The new finding for SUVARNABHUMI TERRA INCOGNITA

Dr Uday Dokras
Seldom has the world seen such a protracted and pervasive cultural diffusion.
It stands a monument to the vitality and magnetism of Indian civilization.

1. Thailand - Suvarnabhumi. Suvarnabhumi, which means “The Land of

Gold”, is an ancient term for Southeast Asia, found in early Buddhist
and Hindu literature. There were also legends, religious accounts, and
foreign traders' written accounts dating to the first millennium AD that
mentioned the name “Suvarnabhumi.
2. suvarna bhoomi in Tamil literature referred to Suwannaphum District.
3. The term Suvarnabhumi ('land of gold') is commonly thought to refer
to the Southeast Asian Peninsula, including lower Burma and the Malay
Peninsula.
4. Suvarnabhumi, which means “The Land of Gold”, is an ancient term for
Southeast Asia, found in early Buddhist and Hindu literature. There
were also legends, religious accounts, and foreign traders' written
accounts dating to the first millennium AD that mentioned the name
“Suvarnabhumi”.

Shree Jain Shwetamber Murtipujak Temple, Yangon

The Jain Agamas refer to Southeast Asia as Suvarnabhumi.

Kalakacharya, a Jain monk, is said to have visited Burma. About 5000
Jain families lived in Burma before World War II. Almost all of the
families have now left. There are three or four Jain families and a Jain
temple in Yangon. It was built with romanesque architecture and is
located on 29th Street in Latha Township in Old Rangoon. The Yangon
Heritage Trust has been lobbying to preserve this temple, along with
other prominent landmarks of Old Rangoon.
5. Fraud of Suvanabhoomi in Madhya Ptradesh, India. Where
government-owned land, was sold as suvarnabhoomi on a “Swarna
 Bhoomi” deed. He has only now realised that it was a bogus deed, which
has no legal ownership or market value. ... And at whatever the price,
selling a land which belongs to the government is illegal.1000 ds were
duped.
6. Only Suvarṇabhūmi (सु वर्णभूमि) is the name of an island, as mentioned in
the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 52. Accordingly, “... then the merchant
Hiraṇyagupta got together wares and went off to an island named
Suvarṇabhūmi to trade, and he took that Anaṅgaprabhā with him, out
of fear of being separated from her, and journeying on his way he at last
reached the city of Sāgarapura. There he fell in with a chief of
fishermen, a native of that place, Sāgaravīra by name, whom he found
in that city near the sea”.
7. The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning
Suvarṇabhūmi, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince
Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of
the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an
adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses,
which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.
8. Suvarṇabhūmi (सु वर्णभूमि) or “golden island” is where the blind sailor
Dāsa was buried, according to the 2nd
century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XX). Accordingly, “They
came to the craggy shore and according to Dāsa’s advice, the
bodhisattva tried to grab a branch and succeeded in saving himself. He
took Dāsa’s body and buried it in the Golden Island (Suvarṇabhūmi).
Then he went on alone according to the instructions previously given”.

9. Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a

Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and
 primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of
the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

10. Sanskrit dictionary- Suvarnabhumi in Sanskrit glossary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-
English Dictionary.Suvarṇabhūmi (सु वर्णभूमि):—[=su-varṇa-bhūmi] [from su-
varṇa] f. = -dvīpa, [Kathāsaritsāgara; Jātakamālā]

11. Relevant Definitions; Partial matches: Bhumi, Suvarna.

12. Full-text: Atisha, Shona, Nagadatta, Sagarapura, Tamralipti, Sagaravira, Gavampa
ti.
Search found 5 books and stories containing Suvarnabhumi, Suvarna-bhumi, Suvarṇa-
bhūmi, Suvarṇabhūmi; (plurals include: Suvarnabhumis, bhumis, bhūmis, Suvarṇabhūmis).
You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct
links for the most relevant articles:
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
Appendix 2 - The location of Suvarṇabhūmi or Suvarṇadvīpa  < [Chapter XVI
- The Story of Śāriputra]
Part 2 - Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana at Sañjaya < [Chapter XVI - The
Story of Śāriputra]
Appendix 1 - Teaching the Rādhasutta at mount Makula < [Chapter X - The
Qualities of the Bodhisattvas]
+ 1 more chapters / show preview
Buddhist records of the Western world (Xuanzang) (by Samuel Beal)
Chapter 28 - Country of Po-ho or Fo-ho-lo (Balkh) < [Book I - Thirty-Four
Countries]
show preview
Settlement in Early Historic Ganga Plain (by Chirantani Das)
Part 7 - Nalanda’s Rise of a Multi-functional Nodal Centre < [Chapter III -
Nālandā: Evidence for rise and progress of the settlement]
show preview
Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story) (by Somadeva)
Chapter LXXXVI < [Book XII - Śaśāṅkavatī]
Foreword to volume 9 < [Forewords]
Chapter LII < [Book IX - Alaṅkāravatī]
show preview
A Dictionary Of Chinese Buddhist Terms (by William Edward Soothill)
Part 8 - Eight Strokes
show preview
13. The seas across the India – ASEAN region presented a unique environment to the
sailor in antiquity. The monsoon winds not only determined the basic rhythm for
seafaring activity in much of tropical and equatorial Asia, but also influenced
agricultural activity in the region. One way of understanding this complex web of
interactions of the past is through a deeper engagement with the markers of maritime
regions and the communities that inhabited these spaces.Boats and ships were sculpted
on Buddhist monastic sites and Hindu temples

14. Owing to the wealth gained from the spice trade, during the
Portuguese domination, Goa came into its golden age. It became the
largest city in the East, boasting of no less than 300 churches within
town, and having a population of over 40,000 people.

