Climate, Culture, and Indian Influence Abroad: Ashoka vs Akbar

What people eat, how they build their homes, which festivals they celebrate, and even how entire civilisations chose their settlement sites: all of these were shaped, for thousands of years, by the local climate and the natural resources available. This topic explores three connected ideas. First, how geography and climate gave each region of India its own distinct cultural personality. Second, how Indian culture crossed oceans and mountain passes to reshape civilisations across Asia. And third, how two of India’s greatest rulers, Ashoka and Akbar, separated by nearly two thousand years, built empires that shared striking similarities but also deep differences.

How Climate and Resources Shaped India’s Regional Cultures

Every corner of India developed its own way of life, and the biggest driver of those differences was the local environment. Food, clothing, housing, festivals, migration patterns, health concerns, and even trade practices all grew out of the climate and resources people found around them.

Regional Differences You Can Still See Today

Here are some clear examples of this connection between geography and culture:

Food habits follow the dominant local crop : Northern India’s diet centres on wheat because the northern plains have the climate and soil for growing it. Southern India relies on rice because warm, wet conditions make rice the natural choice. Each region’s food culture grew directly from what the land could produce.
Housing adapts to the local weather : Coastal regions, where the climate runs hot and humid, traditionally favoured thatched houses that allow air to flow through. Himalayan communities, dealing with severe cold, built cemented structures that trap warmth inside.
Tribal migration follows seasonal necessity : Communities like the Bhotiyas (a Himalayan tribal group) migrate with the seasons. Their movement is governed by two practical pressures: the onset of harsh cold and the need to find fresh fodder for their livestock. When winter closes in, they descend to warmer, lower regions.
Bamboo defines North-Eastern life : In the North-East, bamboo is abundant, and this single resource has shaped everything from housing to food habits to trade. Houses are built from bamboo frames, bamboo shoots appear in local cuisine, and bamboo-based crafts form a significant part of local commerce. The region’s people maintain a particularly close relationship with nature because of this dependence.
Festivals mark the farming calendar : Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India, Baisakhi in Punjab, and Holi and Diwali in North India all tie directly to the crop-growing or harvesting season. These celebrations are not random cultural inventions. They grew out of the rhythms of agriculture.
Civilisations and invasions followed resources : The location of great ancient civilisations, and even the routes that invaders chose when attacking India, were influenced by the availability of fertile land, water, and natural wealth.

The Modern Disruption

For most of recorded history, the bond between climate and culture was strong and constant. That relationship has weakened dramatically over the past 200 years. The Industrial Revolution and the wave of technological progress that followed made human beings far less dependent on their immediate environment for survival. Refrigeration, transportation networks, synthetic materials, and mechanised farming all loosened the grip that local climate once held over daily life.

This shift is the primary reason why many cultural practices that were deeply embedded in older civilisations are gradually dissolving around the world. New practices, shaped by technology and globalisation rather than geography, are taking their place.

Indian Culture Spreads Across the World

India did not wait for the modern era to become a global cultural force. From the earliest times, Indian traders, monks, scholars, and political adventurers carried their languages, religions, art, architecture, philosophy, and customs to distant lands. In some regions, they even established Hindu kingdoms that lasted for centuries.

The China Connection: Pilgrims and Monks

India’s cultural influence reached China through two routes: the overland path through Central Asia and the sea route through Burma (modern Myanmar).

The exchange went both ways. Chinese pilgrims like Fahien and Hiuen Tsang made the difficult journey to India, recorded what they saw, and brought the message of Buddhism back to their own country. At the same time, hundreds of Buddhist monks from India travelled to China, where Indian scholars translated many Sanskrit works into Chinese. This two-way flow meant that Chinese art, too, absorbed Indian influences.

Central Asia: Stupas Along the Trade Routes

Cultural exchanges between India and the countries of Central Asia left visible, physical evidence. Ancient stupas, temples, monasteries, images, and paintings have been found scattered across all of these countries. Along the trade and pilgrimage routes, resting places were established for monks, missionaries, pilgrims, and merchants, creating a network of cultural contact points.

