Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s15.10

v6.c41.s15.10

‘The Khmer civilization, the monumental remains of which have so astonished all investigators, was of purely Indian origin. It is not possible to say for certain when the first Indian settlers came to Siam or Cambodia, but there is no reason to suppose that any of their buildings, the remains of which are in existence, date from pre-Buddhist times.’ But General Wood admits the fact that ‘there were Indian settlers in pre-Buddhistic times. They must have professed Brahmanism.’ There is, however, reason to suppose that despite all the ancient stone inscriptions found in the region peopled by the Khmers being purely south Indian (Dravidian) both in lettering and language, ‘the first great influx of Indians into this region dated from the time of king Asoka’s invasion of Kalinga and that the settlers were natives of Kalinga’ and ‘formed colonies at various points along the coasts of the countries now known as Pegu, Siam, Cambodia, and Cochin-China.’¹ This view has been further substantiated by Fergusson when he says of Burma that it ‘adopted the religion of Sākyamuni (Buddha) and borrowed also many of the Indian forms of architecture, but with differences we are now at a loss to account for. It may be that, as we know nothing practically of the architectural forms of the lower Bengal provinces before the beginning of the sixth century, these forms may have been taken to Prome and Pegu before that time’² and may have migrated also to Siam.