mention the influence of Hindu culture on the system of power in the kingdom of Kutai
Answers
The influence of Hindu culture on the system of power in the kingdom of Kutai was the formation of a kingdom influenced by government in India, with the king bearing the Sanskrit Hindu title, and gaining legitimacy by holding Hindu ceremonies.
Discussion:
The spread of Hindu-Buddhism to Southeast Asia continued with the emergence of kingdoms because of the influx of Indian governmental and sociocultural systems as the teachings of Hindu-Buddhist religion spread.
This royal system replaced the tribal and village systems that were previously implemented. Before the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism for example, Indonesians lived in small villages led by a village head. Then after the entry of Indian influence, kingdoms began to emerge in Indonesia.
With the entry of Hinduism and Buddhism, leaders in Indonesia began to use noble titles and names from Sanskrit. For example in Kutai, the first king was Kudungga who used the original name Kutai, but his descendants began to use Sanskrit names namely Aswawarman and Mulawarman.
Raja Kutai gained legitimacy by carrying out Hindu religious ceremonies, as recorded in the Sanskrit Yupa inscription and written in the Pallawa hurif. This inscription tells of giving 20,000 cows to brahmins or Hindu priests.
This inscription also records the ceremony of releasing horses or aswamedha by Mulawarman. This horse was left free on the royal land as proof of the power of the king Mulawarman.