ផ្សាយថ្ងៃទី ០៧ មករា ២០២៥
(កាសែតឯករាជ្យជាតិ ផ្សាយតាមបណ្តាញសង្គម)
The Cham Hindus of Vietnam are an almost forgotten people, remnants of a Cham dynasty that endured in the region now known as central Vietnam from the 7th to the 19th centuries. But they number 60,000, and they have kept their traditions alive for centuries, far from the shores of India. Builders of cities named Indrapura, Simhapura, Amaravati, Vijaya, and Panduranga, these Hindu people and their culture continue to thrive to this day. When we talk about the Champa, it’s not a passing flash in the pan. We’re talking about a living culture with roots that go back thousands of years.
Historical Articles
While the Cham are now the only surviving Hindu people in Vietnam, the nation once preserved some of the world’s most vibrant and sophisticated Hindu culture. In fact, the entire region of Southeast Asia was home to many Hindu kingdoms. The magnificent temples and ruins, from Angkor Wat to Prasat, still stand as powerful testimonies to their glory and achievements. These grand structures remain intact, even though the societies around them no longer worship there or practice lost customs.
Champa was a bustling Hindu kingdom, renowned for its immense wealth and sophisticated culture. Its main port was Kattigara. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Claudius Ptolemy wrote about Cattigara and drew it on his map of the world. Modern scholarship has identified Cattigara as the forerunner of Saigon (modern Ho Chi Minh City). In fact, Cattigara was a major port on the Mekong River, whose name comes from Mae Nam Khong, the Mother Water Ganga. Swaminathan, author of the blog Ancient Sanskrit Inscriptions in Strange Places, writes, “The first Cham king known to history was Sri Maran, who was identified as a Tamil ruler. The fact that a Pandyan king ruled Vietnam has been missed by many historians. Translated into Tamil, it is Thiru Maran. Many Pandyan kings by these names are mentioned in Tamil Samgama inscriptions and literature. The oldest Sanskrit inscription found in Vietnam mentions the name Sri Maran. This inscription is known as the Vo-Canch inscription. Another early Champa king was Bhattavarman, who reigned from 349-361 CE. His capital was the fort of Simhapura, or ‘Lion City’, now called Trakia. Bhattavarman built many temples, defeated his rivals, ruled well, and in his final years abdicated and spent his final days in India on the banks of the Ganges.
Historical Champa was divided into five regions. Indrapur (present-day Dong Duong) served as the religious center of the kingdom; Amaravati is now Quong Nam Province; Vijya is now Cha Ban; Kauthara is modern Nha Trang; Panduranga was known as Phan. Panduranga was the last Cham territory to be conquered by the Sino-Vietnamese.
Few people know that Christopher Columbus, on his fourth and final voyage, attempted to reach the Kingdom of Champa and actually believed that he had reached Vietnam. In ancient times, well-worn trade routes connected Europe with India and the entire region of South and Southeast Asia, and for centuries, India's wealth and wisdom flowed to the markets and institutions of the world. However, by the 1400s, political instability had disrupted direct trade relations with India and the West. Columbus was convinced that by sailing west from Spain, he could circumnavigate the globe, an idea ridiculed by most Europeans who still believed the Earth was flat, and thus find new trade routes and reestablish long-lost links to the riches of the East. . His planned route would take him south along the coast of Vietnam, past the Cape of Kattigara, and on to Malacca. He believed this to be the route that Marco Polo had followed from China to India in 1292. Arriving at Cariay on the coast of Costa Rica, he thought he had found Vietnam, and near his desired destination were the famous gold mines of the Kingdom of Champa. Fortunately for Vietnam, he was wrong.
Another Hindu kingdom was Funan, which flourished between the 1st and 6th centuries CE. Its capital was Oc Eo. While exploring the sea route to India in 250 CE, two Chinese missionaries, Kang Dai and Zhu Ying, described Funan as having “its own tax system, ruled by a king in a fortified palace.” Professor Louis Malleret has found evidence of important maritime trade between Oc Eo, Persia, and Rome. (See next issue.) (កាសែតឯករាជ្យជាតិ ផ្សាយតាមបណ្តាញសង្គម ជូនលោកអ្នកនាងអានដោយមិនគិតថ្លៃ បើសប្បុរសជនចង់ជួយឧបត្ថម្ភ ការផ្សាយរបស់យើងខ្ញុំ តាមរយៈគណនី ABA លេខលុយខ្មែរ: 500 708 383 លេខលុយដុល្លារ: 003 662 119
(កាសែតឯករាជ្យជាតិ ផ្សាយតាមបណ្តាញសង្គម)
The Cham Hindus of Vietnam are an almost forgotten people, remnants of a Cham dynasty that endured in the region now known as central Vietnam from the 7th to the 19th centuries. But they number 60,000, and they have kept their traditions alive for centuries, far from the shores of India. Builders of cities named Indrapura, Simhapura, Amaravati, Vijaya, and Panduranga, these Hindu people and their culture continue to thrive to this day. When we talk about the Champa, it’s not a passing flash in the pan. We’re talking about a living culture with roots that go back thousands of years.
