India sails recreation of ancient ship to bolster ambitions at sea

It is part of a soft power strategy to revive the country's legacy as a maritime power

- Debarshi Dasgupta India Correspondent

The Kaunindinya is an Indian Navy ship based on a fifth-century cave painting in western India. It was built in Goa using traditional "stitching" techniques, where wooden planks are held together with coir rope instead of nails or metal fasteners. Propelled by only the wind, it has two large sails bearing motifs of the mythical Gandabherunda, a double-headed eagle, and the sun. PHOTO: @NARENDRAMODI/X

(@NARENDRAMODI/X)

Some time in the mid-first century AD, an ambitious Indian merchant named Kaundinya set sail from the country's eastern coast, headed for the Mekong Basin. He crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived in what is today most likely Cambodia.

One of the earliest recorded Indian maritime journeys to Southeast Asia, it proved seminal but was not smooth sailing.

Kaundinya and his crew came under attack from Liuye, a local maritime ruler, and her forces. He managed to fight them off, even impressing Liuye, who fell in love and married him.

Together, the couple went on to found the kingdom of Funan, which included parts of present-day Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Its states were heavily influenced by Indian traditions, which set the stage for wider Indian political, religious and cultural influence in the region.

Cut to 2026. An Indian Navy ship named Kaundinya arrived in Oman on Jan 14 after retracing an ancient trade route from Gujarat, on India’s western coast.

It is no ordinary vessel, but a recreation of an ancient ship based on a fifth-century cave painting in western India.