15. Before the term Southeast Asia became common usage, the region
was often described as Further or Greater India, and it was common to
describe the Indonesian region or Malay Archipelago as the East Indies.
The reason may be found in the fact that, prior to Western dominance,
Southeast Asia was closely allied to India culturally and commercially.
The history of Indian expansion covers a period of more than fifteen
hundred years.

16. The emergence of the cult of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as a saviour of

mariners and travellers in distress is generally associated with the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka
Sūtra (chapter 24), though an enumeration of dangers of travel is to be found in earlier
texts as well such as the Anguttara Nikāya (Kessivagga 119-20;The worship of
bodhisattvas (beings of enlightenment) is one of the most distinctive
features of Mahāyāna Buddhism. ... Of the many bodhisattvas,
Avalokiteśvara is identified specifically as the embodiment of
compassion and as such has been worshipped throughout Buddhist
Asia.

17. Goa Dourado, (Golden Goa, Roma do Oriente, (Rome of the East)
so has Goa been described over the last 500 years by conquerors,
travelers, poets and evangelists. The Gods of the Hindu Pantheon and
the Ancient Sages had known Goa for three millennia before the dawn of
the Christian era as the heart of Aparanta, a mythical province.
Aparanta was what the name says in Sanskrit, a place 'beyond the end'
exotic and beautiful, where time stands still.

Although Goa is prevailing as a legacy of the Portuguese colonial era, in

fact, its history dates back to as early as in the antiquity, during which
facts were mingled with mythology. However, the evident history of Goa
is that it was part of the Mauryan Empire (the 3rd century. For the next
700 years, Goa was ruled by the succession of Hindu dynasties such as
the Shillaharas, the Kadambas, and the Chalukyans. Until 1312, Goa
was controlled by the Muslims, and it began to rise as an important
 landing place for ships carrying horses to Hampi.

By the late 15th century, upon the discovery of a new route to India by
the band of Portuguese adventurers, including Vasco de Gama, Goa
became the ideal base for the seafaring Portuguese who determined to
overcome the manipulation of the spice route from the East. In the
meantime, the Portuguese also took the occasion to spread Christianity,
accordingly resulting in the expansion, and consolidation of Portuguese
cultures, languages, and other legacies of values of the Christian world
into Goa. Owing to the wealth gained from the spice trade, during the
Portuguese domination, Goa came into its golden age. It became the
largest city in the East, boasting of no less than 300 churches within
town, and having a population of over 40,000 people. To,day the Goan
people still retain a distinctive Southern European flavor, yet, combine
their native culture, making Goa one of the multi-cultural showcases in
India.

18. Since World War II has the term Southeast Asia been used to
describe the area to the east of India and to the south of China, which
includes the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago and the
Philippines, roughly forming a circle from Burma through Indonesia to
Vietnam.This region was broadly referred to by ancient Indians as
Suvarnabhumi (the Land of Gold) or Suvarnadvipa (the Island of Gold),
although scholars dispute its exact definition. Sometimes the term is
interpreted to mean only Indonesia or Sumatra. Arab writers such as Al
Biruni testify that Indians called the whole Southeast region Suwarndib
(Suvarnadvipa). Hellenistic geographers knew the area as the Golden
Ghersonese. The Chinese called it Kin-Lin; Kin means gold. During the
last two thousand years, this region has come under the influence of
practically all the major civilizations of the world: Indian, Chinese,
Islamic, and Western. Of these, Indian culture appears to have blended
best with the indigenous culture. 

19.The name Java comes from the Sanskrit Jawadwip, which means a

(dvip) island (yawa) shaped like a barley corn. The Vedic Indians must
have charted Java, Yawadvip, thousands of years ago because Yawadvip
is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. The Ramayana
reveals some knowledge of the eastern regions beyond seas; for instance
Sugriva dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search
of Sita. It speaks of Burma as the land of silver mines. The Agni Purana,
along with many other Puranas, calls India proper as Jambudvipa as
distinguished from Dvipantara or India of the islands or overseas
India.  Towards the end of the fifth century, Aryabhatta, the Indian
astronomer, wrote that when the sun rose in Ceylon it was midday in
Yavakoti (Java) and midnight in the Roman land. In the Surya
Siddhanta reference is also made to the Nagari Yavakoti with golden
walls and gates.