The simultaneous adoption of traditions from the subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia varied in response to local needs and circumstances. In regions close to the Gupta realm, such as the areas of modem Bangladesh, the adoption of subcontinental religious icons and languages may have been a demonstration of local leaders' acceptance of their role as a frontier zone or ally of the expanding Gupta polity. In the intervening regions of Myanmar and north India, as well as in island southeast Asia, the adoption of subcontinental traditions may have been undertaken by local leaders desiring to impress and govern their populations by reference to powerful but distant outside authorities. And in many parts of mainland Southeast Asia, the adoption of such traditions may have included the additional motivation to maintain cultural autonomy as a reaction to the spectre of Chinese expansion.