Vedic Influence in far East

India has always had a huge influence on the culture of the Far East. It is impossible to ignore Indian influence especially of South India. Kamboja, Sri Vijayam and Kadaram were ancient Indian Empires in and near Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia. There are many Hindu temples in these countries. The temple of Angkor in Cambodia is famous and is built to represent the churning of the milky ocean. Bali is a Hindu country. The Indonesian airlines is named Garuda after the vehicle (eagle) of Lord Vishnu. The Indonesian temple Prambanan is famous and has shrines for the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The walls of the temple are decorated with pictures representing scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana.

We can witness Vedic influence as far as Japan. There are still many Hindus left in Japan. The mythology and the rituals of the Shinto religion resemble Vedic tradition. The Gods are called as Kami in Japan. The word Kami could be derived from the Sanskrit Swamy. In South India, Swamy is pronounced as Sami which might have been pronounced as Kami in Japan. According to the Japanese mytholgy, in the beginning there was nothing except one God. Two other Gods emerged after which creation proceeded. In the Vedic puranas, Vishnu creates Brahma and Brahma in turn created Shiva. It can be said that the Japanese derived the mythology of their trinity from the Vedic concept.

The two main God and Godess worshipped are Izanagi-no-kami and Isanami-no-kami. This couple might be identical to Shiva & Parvati. Shiva and Parvati are also known as Iswaran (Isan) and Iswari. The names Izanagi and Izanami sound similar to Iswaran and Iswari.

The Japanese also fold their palms together in prayer and touch their head to the ground just like the Hindus. They also clap their hands together which is also followed in some Vedic traditions.

Similar to the Vedic tradition, both birth and death are considered to be impure. A person whose close relative has died is not allowed to visit shrines for a year in Japan which is identical to the Vedic tradition.

Like the Vedic people, the Japanese pray during morning and evening. They wash their hands, mouth and feet before entering shrines. They offer prayer only after taking a bath. They offer simple offerings of fruits of the earth to their Gods.

Another striking similarity can be seen in the name of their underworld which is called as Yomi. According to the Vedic tradition, the dead go to the place of Lord Yama.