Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c11.10

c11.10

The most striking features of Barabuḍur are the series of sculptured panels, about fifteen hundred in number, and no less than 432 images of Dhyānī Buddhas which may be regarded colonies in this region into two broad zones, western and eastern. In his view the western zone comprising Burma, Central Siam, Malay Peninsula and Sumatra shows an extreme acculturation, *i.e.* absorption or assimilation of Indian culture, with the result that the local genius was altogether destroyed, and what we find is a mere replica of Indian art. He, therefore, regards this western zone as constituting Greater India in the narrow sense, with a purely colonial imitative culture. This was never the lot of the eastern zone, comprising mainly Java, Champā and Cambodia. Although there was very definite Indianization, it was not so extreme as to destroy local genius. The result was that with the gradual waning of Indian influence the local genius moulded the Indian pattern, and at a laetr stage there was a resurgence of the pre-Indian civilization. From this is drawn the inference that the great monuments of art in Kambuja and Java owe their inspiration and execution more to the local genius than to the influence of the Indian art.