For a person with interest in history and extent of Hindu Dharma in South East Asia, a visit to Jakarta’s national museum is a must. Every single thing in this ancient history museum is a testimony to its Hindu past.
One wonders if she is in Bharat or Indonesia when walking by the multitude moortis of Ganesha, Shiva Parvati, Mahishasur Mardini, Agastya Muni, Brahmaji, Vishnu and Harihara amongst others. There also stands a mighty Bhairava excavated from Sumatra. In addition to these moortis, the museum also has “prashastis” left by kings commemorating specific events. Few pictures below:
The oldest scriptural evidence of Indonesia’s Dharma connections is found in Ramayana which is dated anywhere between 10,000 BCE to 5000 BCE , the former by traditional experts. The shloka says
रत्नवन्तं यवद्वीपं सप्तराज्योपशोभितम्। सुवर्णरूप्यकं चैव सुवर्णाकरमण्डितम्।। 4.40.30।।
Sugriva sends an expedition of his ‘vanar sena’ to Yavadwipa (present day Java) – a land of gold, silver, precious gems, a land with many gold mines, administered by seven kingdoms. To be noted here is that the island of Sumatra in present day Indonesia has been called Suvarnadwipa since ancient times.
Clearly, Jambudwipa and its people knew a lot of Yavadwipa then. This couldn’t have been possible without any connection. A guide at one of the temples in Java mentioned some of Sugriva’s people had stayed on in Yavadwipa. Who can say, some day we might find a common ancestry of certain Bharatiyas and Indonesians.
Later day, Indonesian legends talk about a Prince Aji Saka from Bharat who introduced Sanskrit and Brahmi/ Pallava script to Indonesia. It is believed that he came in the 1st century CE (~78 AD) and brought with him the Saka calendar (spelled Caka in Indonesia). In fact, Aji’s coming to the Dwipa is said to mark the beginning of the Caka calendar.