ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Rajamandala

Okay kiddo, so a rajamandala is an ancient concept from India that talks about how different countries relate to each other, kind of like how friends and enemies interact with each other on a playground.

Imagine you are in a group of kids who are all friends, and you all get along pretty well. But now, let's say there is another group of kids who are not your friends, and maybe you don't like them very much. That's kind of what a rajamandala is like - it's a big circle made up of different countries, and some countries might be friends and get along well, while others might not like each other very much and even be enemies.

In a rajamandala, each country is like a piece of a puzzle, and they all fit together in different ways. Sometimes a country might form an alliance with another country, like when two friends on the playground decide to team up to play a game together. Other times, two countries might not like each other very much and be rivals or enemies, like when two kids fight over a toy.

The idea behind a rajamandala is that it helps leaders understand the relationships and power dynamics between different countries, and it can help them make decisions about how to interact with other countries based on their strengths and weaknesses. It's kind of like making a map of the playground and figuring out who your friends are, who your enemies are, and who might be potential allies. Pretty cool, huh?