Abstract
Abstract This chapter looks at the theories proposed to explain the contested claims of how and why Indian culture became significant in South East Asia, especially Cambodia. Although Indian presence is dominant in several areas, including language and writing, deities, temple building, and names of places and kings, the Khmer people used their agency and power in picking and choosing those elements of Indian culture most relevant to them. Did the agency exercised by kings, their selective choice, and adaptation of philosophies and material culture also involve Hindus moving from India and settling in South East Asia? This chapter offers some perspectives on whether there was a ‘Hindu diaspora’ or sustained interaction and perhaps intermarriages between people coming from South East and South Asia. We also discuss origin stories, Angkor Wat, and other Viṣṇu monuments, to see if they offer clues about who was responsible for the creation of a Hindu ethos in the courts and in the temples.
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