RECENTLY, a video on the ancient Indus Valley Civilization (geographic Pakistan) came up in my feed. It looks like some scholars now think that this could be the world’s oldest civilization, predating Mesopotamia. While Europe were still in their formative stages the IVC population were living in standardize planned cities with flush toilets.
What caught my eyes were the claims of a follow-up video that prehistoric India, without violence, armies or subjugation influenced East Asia.
Early History
Long before the modern age of nation-states and empires, India was already a fountain of culture and philosophy. Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests that by 2500 BCE, merchants from the Indus Valley Civilization traded beads, textiles, and precious stones with lands to their west and east.
By 1000 BCE, when the Vedic civilization flourished, seafarers made seasonal voyages across the Bay of Bengal. These routes connected India’s eastern ports with Suvarnabhumi, the “Land of Gold,” known today as mainland Southeast Asia.
By the 6th century BCE, Indian merchant settlements arose along the coasts of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. Monks, traveling by land and sea, carried the teachings of the Buddha plus Indian artistic styles, architecture, and literature. Over the following centuries, Buddhism became a major civilizational bridge linking India to China, Korea, Japan, and beyond. Their philosophical roots—non-violence, detachment, and the pursuit of enlightenment—remained distinctly Indian.
Temples
From the Mauryan and Sunga periods (4th–2nd centuries BCE) onward, Indian motifs such as the lotus, chakra (wheel), lion, and stupa spread across Asia. Temples and sculptures across Myanmar and Thailand bear the imprint of early Indian art, both in form and spirit.
Princess Soma
In the 2nd century, BCE. Soma, a Chieftain princess in Cambodia invited an Indian Brahmin named Kaundinya to marry her. They established the ancient kingdom of Funan with a unique Southeast Asian culture where indigenous beliefs and nature worship merged with Vedic traditions. This importation of skills became a blueprint to developing many kingdoms in the region.
Language
The Sanskrit language, already refined by the 1st millennium BCE, became a vehicle of royal authority, learning, and religion across the continent. The Brahmi script, developed in India, later inspired the writing systems of Southeast Asia—the Pallava, Kawi, Khmer, and Thai. During the Pallava dynasty of south India, at least one of its rulers came from the Khmer kingdoms of Cambodia. There was an exchange of administrative knowhow and intelligence to and from India and its neighbors.
Governance
The ideal of dharma—the moral law that upholds both society and the cosmos—became central to kingship and governance throughout much of Asia. Indian texts such as the Arthashastra and Dhammapada, composed before Christ, presented models of responsible rule and ethical statecraft that emphasized welfare, justice, and restraint.
Mathematics
By the first millennium BCE, Indian astronomers and mathematicians were developing ideas that would later spread through Asia. The decimal system and the concept of zero were Indian inventions that transformed global mathematics. Early Indian astronomy, which mapped planetary movements and lunar cycles, found echoes in Chinese and Southeast Asian traditions.
Medicine
Ayurvedic medicine also spread eastward, offering insights into herbal healing and holistic wellness. Many traditional medical practices in Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia still retain traces of Indian methods of diagnosis, diet, and balance.
Non-imperialism
This quiet, non-imperial influence is what made India a true cultural and moral center of the ancient world. By the dawn of the Common Era (last 1500 years), the continent had already absorbed many aspects of Indian civilization—from philosophy and law to art and literature—transforming Asia into a web of shared ideals.
Conclusion
From the Himalayas to the islands of the Pacific, the message of harmony between body, mind, and soul helped form the foundation of Asia’s cultural identity. India’s influence was neither territorial nor political—it was civilizational. Across thousands of years, India offered Asia not armies but ideas; not domination but inspiration. It taught that the true wealth of a nation lies not in conquest, but in wisdom, virtue, and inner realization. The modern era may have redrawn the map, but the ancient bonds of Indian influence still live in the languages, philosophies, and values of the East today. With the current gunboat diplomacy and resulting tensions in the Caribbean, one must question whether ancient civilizations were far more civilized than us.
If the world is to thrive, it must remember the wisdom of the past. The welfare of all begins with the goodness of each. Vijai Sadal is a student of the Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation Centre. He can be reached at vijai@pepesmkt.com
