Indian Monks Carried Buddhism to Vietnam 1,800 Years Ago
India and Vietnam have been in contact for roughly 2,000 years, and almost none of it involved armies. Traders, artists and monks carried Indian art, architecture and philosophy east from the first millennium CE. A Hindu kingdom ruled the central coast for a thousand years. Indian Buddhist masters reached Vietnam by the 2nd century CE. By the early 20th century, nearly 30,000 Indians lived in Saigon. The remarkable part for a traveller: you can still visit almost all of it.
Most people fly to Vietnam for beaches, street food and Ha Long Bay. Very few know they are landing in a country where Shiva was worshipped for nine centuries, where Sanskrit is carved into temple doorposts, and where a Tamil temple sits 250 metres from Ben Thanh Market with the pooja bell still ringing.
This is the whole story, and where each chapter of it still stands.
It Began With Traders, Not Armies
This is the part that makes the whole story unusual. India's cultural influence on Southeast Asia travelled on merchant ships, not behind soldiers.
From the first millennium CE, merchants, artists and monks carried Indian art, architecture, knowledge traditions and philosophy across the Bay of Bengal. Local rulers adopted what they found useful and beautiful: Sanskrit as a sacred language, Indian royal titles, temple forms, and the gods themselves. Then they made it their own.
Nothing was imposed. That is why what survives in Vietnam feels familiar and foreign at the same time. You recognise the linga, the Nandi, the gopuram, and then the brickwork and the faces are entirely Cham.
Oc Eo: Where the Two Worlds First Met
In the Mekong Delta, in what is now southern Vietnam, stood the port city of Oc Eo, the great trading hub of the Funan civilisation. Ships from India, and goods from far beyond, moved through it.
Oc Eo is where the Indian connection enters the archaeological record: Hindu and Buddhist artefacts, Indian-style ornaments, seals and religious objects, unearthed from a delta more than 4,000 kilometres from where the ideas began. The Embassy of India lists the Oc Eo culture of Funan alongside Champa as the two civilisations that did most to link Indian practice with Vietnam.
Where to see it: the site itself is in An Giang province, deep in the delta and a serious detour. Most travellers see Oc Eo finds in museum collections instead, including in Ho Chi Minh City.
Champa: A Hindu Kingdom for a Thousand Years
Further up the coast, Champa became the fullest expression of the connection. From roughly the 4th to the 13th centuries, Cham kings ruled central and southern Vietnam, worshipped Shiva, Vishnu and Ganesha, took names like Bhadravarman and Satyavarman, and built in red brick.
My Son Sanctuary, Quang Nam
A valley of more than 70 temples, built across nine centuries, dedicated principally to Shiva worshipped as the linga. UNESCO records eight groups with 71 standing monuments, and listed the site in 1999.
Most of it was destroyed by bombing during the Vietnam War. Group A, which held the sanctuary's tallest tower, was reduced to its foundations.
And India came back to rebuild it
Under a 2014 memorandum between the two governments, the Archaeological Survey of India was given responsibility for the A, H and K temple groups at My Son. An ASI team worked on site from 2017, and the Embassy of India in Hanoi announced completion and handover in December 2022, after five years.
The work at Group K also led to the excavation of an ancient road running into the heart of the sanctuary, dated between the 10th and 12th centuries, understood to be the sacred route along which deities were carried and Champa kings processed. It had been buried for centuries.
Where: about 40 km from Hoi An, 70 km from Da Nang. A half-day trip.
Po Nagar Towers, Nha Trang
Where My Son is a ruin, Po Nagar is alive. Built from before 781 through the 13th century, it honours Yang Po Inu Nagar, the mother of the land, identified by historians with Bhagavati, the consort of Shiva, and with Durga. The main tower holds a ten-armed seated goddess. A carving above a shrine doorway shows Durga standing in victory over the buffalo demon Mahisha.
People still light incense here every day.
The Cham Museum, Da Nang
If you see one thing on this trail, arguably make it this. The museum has been gathering Cham sculpture since 1915 and holds the finest collection of it anywhere. Shiva, Ganesha, Uma, apsaras, lingas, Nandi, all carved in Vietnam, all instantly legible to an Indian visitor.
The Buddha Arrived From India in the 2nd Century
Alongside the Hindu thread runs a Buddhist one, and it is older than most people assume. Indian Buddhist masters carried the Buddha's teaching to Vietnam from the 2nd century CE, and Mahayana Buddhism went on to shape Vietnamese life more deeply than any other influence.
You feel this everywhere, in ways that have nothing to do with monuments. Vietnam's vegetarian food culture, the word chay, the tradition of eating meat-free on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, the pagoda in every neighbourhood: all of it traces back to that arrival.
The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre works with Vietnamese Buddhist organisations to mark Vesak and Asadha Poornima, the day of the Buddha's first sermon.
The Saigon Chapter: 30,000 Indians and Three Temples
Fast forward 1,700 years. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a very different Indian presence took shape in Vietnam's south.
Under French rule, Tamils came to Saigon from Pondicherry and Karaikal. Chettiar traders followed, into money lending, finance, real estate and textiles. The community grew, settled near what is now Ben Thanh Market, and at its peak the Indian population of Saigon is believed to have numbered close to 30,000.
