People of the Harappan civilisation
had developed trade relations with the
countries of the west. Ever since then,
India has had economic and cultural
exchanges with the outside world.
Buddhism had spread to Afghanistan and
to many countries of Central Asia. During
the period of the Iranian empire, India’s
contact with the western world increased.
The Greek historians of that period grew
more curious about India. Their writings
introduced India to the western world.
The routes which were later used by
Alexander, were opened for trade between
India and the countries of the west. Under
the influence of the Greek art of sculpture,
a new form of art emerged in India during
the Kushana period. It is called Gandhara
school of art. In the Gandhar art school
images of Gautam Buddha were mainly
carved. As these images were mostly found
in the Gandhara region of Afghanistan,
the style is called the ‘Gandhara style’.The facial features of the statues made in
this style are similar to those of the Greek
people. The early coins that were minted
in India were also like Greek coins. Around the first or second century CE,
trade between India and Rome flourished.
The ports in South India also had a large
share in this trade. Some articles made
of bronze were found in the excavations
at Kolhapur. They have been made in
Rome. The excavations at Arikamedu in
Tamil Nadu have also brought to light
many articles made in Rome. Both these
places were important centres of trade
between India and Rome. Many such trade
centres are mentioned in the literature of
those times. Alexandria was an important port in
Egypt. The Arab merchants carried Indian
goods up to Alexandria. From there, they
were sent to the countries in Europe.
Besides Indian goods, the Arabs also
conveyed Indian philosophy and science
to Europe. The concept of ‘zero’ is one of
India’s major contributions to the world. It
was the Arabs who introduced this Indian
concept to Europe.
11.2 India and other countries in Asia
Many countries in Asia were greatly
influenced by the Indian culture of those
times.Sri Lanka : King Ashoka had sent
his son Mahendra and daughter
Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to spread
Buddhism. Their names are mentioned in
the Buddhist text ‘Mahavamsa’ written in
Sri Lanka. Sanghamitra carried a branch
of the Bodhi tree with her. The Sri Lankan
tradition believes that the Bodhi tree at
Anuradhpur in Sri Lanka has grown from
the same branch.
There was a great demand in India for
Sri Lankan pearls and other precious
stones. In the fifth century CE King
Kashyap had caves dug out at a place
called ‘Sigiriya’. The wall paintings in
these caves bear a resemblance to the
paintings in the Ajanta Caves. The Sri
Lankan Buddhist works ‘Dipavamsa’ and
‘Mahavamsa’ provide information about
the close relations between India and Sri
Lanka. They are written in the Pali
language.
China and other countries : Right
from the ancient times, India and China
had established trade and cultural relations.
Emperor Harshavardhan had even sent an
ambassador to the Chinese court. Chinese
silk was known as ‘Chinanshuka’, and
was in great demand in India. Merchants
in ancient India supplied Chinese silk to
western countries. The land route by which
the silk trade was carried on, was called
the ‘Silk Route’. Some ancient places in
India were connected to this route.
Nala-sopara near Mumbai in Maharashtra
was one such place. The Chinese Buddhist
bhikkhus Fa Hien and Yuan Chwang also
came to India through this silk route.
In the first century CE, the Ming
Emperor of China invited the Buddhist
bhikkhus Dharmarakshaka and
Kashyapmatanga to China. The bhikkhus
translated many Indian Buddhist texts into
the Chinese language. This gave impetus
to the spread of Buddhism in China. Later
on, Buddhism also reached Japan, Korea
and Vietnam.
Countries in Southeast Asia : The
ancient kingdom of ‘Funan’ in Cambodia
was established in the first century CE.
Evidence is available from Chinese
traditions that an Indian named Kaundinya
established it. People of Funan knew the
Sanskrit language. A stone inscription of
that period is still in existence. It is in
Sanskrit. In many other countries of
Southeast Asia too, small kingdoms
established by people of Indian origin had
emerged. These kingdoms helped to spread
Indian culture in Southeast Asia.
Indian culture had a deep impact on
the art and cultural life of Southeast Asia.
Dance-dramas based on stories from the
two Indian epics ‘Ramayana’ and
‘Mahabharata’ are popular in Indonesia
even today. This influence continued to
increase over the years. In the ancient
period, the Buddhist religion spread to
Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. In the
later years, temples of Lord Shiva and
Vishnu were also built there.
This year, we have reviewed Indian
history from 3000 BCE to the eighth
century CE. Next year, we will study the
history of India from the ninth century CE
to the eighteenth century CE. The history
of this period is known as ‘Medieval
History’.
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