Arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism
Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as first century. There are several theories as to how Hinduism reached Indonesia. The Vaishya idea is that intermarriage occurred between Indian traders/merchants and Indonesian natives. Another theory (Kshatriya) believes that defeated soldiers from India found solace in Indonesia. Third, the Brahmana take a more traditional point of view that missionaries spread Hinduism to the islands. Lastly, the nationalist (Bhumiputra) theory is that Indonesians chose the culture themselves after having traveled to India. In 4th century, the kingdom of Kutai in East Kalimantan, Tarumanagara in West Java, and Holing (Kalingga) in Central Java, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. Several notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms are Mataram, famous for the construction of the majestic Prambanan temple, followed by Kediri and Singhasari. Since then Hinduism along with Buddhism spread across the archipelago and reached the peak of its influence in the 14th century. The last and largest among Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires, Majapahit, influenced the Indonesian archipelago.
Read more about this topic: Hinduism In Indonesia
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