all health care institutions as well as medical and nursing staff and students. 3. Theme Park Human Resource Engineering- 2007 How the workers in theme parks deal with a complex environment and need to be managed in order to being out superior delivery of customer focused services helping in more footfalls at the same time not compromising on safety. 4. Project Human Resource Management- 2008 Projects are cumbersome and their success rests not on the material but on the men who move it. Book deals with management ideas to spur project workers and staff to greater delivery parameters. 343 5. Creativity and Architecture -2009 Co-authored with Srishti Dokras, examines the parameters of creativity and how it will raise design quotients. 6. Diffusion – Management and Design- 2009 Co-authored with Karan Dokras deals with a new and little known subject of Diffusion or how predator ideas enhance own value in a market where dominant players call the shots. 7. Hindu Temples of Bharat,Cambodia and Bali- 2020 Enigmatic designs, huge structures, massive projects all done before the invention of cranes or bulldozers- the how and why of temples in Bharat,Nagpur,and the Far East. Biggest and most comprehensive book on the subject -452 pages. 8. Win Diet 2020 Diets and fads come and go but not this one-A diet and exercise plan that will help you to win over obesity,unhealthy lifestyles and make a dynamic YOU .Written by a 68 year old who has been diagnosed with a 26 year old’s heart. 9. Celestial Mysteries of the Borobudur Temple of Java- 2020 This amazing biggest in the world Buddhist temple was built with technology and ideas from India 1500 years ago using fractal geometry, Algorithms, Hindu temple technology and archeoastronomy. Read HOW it was done. 10. LOTUS the Celestial Flower 11.Light house at Alexandria 12. Lighthouses in words and Pictures 13.Vayu- Man’s taming of the Winds 14. My Best Foot Forward- story of the Footware Industry in India 15. DEVARAJA- The Celestial King and the Mysteries of South Asian Hindu Temples RESEARCH PAPERS- 150 + in Researchgate and academia.edu 344 345 eviews of the Book PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The authors highlight the benefits of paying attention to human resources and offer success and failure factors guideline for a variety of potential practitioners and students in global project marketplace. Ms.Ylva Arnold, Head HR- Norstedts Publishers, Stockholm SWEDEN 346 From the Newspaper Times of India March 24, 2018 Authors-SRISHTI and DR Uday DOKRAS 347 Iceland Sweden both countries use the English Text SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in which is about Dr Uday Dokras 348 Prof. S.Deshpande,President of the Indian Instituye of Architects, New Delhi INDIA releasing the book of Dr Dokras HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA gimes( May 2010) 349 350 351 352 353 354 DEVRAJA- BOOKI Mysteries of the South Asian Hindu Temples Indo Nordic Author’s Collective-India,Sweden,Finland Dr UDAY DOKRAS SRISHTI DOKRAS 355 Lord Kartikeya looks down from Temple in Kuala Lumpur 356 Alphabetical Index of the CONTENTS Title Page Acknowledgment Art in bharat Architecture About these volumes Art in Khemer Angkor vat today Age of Empires Apprenticeship Art & Architecture Author Ainnuvvurur Ancient Indian Maritime Trade Archeology Archeological excavations Ancient Tamil Economy About the Author- Srishti Dokras About the Author-n Dr Uday Dokras AngkorVat Today 8 56 223 19 57 78 185 150 223 243 324 238 274 312 295 342 343 78 207 326 82 101 104 108 119 149 161 164 169 188 190 196 222 221 224 329 233 260 311 307 177 268 240 Aftermath Ayyavolu-500 Lords of Concept of DEVRAJA Cambodia and Khemer CHAKRAVARTI CHAKRAVARTI in Hinduism Champa Carpentry Cambodia-Influence of Hinduism Chola Dynesty Chola Conquests Chola Dynasty Chola Empire Cholas Early Chola Art in Greater India Canals and Water Tanks Chola Rajendra Chola Chola and Srivijaya Chola Navy Combating Piracy Changing Character of the Tamil Countries Custom Duties Cambodia- How Hinduism Reached Campaigns Chola Military 357 Cholas- Tamil Cholas- Early Commerce, Trade and Diplomacy of Cholas Concepts of Greater Bharat- Additional Divinity & Royalty Dark age Decline of Cholas Duties- custom Export Economy and Commerce Education of Shilpi Shastris in architecture Economy Early Guilds of Merchants Farther India Foreign Trade Geneology Gupta Dynesty Guilds Hindu temple Construction Hindu Temples in South East Asia History Hindu temples in Cambodia Indosphere Interregum Imperial Cholas Invasion of Srivijaya Imperial navy Industry in Ancient tamil Times Inland Trade Import and Export from Tamil India Imprint of the Indian Genius Import and Export Khemer Empire Khemer Kedah Luxury Goods Merchants Guilds Manigraman Manigraman under the Cholas Major Battles Maritime Silk Road Murti Design Marco Polo Source Mandapa Metallurgy MURTI 358 192 196 259 138 178 184 211 307 313 333 150 217 294 158 220 193 165 150 172 109 237 230 139 196 198 206 255 296 298 314 158 305 173 120 203 294 315 316 317 226 238 152 294 113 149 148 Navy Naval Raids Origins Organization and Administration Overseas Conquests Other Guilds Origins Personal Wealth Ramayana in Cambodia Recruitment in Services Regiments Rank Remker Role of Murtis in worship Schools of temples Styles of Architecture Sprachbund Sanskritization Sanskritization Theorey Shaivism Srivijaya South East Asia South Indian Maritime Traders Silambum Trade Routes Tamil in the Malay world Trade Trade Commerce and Diplomacy Towards East Timeline Tretise Untold Legend of Rajendra Chola Vessels Yashodharpur 500 Lords of the Ayyavole 359 245 228 195 261 202 327 240 308 159 269 242 263 147 155 117 118 139 141 143 166 331 246 272 216 305 228 307 259 289 233 151 191 266 175 171