Ancient India enjoy good contact and interaction with foreign country
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
India maintained trade and cultural relations with foreign countries from the remotest time in the past till the tenth century A.D. It was only in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that it lost its contact with the outside world and the basic reasons for that had been the absence of its political unity and the degeneration of Hindu society. The impression that India kept no relation with outside world has now been proved entirely wrong.
India had trade relations with the western world even during the period of existence of the Indus Valley Civilization in India, both by land and sea. Some Indus valley seals have been found at Mesopotamia which indicates that India had direct trade relations with it. India kept trade relations with Babylon and Persia as well.
In the sixth century B.C., when the Persian empire extended up to the north-western borders of India, the relations of India with the western world increased which were further strengthened by the invasion of Alexander and the establishment of Greek principalities in some parts of north-west of India.
The Mauryas extended their empire to the borders of Central Asia and Afghanistan which remained a part of their empire. Therefore, during the period of the Mauryas, India kept relations with the western countries like Syria, Bactria, Persia, Egypt and as far as south-east Europe. The Roman empire encouraged direct sea trade with India during the first two centuries of the Christian era and, afterwards, India had a brisk trade directly with Europe through sea-routes from its western and south-western coast.
Pliny wrote that the Roman empire paid £ 5,00,000 every year to India for its merchandise. When the Arabs rose to power in the seventh century, they put hindrances to the direct relations of India with the western world. They took this trade in their own hands and served as a link between India and the western world. Thus, the relations of India with the countries of the west persisted even afterwards though, of course, through Arab traders.
The relations of India with the western world were mainly inspired by trade and commerce, though they definitely brought about some cultural influence on either side. But with certain countries in the north-west, east and south-east, India developed far deeper relations.
Of course, there too, the original intercourse might have been inspired by commercial enterprise, but it was soon overshadowed by missionary activity which led to a cultural conquest of India over these countries. Besides, Indians set up colonies which brought into existence what may properly be called Greater India.
Afghanistan remained a part of India both culturally and politically from ancient times till its conquest by the Turks. The territory of Kabul and Seistan was called White India for a long time. But Indian culture penetrated further towards western Asia. The establishment of the Kushana empire and the missionary activities of Mahayanism brought the entire Central Asia and the territories upto Chinese Turkistan within the fold of Indian culture.
All countries of this entire region accepted Indian religion, morality, social customs etc. before their conquest by the Arabs and the Turks. In all these countries, the ruling dynasties were Indian, their nomenclatures were Indian; Indian religions, particularly Buddhism among them, were the religions of the people and, the entire region was dotted with temples, Viharas, Stupas and images of Indian gods or that of Mahatma Buddha. It was only the rise and expansion of the power of Islam which destroyed Indian culture in these countries.
India had close relations with Sri Lanka, Tibet and China as well. In Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Buddhism was propagated by the Indians. The efforts started during the reign of emperor Asoka. Afterwards many ruling dynasties of south India maintained political relations with Sri Lanka. Buddhism was propagated in Tibet in the seventh century A.D. The relations with Tibet became more cordial during the period of the rule of the Pala dynasty in Bengal.
At that time many Buddhist scholars and missionaries went to Tibet, propagated Buddhism there and translated many religious texts in the Tibetan language for this purpose. All these efforts firmly established the roots of Indian culture in Tibet. With China, India had both trade and cultural relations. India had developed trade relations with China as far back as the second century B.C., both by land and sea, and, these were maintained throughout the Hindu period, particularly by the kingdoms of south India.