Tibet: Alphabet, Buddhism, and Lamaism

Indian influence entered Tibet from the seventh century onward. The Buddhist king Gampo founded the city of Lhasa and introduced Buddhism to the region. The Tibetan alphabet itself was devised with the help of Indian scholars. Later, Indian scholars played a central role in establishing Lamaism (the Tibetan form of Buddhism) in the region.

The connection deepened during the eleventh century, when the Pala dynasty of Bengal maintained close ties with Tibet. When Muslim rulers attacked Bengal, many Buddhist monks sought shelter in Tibet, carrying their learning and traditions with them.

Sri Lanka: Buddhism, Sculpture, and Painting

Sri Lanka experienced one of the deepest cultural impacts from India. Buddhist missionaries spread not only their religious faith but also cultural traditions that transformed the island.

Key milestones of this influence include:

Stone carving techniques travelled from India to Sri Lanka
In the fifth century, Buddha Ghosha visited Sri Lanka and consolidated Hinayana Buddhism (the older, more conservative school of Buddhism) on the island
The famous paintings of Sigiriya were modelled directly on the Ajanta paintings of India

South-East Asia: Hindu Kingdoms That Lasted a Millennium

Indian culture left its most dramatic overseas imprint on South-East Asia, covering the Malay Archipelago and Indo-China (the region east of India across the Bay of Bengal).

Several factors drew Indians to these lands:

The region was fertile and rich in minerals, making it economically attractive
India’s east coast was studded with ports, making sea voyages practical and frequent
Indian colonisation of the region began during the Gupta period and was further encouraged by the Pallavas and Cholas

The Indian settlers established great Hindu kingdoms, and some of these lasted for more than a thousand years. The Malay Archipelago served as a critical link between India and the Far East. Several Hindu kingdoms existed there between the fifth and fifteenth centuries. The most important was Sri Vijaya, located on the large island of Sumatra, which became a great centre of trade and culture in the seventh century.

Roman Trade: Gold Flows East

India’s trade with the Roman Empire was concentrated in South India, and its reality is confirmed by both literary texts and archaeological finds: Roman coins have been discovered in significant numbers at Coimbatore and Madurai.

The trade was heavily in India’s favour. Items like pepper, muslin, and spices were in enormous demand in Rome. Since Romans paid in gold, India accumulated substantial wealth from this exchange. The incoming gold gave India a favourable trade position and helped finance a stable gold currency for the Kushana empire.

The importance of foreign trade was clearly understood by Indian rulers: historical records show a significant number of ambassadors being sent to and received by Indian kings.

Learning Was Never One-Way

Indians also picked up skills and arts from their foreign contacts:

Minting gold coins : Indians learned this craft from the Greeks and Romans
Silk production : The art of making silk came from China
Betel cultivation : The art of growing betel reached India from Indonesia

Art and culture flowed in both directions. Just as Indian traditions influenced other countries, the cultural practices of those countries left their mark on India.

How Indian Culture Spread: The Six Channels

Indian civilisation reached foreign shores through several distinct pathways:

Wandering groups : Some Indians went abroad as wanderers, heading west through present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, then onward through Iran and Iraq to Turkey. Travellers like Hiuen Tsang and Fahien carried the message of Buddhism back to their home countries.
Royal missions : During Ashoka’s reign, his son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka specifically to spread the message of peace and humanity through Buddhism.
Trade expansion : The Gupta period saw Indian traders carry Buddhist influence to Cambodia and the Malay Islands, even though the Guptas themselves were patrons of Brahmanical Hinduism. This influence gained fresh momentum during the Chola period in southern India, the Ganga rule in Utkal (Odisha), and the Pala and Sena rule in Bengal.
Naval expeditions : Ancient India developed significant naval capabilities (the ability to build and operate warships), which enabled organised maritime expeditions to distant lands.
Influence on invaders : Even those who came to plunder India ended up being influenced by Buddhism, carrying aspects of Indian culture back with them.
Internal conflict driving spiritual seeking : Intense political infighting within India pushed a large section of the population toward Buddhism as a source of spiritual refuge, which in turn increased the number of devoted practitioners who then spread the faith beyond India’s borders.

