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Dr. M. S. Shukla
relationship with the outside world. From the account of Arthaśāstra it may be well that Suvarnabhūmi entered into known world and found a place in ancient Geography as the sea-route, developed to the east across the Bay of Bengal.
If the Indianisation process tends to be interpreted in terms of an expansion of ancient maritime trade, the beginnings of Indianisation can not be later than 1st century B. C., a fact suggested by the Jaina tradition. The spread of Indian religion was a form of Indianization before the opening of Christian era and Indian savants and missionaries were the mechanics of Indianisation during its early stages. The merchants, besides carrying miscellaneous trade goods and carried art-works and cult objects for the faithful, are facts for common people. Thus merchants and missionaries were at work in the operation of the Indianisation process in the SouthEast from the time of its beginnings.
Before the official introduction of Indian political theory and religious ideas by the ruling states known as self-Indianisation, a form of Indianisation was well under way in the South-East. This process got a fillip in the first millennium A. D.
The Jaina tradition is eloquent on developing state of maritime trade to the South-East in the first century of our era. The Jaina texts like Vasudeva Hindi (300-500 A. D.) refer to Cārudatta's trading voyage to Suvarnabhūmi and reflect the flourishing condition of sea-trade across the Bay of Bengal.
Trade to the South-East was growing in proportion in Northern India in the Gupta period. There was also growing a centre of Jainism in Bengal as an inscription from Paharpur informs us. There seems a connection between the rise of this seat of Jainism and growing sea-trade to the South-East, since eastern India was at this time the nerve centre of trade to the South-East. It is known that Jainism has always been associated with traders in course of its development. The role of Jaina community in forming a connection with South-East and other areas and diffusion of Indian cultural elements there in the early Medieval period may be estimated in the light of Samarāiccakahā° and other writings dealing with external trade relations of India specially with Suvarnadvipa and Mahākatahādvipa.
References 1. D. P. Singhal, India and World Civilization, pp. 84-87.
2. Ibid, p. 85.
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