Historical Articles
While the Cham are now the only surviving Hindu people in Vietnam, the nation once preserved some of the world’s most vibrant and sophisticated Hindu culture. In fact, the entire region of Southeast Asia was home to many Hindu kingdoms. The magnificent temples and ruins, from Angkor Wat to Prasat, still stand as powerful testimonies to their glory and achievements. These grand structures remain intact, even though the societies around them no longer worship there or practice lost customs.
Champa was a bustling Hindu kingdom, renowned for its immense wealth and sophisticated culture. Its main port was Kattigara. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Claudius Ptolemy wrote about Cattigara and drew it on his map of the world. Modern scholarship has identified Cattigara as the forerunner of Saigon (modern Ho Chi Minh City). In fact, Cattigara was a major port on the Mekong River, whose name comes from Mae Nam Khong, the Mother Water Ganga. Swaminathan, author of the blog Ancient Sanskrit Inscriptions in Strange Places, writes, “The first Cham king known to history was Sri Maran, who was identified as a Tamil ruler. The fact that a Pandyan king ruled Vietnam has been missed by many historians. Translated into Tamil, it is Thiru Maran. Many Pandyan kings by these names are mentioned in Tamil Samgama inscriptions and literature. The oldest Sanskrit inscription found in Vietnam mentions the name Sri Maran. This inscription is known as the Vo-Canch inscription. Another early Champa king was Bhattavarman, who reigned from 349-361 CE. His capital was the fort of Simhapura, or ‘Lion City’, now called Trakia. Bhattavarman built many temples, defeated his rivals, ruled well, and in his final years abdicated and spent his final days in India on the banks of the Ganges.
Historical Champa was divided into five regions. Indrapur (present-day Dong Duong) served as the religious center of the kingdom; Amaravati is now Quong Nam Province; Vijya is now Cha Ban; Kauthara is modern Nha Trang; Panduranga was known as Phan. Panduranga was the last Cham territory to be conquered by the Sino-Vietnamese.
Few people know that Christopher Columbus, on his fourth and final voyage, attempted to reach the Kingdom of Champa and actually believed that he had reached Vietnam. In ancient times, well-worn trade routes connected Europe with India and the entire region of South and Southeast Asia, and for centuries, India's wealth and wisdom flowed to the markets and institutions of the world. However, by the 1400s, political instability had disrupted direct trade relations with India and the West. Columbus was convinced that by sailing west from Spain, he could circumnavigate the globe, an idea ridiculed by most Europeans who still believed the Earth was flat, and thus find new trade routes and reestablish long-lost links to the riches of the East. . His planned route would take him south along the coast of Vietnam, past the Cape of Kattigara, and on to Malacca. He believed this to be the route that Marco Polo had followed from China to India in 1292. Arriving at Cariay on the coast of Costa Rica, he thought he had found Vietnam, and near his desired destination were the famous gold mines of the Kingdom of Champa. Fortunately for Vietnam, he was wrong.
Another Hindu kingdom was Funan, which flourished between the 1st and 6th centuries CE. Its capital was Oc Eo. While exploring the sea route to India in 250 CE, two Chinese missionaries, Kang Dai and Zhu Ying, described Funan as having “its own tax system, ruled by a king in a fortified palace.” Professor Louis Malleret has found evidence of important maritime trade between Oc Eo, Persia, and Rome. (See next issue.) (កាសែតឯករាជ្យជាតិ ផ្សាយតាមបណ្តាញសង្គម ជូនលោកអ្នកនាងអានដោយមិនគិតថ្លៃ បើសប្បុរសជនចង់ជួយឧបត្ថម្ភ ការផ្សាយរបស់យើងខ្ញុំ តាមរយៈគណនី ABA លេខលុយខ្មែរ: 500 708 383 លេខលុយដុល្លារ: 003 662 119
The Forgotten Hindus of the Champa Kingdom (cont'd)
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Reviewed by សារព័ត៌មាន ឯករាជ្យជាតិ
on
7:45:00 AM
Rating:
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