What India Gains Today from This Ancient Legacy

That centuries-old cultural footprint still pays dividends in modern diplomacy and international relations:

Soft power and trade partnerships : India’s historical cultural presence in South-East and East Asian countries has translated into modern diplomatic goodwill, visible in initiatives like the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
Diplomatic leverage : The Indian Prime Minister’s visits to Japanese shrines like Toji and Kinkakuji helped build Japanese support for India’s nuclear power programme. Similar cultural ties have delivered advantages in Sri Lanka, despite the complex Tamil question.
Multilateral engagement : India’s cultural connections underpin its active role in the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and trilateral summits.
The strategic Buddhist link : The common thread of Buddhism gives India a natural connection with many Asian nations. Navigating this link carefully, in line with the Gujral Doctrine (India’s policy of offering help to smaller neighbours without expecting anything in return), strengthens India’s position. This approach also supports the broader India-China initiative to shift the global power balance toward the Asian region.

Two Giants Compared: Ashoka and Akbar

No study of India’s ancient and medieval history is complete without examining Ashoka (Mauryan dynasty, third century BCE) and Akbar (Mughal dynasty, sixteenth century CE). Separated by nearly 1,800 years, these two rulers left deeper marks on India’s political, cultural, and architectural landscape than almost any others. Their careers share some remarkable parallels, but their differences are just as revealing.

Where They Stood on Common Ground

Three areas show clear similarities between the two:

Vast empires built through different means : Both ruled over large portions of the Indian subcontinent. Ashoka inherited an already large empire from his Mauryan predecessors and extended it further through military conquest. Akbar inherited a comparatively small kingdom but expanded it dramatically through a combination of conquest, matrimonial alliances, and political diplomacy.
Genuine religious tolerance : Both rulers practised and promoted tolerance across faiths. Ashoka developed the policy of Dhamma (a moral code emphasising non-violence, respect for all religions, and ethical conduct) and spread his message not only within India but to countries like Sri Lanka through missionaries. Akbar created Din-i-Ilahi (a syncretic cult that sought to blend elements from different religions). Crucially, neither ruler forced people to follow any particular religion.
Ambitious builders : Ashoka was responsible for constructing many stupas (dome-shaped Buddhist monuments) and is credited with pioneering the use of stone as a building material in Indian architecture. Akbar constructed various monuments including the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship), using dome and arch-based architecture, a style fundamentally different from Ashoka’s stone structures.

Where They Differed

Three differences stand out when you place these rulers side by side:

Art and music patronage : Akbar was a celebrated patron of the arts. Miniature paintings flourished under his court, and he actively supported Sufi saints and musicians. There is no historical evidence of Ashoka patronising art or music in any comparable way. Ashoka’s creative legacy lies in architecture, not in painting or performance.
Centralised vs decentralised governance : Ashoka ran a centralised administration, placing ministers called Amatyas (officials responsible for specific functions) at different levels of the government to maintain tight central control. Akbar took a different approach: he used a decentralised system coordinated through the Mansabdari system (a ranking system where each noble was assigned a military rank, or mansab, that determined their responsibilities, army size, and pay). This allowed Akbar to delegate authority across a vast empire while keeping nobles bound to the crown through incentives.
What happened after them : This is perhaps the starkest contrast. The Mauryan dynasty essentially ended with Ashoka; the empire crumbled shortly after his death. The Mughal dynasty, by contrast, continued to flourish after Akbar, with successors like Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb maintaining and even expanding the empire for several more generations.