Hinduism Outside of India

[ronki23]

Japan has 7 Gods of Fortune, 4 of which are Hindu Gods:

Daikokuten is the Japanese version of Mahakal (Shiva)

Kichijoten is Lakshmi

Bishamon is Kubera

Hindu Murtis in Japan's Daisho-in Temple

 

[ronki23]

I find it hard to believe Buddhism reached China but not Hinduism. So here's evidence of Hinduism in China

Quanzhou Temple in Fujian Province was a Hindu Temple

Wikipedia

A late thirteenth-century bilingual Tamil and Chinese-language inscription has been found associated with the remains of a Siva temple of Quanzhou. This was one of possibly two south Indian-style Hindu temples (115) that must have been built in the southeastern sector of the old port, where the foreign traders' enclave was formerly located

Wikipedia

• Kamrup route (Assam) through Myanmar into south Chinese province of Yunnan as well as other southwestern regions of modern China. This is attested by the discovery of linga and yoni (symbols associated with Shiva) in Jianchuan caves (Shizhongshan) and other Hindu motifs found during excavation of Dali temple in Yunnan.[1]

• Tsung-Ling route (now through Kashmir) was the route that helped monks and travelers from China bring Buddhism into China; along with Buddhist texts, many ancient Hindu texts and ideas were also carried into China. The archaeological evidence of Hinduism's presence in ancient China comes from Lop Nur and Kizil Caves in Xinjiang province, where carvings of deity Ganesha, another mural of a scene from Ramayana epic with Hanuman, and frescoes of other Hindu deities. These have been dated to be from 4th to 6th century AD.[1][14] This route is also credited with the spread of some Hindu ideas and arts in north-central China by 5th century AD, into provinces as far as Shanxi, as evidenced by caves 7 through 9 of Yungang Grottoes in Datong, dedicated to various Hindu deities such as Vishnu and Shiva
  
• Some Sanskrit texts whose original and all translations have been lost in India, have been located in China - for example, Jin Qi Shi Lun is a surviving translation of Sankhya-Karika. Another example of influential translations is credited to Yijing's translation of hymns from Harivamsa from 1st to 3rd century AD, which is well known account of god Krishna and an appendix to the Hindu Epic Mahabharata. Yijing translated few Harivamsa hymns meant for goddess Durga, but associated them with goddess Sarasvati. This Hindu concept of a goddess of knowledge, music, arts and inner power became fused with elements of a goddess with militant power, which then became known as Chinese Biàncáitiān, and from there diffused to Japan as goddess Benzaiten (辯才天) - whose temples are still found and remain in use in Japan
  
  
• Ancient Hindu Sanskrit inscriptions, a language typically not used to spread Buddhism in China, have also been found in Yunnan province. These inscriptions are at least from medieval era; however, it remains unclear how and when they arrived or were adopted in China.[20]

Hinduism in China - Wikipedia

 

[ronki23]

The Ramakien of Thailand is based on Ramayana and the city of Ayutthya is named after Ayodhya.

Brahma

Ganesh is called Pra Pikanes (although a Thai girl I know has never seen Ganesh before)

Hanuman

Shiva

Vishnu

Lakshmi

Vishnu and Lakshmi

 

[ronki23]

Angkor Watt

 

[ronki23]

Wikipedia

Hindu Chams are called Balamon Cham or Balamon Hindu.[5] They practice a form of Shaivite Brahmanism.[6] Most of the Cham Hindus belong to the Nagavamshi Kshatriya caste,[7] but a considerable minority are Brahmins.[8] In Ninh Thuận Province, where most of the Cham in Vietnam reside, Cham Balamon (Hindu Cham) numbers 32,000; out of the 22 villages in Ninh Thuận, 15 are Hindu.[9] Only four temples are still worshiped in nowadays: Po Inu Nugar, Po Rome, Po Klaung Girai and Po Dam.[2]

As per the census of 2009, there are a total of 56,427 Cham Hindus in Vietnam. Out of this number, 40,695 are in Ninh Thuận, and another 15,094 are in Bình Thuận. [13] In Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces they form 22% and 4.8% of the population respectively.[13] As of 2017, the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor estimated about 70,000 ethnic Cham Hindus in Vietnam.[3]

There is the My Son ruins which were Shiva Temples

And Po Nagar Temple, dedicated to Durga and Ganesh

The story of Lady Po Nagar is different to Durga though

She originated from a peasant family in the mountains of Khánh Hòa Province. Spirits assisted her when she sailed on a drift piece of sandalwood to China, where she married a Chinese crown prince, the son of the Emperor of China, with whom she had two children, and then became Queen of Champa.[5]

When Lady Po Nagar wanted to return to Champa to visit her family, the Prince refused to let her go, but she flung the sandalwood into the ocean, disappeared with her children and reappeared at Nha Trang to her family. When the Chinese prince tried to follow her back to Nha Trang, she was furious, and turned him and his fleet into stone.[6][7][8]

 

[Aupmanyav]

All of a sudden, Ronki! However, very nice effort.
Don't you want to combine these topics under one? Some thing like 'Hinduism East of India'.

 

[ronki23]

Is there no Hinduism in Tibet? I know Tibet counts as China but they're not Hans and they speak a different language to Mandarin

 

[Aupmanyav]

No, there is no Hinduism in Tibet except for visiting Indians.

 

[TJ_Lee]

Is there no Hinduism in Tibet? I know Tibet counts as China but they're not Hans and they speak a different language to Mandarin

There is a handful of people, other than visitors, that are Hindu's. Any form of a temple is at a home, so most worship at home. Buddhism is intertwined in the Tibetan culture and so they are pretty much just Buddhist. However, they know quite a bit about Hinduism and have no problem discussing it if the conversation pop's up.

 

[Kapalika]

All gods are Hindu gods if you really think about it.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Well ..