indianisation caused 3 major changes in Southeast Asia and this could be seen as a common feature between them
(picture of mandala taken from here)
- mandala
- spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism
- represents the universe
- most basic form is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point, each gate is in a general shape of a T
(picture of mandala taken from here)- often exhibit radial balance
- became a term to represent the cosmos
(how did it originate from)
- circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the King's state
- according to "Rajamandala" which was formulated by Indian author Kautilya on his work on politics
- rather than operating as "states", traditional SEA politics had no territorial boundaries defined by fixed borders
(how is it used politically)
- many kingdoms under the same political power
- e.g. Khmer Empire of Cambodia, Srivijaya Empire of Sumatra
- counteracts the concept of modern tendencies to look for unified power
(political structure of Srivijaya)
- the king (absolute monarch) ruled nearby provinces through his sons and other royal family members
- in further away territories, datus were to continue rule under King's name
(evidence on Mandala in Srivijaya)
- 3 dimensional Mandala, Borobudur in Jogjakarta
(borobudur in Jogjakarta also shows how Indianisation influenced the architecture in the Srivijaya empire - adopted a mandala form on the top view)
Mandala first originated in India and was later adopted by Southeast Asia ancient countries. I feel that this could be because of the theory of the Brahmins. Firstly, it is because the Brahmins were the rulers of some places in the Srivijayan kingdom. This could allow them to spread the idea of mandala to Southeast Asia. The Brahmins could have influenced the people of whom they ruled and interacted with, which could have caused the indigenous people to be very interested in these "god-like" people. With that, Indian ideologies and beliefs could have been imparted on the Southeast Asian empires and one of these could have been Mandala.
interested in making a sand mandala? (2 dimensional mandala)
sources:
interested in making a sand mandala? (2 dimensional mandala)
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala_(Southeast_Asian_political_model)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala
2. kingship
(meaning)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala
2. kingship
(meaning)
- aka. maharaja (great king)
- indian concepts of kingship derived from ancient tests changed over time in repose to political, religious, social and cultural influences
- developed from a mix of Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim ideals
- from Hindu belief system
- concept of darshan
- act of seeing and being seen by a superior being
- viewing a kind in the flesh was an act that transferred blessings and grace to the viewer
(picture to illustrate darshan) from here
- shows the king's secular and sacred power
- ensure the well-being of dynasty, state and subjects, affirm that the righteous ruler was blessed and guided by divine forces
(examples of kings in SEA)
- Kertanagara, last king of Singhasari (kingdom located in east Java between 1222-1292)
- HM King Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia in present day
- Dharmastu, Srivijayan King in 7th century
Influence of Indianisation is so strong that Kingship exists even to this present day. The concept of Kingship could also have been influenced by the Brahmins, who were the people who legitimised the Kings. There were many Brahmins in Srivijaya because of their lucrative trading business. Brahmins could have impart their ideologies which included Kingship onto the people of Srivijaya.
sources:
http://maharaja.fieldmuseum.org/behind-the-scenes/kingship-india
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_India
3. Devaraja
(picture of god shiva)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_India
3. Devaraja
- could also mean "god-king"
- some kingdoms used to concept of where the king was a living god on earth
- viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule
- established through rituals and institutionalised within the Indianised kingdoms of Southeast Asia
- king was divine universal ruler, manifestation of Hindu god Shiva
(picture of god shiva)
(purpose)
- enables monarch to claim the divine authority which could be used to ensure political legitimacy, managing social order, economic and religious aspects
- in political aspect, it strengthens the justification of King and the ruling dynasty as rightful ruler of the land
- maintain social order by exalting the king as living god
- living god demands the upmost service and devotion of the people
- introduce the Indian caste system
- define social class and people's way of life
- enable king to embark on public works by mobilising people for large scale projects
- able to mobilise large amounts of people to build them
- e.g. Borobudur in Java
(borobudur in Java)
The physical structures which were build shows us that the extent to the power of Devaraja such that they are able to mobilise such large amounts of people to build a structure. Indianisation was so powerful such that it could spread to countries in Southeast Asia and have the people of Southeast Asia go to such extents to fulfil their rulers commands. The concept of Devaraja could have been imparted upon the Srivijayan people by the Brahmis. This is because the Brahmins because they were probably the few people in the caste system who knew enough on the extensive knowledge of Devaraja.
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devaraja
Therefore, I feel that Indianisation did cause an impact on the state of the Srivijaya. Firstly, we can see that the Srivijaya empire adopted Mandala, which was to run kingdoms under the same power. Secondly, the Kingship in Srivijaya and the presence of kingships in some countries in the present time shows how large the extent of indianisation was. Even though Indianisation started at around 1st century, some of its political structure are still being used. Lastly, the concept of Devaraja shows the borrowing of culture of believing that the king was a divine ruler. I feel that Mandala, Kingship and Devaraja could have been imparted upon Srivijaya and the rest of southeast asia through the theory of Brahmins as they could have been the only people who knew enough knowledge about these concepts and had enough power to do so.
(picture of brahmin)
Therefore, I feel that indianisation had a large influence, was very powerful and was impactful.
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devaraja
Therefore, I feel that Indianisation did cause an impact on the state of the Srivijaya. Firstly, we can see that the Srivijaya empire adopted Mandala, which was to run kingdoms under the same power. Secondly, the Kingship in Srivijaya and the presence of kingships in some countries in the present time shows how large the extent of indianisation was. Even though Indianisation started at around 1st century, some of its political structure are still being used. Lastly, the concept of Devaraja shows the borrowing of culture of believing that the king was a divine ruler. I feel that Mandala, Kingship and Devaraja could have been imparted upon Srivijaya and the rest of southeast asia through the theory of Brahmins as they could have been the only people who knew enough knowledge about these concepts and had enough power to do so.
(picture of brahmin)Therefore, I feel that indianisation had a large influence, was very powerful and was impactful.
