the region. The Pali and Sanskrit languages and the Indian script, together with Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, Brahmanism and Hinduism, were transmitted from direct contact and through sacred texts and Indian literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. This expansion provided the artistic context for the development of Buddhist art in these countries, which then developed characteristics of their own. Between the 1st and 8th centuries, several kingdoms competed for influence in the region (particularly the Cambodian Funan then the Burmese Mon kingdoms) contributing various artistic characteristics, mainly derived from the Indian Gupta style. Combined with a pervading Hindu influence, Buddhist images, votive tablets and Sanskrit inscriptions are found throughout the area. Between 8th- and 12th-century, under the patronage of Pala dynasty, arts and ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism co-developed and became increasingly intermeshed. However, with Muslim invasion and sacking of monasteries in India, states Richard Blurton, "Buddhism collapsed as a major force in India". By the 8th to 9th century, Shailendran Buddhist art were developed and flourished in Mataram Kingdom of Central Java, Indonesia. This period marked the renaissance of Buddhist art in Java, as numerous exquisite monuments were built, including Kalasan, Manjusrigrha, Mendut and Borobudur stone mandala. The traditions would continue to the 13th century Singhasari Buddhist art of East Java. From the 9th to the 13th centuries, Southeast Asia had very powerful empires and became extremely active in Buddhist architectural and artistic creation. The Sri Vijaya Empire to the south and the Khmer Empire to the north competed for influence, but both were adherents of Mahayana Buddhism, and their art expressed the rich Mahayana pantheon of the Bodhisattvas. The Theravada Buddhism of the Pali canon was introduced to the region around the 13th century from Sri Lanka, and was adopted by the newly founded ethnic Thai kingdom of Sukhothai. Since in Theravada Buddhism of the period, Monasteries typically were the central places for the laity of the towns to receive instruction and have disputes arbitrated by the monks, the construction of temple complexes plays a particularly important role in the artistic expression of Southeast Asia from that time. From the 14th century, the main factor was the spread of Islam to the maritime areas of Southeast Asia, overrunning Malaysia, Indonesia, and most of the islands as far as the Southern Philippines. In the continental areas, Theravada Buddhism continued to expand into Burma, Laos and Cambodia. Sri