Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c9.98

c9.98

But this political unification of Burma was not the only great achievement of Aniruddha. Far more important was the complete transformation of Burmese culture under the influence of the Mons. The Burmese, a rude unlettered people, representing a comparatively late Mongolian wave of immigration, had mostly destroyed the ancient culture. Under the inspiration and personal example of Aniruddha they now adopted the religion, script and sacred literature of India, as represented by the Mon culture, which thus commenced a new career in Pagan. The world has scarcely seen such an example of the conquerors being completely captivated by the conquered. The Hīnayāna form of Buddhism, hitherto current in Lower Burma, now became the dominant religion in the whole country, a position which it happily retains down to the present time.