Indonesia had close cultural Relations with India since the beginning of Christian era. Indian culture influenced Indonesia to a great extent in shaping its society, religion, customs, beliefs, art and architecture, especially during the pre-Islamic period. The subsequent emergence of Islam on the Javanese scene fundamentally affected the social and religious outlook of the Javanese people, but The Hindu imprint could still be seen in the form of languages, art, literature and social ceremonies.
Late Prof. H.B. Sarkar is one of the few Indian scholars who have worked on the classical period of South-East Asia and especially on Indonesia. He devoted his whole life to the study of this area and has also done commendable work on epigraphy. His two-volume work on Corpus of the Inscriptions of Java is widely acclaimed.
The present Book is the collection of late Prof. Sarkar's best known and thought provoking sixteen research papers. The book will prove both stimulating and instructive to the students and researchers working on Indo-Indonesian culture. |
