Research & Article

This article argues that Dvaravati (now central Thailand), as opposed to Burma, is the origin of the Burmese type of Indian script and the first model of Theravada Buddhism, the latter of which triumphed in Burma and served as a base for its more recent civilization. This phenomenon was dependent on one key factor: rice. Irrigated rice, one of the greatest economic discoveries in human history, is in modern times the prime product of Southeast Asia. Thus, it is unsurprising that rice is highly regarded, often through a superstitious lens, and would have had significant importance historically. Still, the origin of wet-rice cultivation is debated, and although botanists believe that it would have occurred in a moist area where dry-land cultivation is practiced, namely Southeast Asia, the specific location remains uncertain. Through a linguistic analysis of the various Mon-Khmer languages in modern times, the article aims to identify historical migration patterns and thus gain an understanding of the movement of both rice and Buddhism in Southeast Asia, arguing that India “exchanged” Buddhism in return for rice, leading to key developments in Dvaravati.