Between 400 to 1200 CE, India lived through what historian William Dalrymple calls an extraordinary millennium. A time when the subcontinent was the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual center of the world.

Across Southeast Asia, kings adopted Sanskrit titles, cities took Sanskrit names; Singapura (modern Singapore) and Kandahar (ancient Gandhara). Temples in Angkor Wat depicted the Churning of the Ocean myth, while the Ramayana traveled all the way to Java and Malaysia. From Sumatra to Cambodia, Indian thought shaped art, architecture, and kingship.

And yet, none of this came through conquest. As scholar Sheldon Pollock described it, this vast “Sanskrit cosmopolis” spread through culture, not war. Buddhism traveled from India to Afghanistan, China, and beyond. Archaeological finds show images of Durga in Ghazni and Shiva frescoes in Central Asia.

Chinese monk Hiuen Tsang, who traveled across Asia in the 7th century, wrote that “the country most admired by educated people in the world is India.”

A thousand years before the idea of “soft power” existed, India had already mastered it.

📚Sources:
William Dalrymple – The Anarchy (public talks & essays)
Sheldon Pollock – The Language of the Gods in the World of Men
Hiuen Tsang – Records of the Western Regions

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