Most left during the upheavals of the 20th century. What they built did not.
Mariamman Temple, District 1
At 45 Truong Dinh Street, a two-minute walk from Ben Thanh Market, stands a South Indian temple that would look entirely at home in Tamil Nadu. Tamil craftsmen built it, and much of the material and many of the statues came from India. The rajagopuram rises about 12 metres.
Inside: Mariamman with her guardians Maduraiveeran and Pechiamman, a Shiva linga, Ganesha and Murugan.
Here is the part that makes it worth the walk. Only around fifty Tamil families remain in the city, yet the temple is busy every day, because most of the people worshipping there now are Vietnamese. They come for blessings, for luck, for protection. A Tamil goddess brought over by traders a century ago has been quietly adopted by the city she arrived in.
Entry is free. Open daily, roughly 6am to 8pm, often closed 12 to 1pm. Cover shoulders and knees, remove your shoes.
The other two
Saigon has three Indian temples in all. Sri Thendayuthapani stands at 66 Ton That Thiep Street, also in District 1, and there is a Subramaniam Swamy temple as well. All three are walkable from each other in an afternoon.
What's Happening Now
The connection is not only historical. The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Hanoi, established in September 2016, runs the modern cultural relationship: Indian art, dance, literature, festivals and history, events like Bharatiyam and Indian Cultural Day held across Vietnam, and yoga programmes including the International Day of Yoga each June.
It also works specifically on the older links, running events on the Cham and Oc Eo traditions. And the restoration at My Son continues to be the most visible expression of all of it: an Indian government agency, rebuilding a Vietnamese temple, to a god both countries recognise.
The India-in-Vietnam Trail
Every one of these sits on the standard tourist route. You do not need a special itinerary, just a day here and an afternoon there.
| Where | What | Fit it in |
|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, plus the city's pagodas | Half a morning. Check the SVCC calendar for events |
| Da Nang | Cham Museum. The best Cham sculpture collection in the world | Two hours. Central, easy |
| Near Hoi An | My Son Sanctuary. Shiva temples from the 4th century, restored by the ASI | Half a day. Go at opening |
| Nha Trang | Po Nagar Towers. A living Cham temple to the goddess | One hour |
| Ho Chi Minh City | Mariamman Temple and the two other Tamil temples, District 1 | An afternoon, all walkable |
Why It Hits Differently If You're Indian
Other visitors read the information boards. You won't need them. You will see a linga and know it, spot Nandi without being told, recognise a gopuram silhouette from across a street, and catch the Sanskrit inside a Cham king's name.
And in Saigon you will stand in a Tamil temple where the person beside you, lighting incense with real devotion, is Vietnamese and has never been to India.
That is what 2,000 years of exchange actually looks like. Not a monument. Someone else's grandmother, praying to your goddess, in a language you don't speak.
Before You Go
- Dress for temples. Shoulders and knees covered at Mariamman and Po Nagar. Both are active places of worship
- Go early to My Son. The valley heats up and tour buses arrive mid-morning. Keep two hours
- Time your central Vietnam days. September to November is the rain and typhoon season on that coast
- Grab thins out in the My Son valley. Arrange your return before you set off
One quirk of the Vietnam eSIM
The Matrix Vietnam eSIM must be bought no more than 10 days before your travel date, the opposite of the usual advice. Validity is 7, 15 or 30 days, and data pauses after 5 GB in a calendar day. From ₹999. Your Indian SIM stays in the phone for OTPs.
Browse Matrix Vietnam eSIM plans →
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Frequently Asked Questions
How old is the India–Vietnam cultural connection?
Around 2,000 years. Indian merchants, artists and monks carried art, architecture and philosophy to Vietnam from the first millennium CE, and Indian Buddhist masters arrived by the 2nd century CE.
Are there Hindu temples in Vietnam?
Yes, of two kinds. Ancient Cham temples like My Son and Po Nagar, built between the 4th and 13th centuries. And South Indian temples in Ho Chi Minh City, built by Tamil traders around a century ago and still in daily use.
Was there an Indian community in Vietnam?
A large one. Tamils came to Saigon from Pondicherry and Karaikal under French rule, followed by Chettiar traders. At its peak the Indian population of Saigon is believed to have been close to 30,000.
Can I visit a Hindu temple in Ho Chi Minh City?
Yes. Mariamman Temple at 45 Truong Dinh Street, District 1, is about 250 metres from Ben Thanh Market. Free entry, open roughly 6am to 8pm, usually closed 12 to 1pm. Two more Tamil temples are within walking distance.
Is India restoring temples in Vietnam?
Yes. Under a 2014 memorandum, the Archaeological Survey of India conserved the A, H and K temple groups at My Son. The team worked from 2017, and the Embassy of India in Hanoi announced completion in December 2022.
What is the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre?
India's cultural centre in Hanoi, established in September 2016. It runs Indian arts, dance, literature and festival programming across Vietnam, promotes yoga including the International Day of Yoga, and works with Vietnamese Buddhist organisations on Vesak and Asadha Poornima.
Do Vietnamese people worship at the Indian temples?
Overwhelmingly, yes. Only around fifty Tamil families remain in Ho Chi Minh City, yet Mariamman Temple is busy daily, mostly with Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese devotees.
