India's space program, with spacecraft launched from Chennai, has been so successful that I wondered if there might be something behind it. We know that history is a powerful force. We tend to repeat history, sometimes intentionally but often without realizing it.
The Chola Empire, from the Ninth to Thirteenth Centuries, was one of India's golden ages. It only ruled south India but it was a maritime empire. It conquered nearby Sri Lanka and then much of southeast Asia.
The Cholas brought Hinduism with them and this is the reason for so many Hindu temples across southeast Asia, even if they were later converted to Buddhism. One of these temples is Angkor Wat, which is today the largest temple complex in the world and is on the Cambodian flag. The Khmer accepted Hinduism and the Sanskrit language. Image from the Wikipedia article "Flag of Cambodia".
The Cholas are why the island of Bali, in Indonesia, is still predominantly Hindu. Indonesia is actually named for India. The name of Singapore comes from the Sanskrit term for "City of the Lion".
The city of Chennai, from where India's spacecraft are launched, is in what was Chola territory and near the capital of the territory. Bengaluru , from where the space program is run, is also in what was Chola territory. I have concluded that the Chola maritime expeditions are being reenacted today as India's space expeditions, first to the moon and then to Mars. The moon represents nearby Sri Lanka and Mars represents distant southeast Asia.
Here is a look at two of the well-known Chola temple sites. There is a third, in the same area, at Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE STREET VIEW
This is the Brihandeesvara Temple.
This is the Airavatesvara Temple.
THE WEST THEORY OF ANGKOR WAT
The largest religious monument in the world is supposedly Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. It was built as a Hindu temple before later being converted to Buddhism. Unlike other Khmer temples, it is aligned to the west. Stories from Hindu scriptures are carved in stone but, unlike other temples, the story is told counter-clockwise, rather than clockwise, because of it's alignment to the west.
It is unknown why it is aligned to the west but there is a simple possible answer. The Chola Empire didn't build the temple, the Khmer did. But the Cholas brought Hinduism and Sanskrit to the Khmer Empire. The Chola capital region, in Tamil Nadu, is due west of the site of Angkor Wat. Image from Google Earth.