Greater India was the historical extent of the culture of India beyond the Indian subcontinent. This particularly concerns the spread of Hinduism in Southeast Asia, introduced by the Indianized kingdoms of the 5th to 15th centuries, but may also refer to the spread of Buddhism from India to Central Asia and China by the Silk Road during the early centuries of the Common Era. To the west, Greater India overlaps with Greater Persia in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains. The term is tied to the geographic uncertainties surrounding the "Indies" during the Age of Exploration.
Although most cultures in Southeast Asia were primarily influenced by India, this is different for Vietnam. Vietnamese culture was primarily influenced by the culture of China.
Read more about Greater India: Terminology, Indianized Kingdoms, Indian Cultural Sphere, Linguistic Influence
Famous quotes containing the words greater and/or india:
“Even if it is given that someone understands the name ‘God’ to signify what is said, namely, ‘that than which a greater cannot be conceived,’ it does not follow that what is signified by this name exists in the nature of things, but only that it exists in the apprehension of the understanding.”
—Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274)
“There exists no politician in India daring enough to attempt to explain to the masses that cows can be eaten.”
—Indira Gandhi (1917–1984)