Greater India
Cultural sphere of India beyond the Indian subcontinent / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, or the Indic world, is an English language socio-cultural concept composed of many countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures of these regions.[4]
Greater India | |
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Southeast Asia | |
Indianized Kingdoms | Angkor, Borobodur, Butuan, Cebu, Champa, Chenla, Dvaravati, Funan, Gangga Negara, Kalingga, Kutai, Langkasuka, Majapahit, Pagan, Pan Pan, Singhasari, Srivijaya, Tarumanagara, Tondo |
Theravada Buddhism | Buddhism in Southeast Asia (Theravada is popular mainly in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand) |
Hinduism | Hinduism in Southeast Asia |
South Asia | |
Theravada Buddhism | India, Sri Lanka |
Vajrayana Buddhism | Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet |
Hinduism | Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka |
Central Asia | |
Buddhist monasticism | Buddhism in Central Asia |
Indosphere · Hindu texts · Buddhist texts · Folklore of India · Ramayana (Versions of Ramayana) | |
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This region is also considered in Indian political circles as part of India's extended neighbourhood, and modern intergration was propelled through a multifaceted acceleration of economic and strategic interaction under the "Look East" policy, and more recently has involved deepening military ties as well.[5] It is also the case that Sri Lanka also continues to have strong political links with South East Asia, asked by ASEAN to be a founding memeber, and has recently been increasing integration with South East Asia through its own "Look East" policy; politcians view the relationship between Sri Lanka and South East Asia as second only to South Asia.[6][7][8]
The English term was popularised in the 1800s as a view of an expansionist India within the context of East Asia, though its modern meanings often invoke images of soft power.[9] It is an umbrella term encompassing the Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries, which are culturally linked through a diverse cultural cline. These countries have been transformed to varying degrees by the acceptance and introduction of cultural and institutional elements from each other. Since at least 500 BCE, Asia's expanding land and maritime trade had resulted in prolonged socio-economic and cultural stimulation and diffusion of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs into the region's cosmology, in particular in East Asia.[10]
By the early centuries of the common era, most of the principalities of Southeast Asia had effectively absorbed defining aspects of Indian culture, religion, and administration. The notion of divine god-kingship was introduced by the concept of Harihara, and Sanskrit and other Indian epigraphic systems were declared official, like those of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and Chalukya dynasty.[11][12] These Indianized kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès in his work Histoire ancienne des états hindouisés d'Extrême-Orient,[13] were characterized by resilience, political integrity, and administrative stability. Much of these expansions also went on to heavily influence China, South Korea and Japan.[14]
To the north, Indian religious ideas were assimilated into the cosmology of Himalayan peoples, most profoundly in Tibet and Bhutan, and merged with indigenous traditions. Buddhist monasticism extended into Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and other parts of Central Asia. xTo the west, Indian culture converged with Greater Persia via the Hindu Kush and the Pamir Mountains. Ancient Indian culture of this type can be found as far away as Russia and Greece[15]