THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAproduced the classical Buddha image which influenced the art of Burma
and Thailand, as well as that of Funan at the mouth of the Mekong. The
art of the Shailendra dynasty of Java in the eighth and ninth centuries—of
which the Borobudur is the most famous monument—was obviously
influenced by what is termed the Late Gupta style of western Central India,
as manifested in the great cave temples of Ajanta and Ellora. An
inscription at the Plaosan temple in Central Java (c. 800) explicitly refers
to the ‘constant flow of the people from Gurjaradesha [Gujarat and
adjacent regions]’—due to which this temple had been built. Indeed, the
temple’s sculptures show a striking similarity with those of the late
Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
In later centuries Southeast Asia was more and more influenced by the
scholars of the University of Nalanda and the style of the Pala dynasty, the
last of the great Indian dynasties which bestowed royal patronage on
Buddhism. The influence of Mahayana Buddhism prevailing in Bihar and
Bengal under the Palas was so strong at the court of the Shailendras of
Java that a Buddhist monk from ‘Gaudi’ (Bengal), with the typical Bengali
name of Kumara Ghosh, became rajguru of the Shailendra king and in this
capacity consecrated a statue of Manjushri in the royal temple of the
Shailendras in 782. Bengal, eastern Bihar and Orissa were at that time
centres of cultural influence. These regions were in constant contact with
Southeast Asia, whose painters and sculptors reflected the style of eastern
India in their works. Typical of this aesthetic was the special arrangement
of figures surrounding the central figure: this type of arrangement can be
found both in Indonesian sculptures and in the temple paintings of Pagan
(Burma) during this period.
In the same era South Indian influence emerged once more under the
Chola dynasty. Maritime trade was of major importance to the Cholas, who
thereby also increased their cultural influences. The occasional military
interventions of the Cholas did not detract from this peaceful cultural
intercourse. At the northern coast of Sumatra the old port of Dilli, near
Medan, had great Buddha sculptures evincing a local variation of the Chola
style; indeed, a magnificent locally produced statue of the Hindu god
Ganesha, in the pure Chola style, has recently been found at Palembang.
Close to the famous temple of Padang Lawas, central Sumatra, small but very
impressive Chola-style bronze sculptures of a four-armed Lokanath and of
Tara have been found. These sculptures are now in the museum of Jakarta.
They are dated at 1039 and a brief inscription containing Old Malay words
in addition to Sanskrit words—but no Tamil words—proves that the figures
were not imported from India but were produced locally.
Nevertheless, Chola relations with Southeast Asia were by no means a
one-way street. It is presumed that the imperial cult of the Cholas, centred
on their enormous temples, was directly influenced by the grand style of
Angkor. The great tank at Gangaikondacholapuram was perhaps