Rajamandala - Revision history

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	{{~~short~~ description\|~~Circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's state,~~ term ~~formulated by Indian author Chanakya~~}}		{{Short description\|Ancient Indian political term}}
	The '''Rajamandala''' (or ''~~Raja~~-~~mandala~~'' ~~meaning "~~circle of kings";<ref>{{Citation \|author=Torkel Brekke \|title=Between Prudence and Heroism: Ethics of war in the Hindu tradition \|work=The Ethics of War in Ancient Asia \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2006 \|page=124}}<br>{{Citation \|author1=Kulke \|author2=Rothermund \|title=A History of India \|year=2004 \|page=350}}<br>{{Citation \|author=Upinder Singh \|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century \|publisher=Pearson Longman \|year=2008 \|page=349}}<br></ref> ~~{{lang~~\|~~sa\|मण्डल}},~~ ''~~mandala~~'' ~~is a~~ [[~~Sanskrit~~]] ~~word that means~~ "circle") ~~was formulated by~~ the [[~~India~~]]~~n author [[Chanakya]] (Kautilya~~) in ~~his~~ work on politics, ~~the~~ ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE)~~. It describes circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's (''~~[[~~raja~~]]'~~') state~~.<ref name="avari-2007">Avari, Burjor (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C India, the Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-continent from C. 7000 BC to AD 1200]'' Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN\|0415356156}}. pp. 188-189.</ref><ref>{{Citation \|author=Singh \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80q_hd7ASdEC \|title=Kautilya: Theory of State \|year=2011 \|pages=11–13\|isbn = 9788131758519}}.</ref> ~~Also known as '''Mandala theory of foreign policy''' or '''Mandala theory''', the theory has been called as one of Kautilya's most important postulations regarding foreign policy.~~<ref>{{Cite web\|last=Chakravarty\|first=Amb (Retd) Pinak Ranjan\|date=19 February 2016\|title=Distinguished Lectures Details: Foreign Policy Challenges for National Development\|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?410\|access-date=2020-10-06\|website=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Boesche\|first=Roger\|date=2003\|title=Kautilya's Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India\|url=~~http~~://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_military_history/v067/67.1boesche.html\|journal=The Journal of Military History\|language=en\|volume=67\|issue=1\|pages=9–37\|doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0006\|s2cid=154243517\|issn=1543-7795\|quote=Kautilya is most famous for outlining the so-called Mandala theory of foreign policy, in which immediate neighbors are considered as enemies, but any state on the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally [...]\|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|last=Hali\|first=Sultan M\|date=22 August 2019\|title=Chanakya's Mandala theory and Indian foreign policy\|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/08/22/chanakyas-mandala-theory-and-indian-foreign-policy/\|access-date=2020-10-06\|website=www.pakistantoday.com.pk}}</ref>
			[[Image:Mandala theory concentric circles.png\|thumb\|right\|Intersecting circles of friends and enemies centered on a kingdom.]]

			The '''Rajamandala''' (or ''rāja-maṇḍala'' {{Literal translation\|circle of kings}};<ref>{{Citation \|author=Torkel Brekke \|title=Between Prudence and Heroism: Ethics of war in the Hindu tradition \|work=The Ethics of War in Ancient Asia \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2006 \|page=124}}<br>{{Citation \|author1=[[Hermann Kulke\|Kulke]] \|author2=Rothermund \|title=A History of India \|year=2004 \|page=350}}<br>{{Citation \|author=Upinder Singh \|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century \|publisher=Pearson Longman \|year=2008 \|page=349}}<br></ref> [[Raja\|''raja'']] and ''[[Mandala\|maṇḍala]]'' mean "king" and "circle" in Sanskrit respectively) theory, also known as the '''mandala theory of foreign policy''' or '''mandala theory''',
			postulates<ref name=":0" /> that a neighboring state or neighbor of a natural friend is a natural enemy and that a neighbor of a natural enemy is a natural friend, resulting in alternating circles of enemies and allies centered on a given king's (''[[raja]]'') state.

			It appears in the ancient Indian work on politics, ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE) by [[Kautilya]], traditionally identified with [[Chanakya]], and the theory has been called one of Kautilya's most important postulations regarding foreign policy.<ref name="avari-2007">Avari, Burjor (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C India, the Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-continent from C. 7000 BC to AD 1200]'' Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN\|0415356156}}. pp. 188-189.</ref><ref>{{Citation \|author=Singh \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80q_hd7ASdEC \|title=Kautilya: Theory of State \|year=2011 \|pages=11–13\| publisher=Pearson Education India \|isbn = 9788131758519}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|last=Chakravarty\|first=Amb (Retd) Pinak Ranjan\|date=19 February 2016\|title=Distinguished Lectures Details: Foreign Policy Challenges for National Development\|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?410\|access-date=2020-10-06\|website=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Boesche\|first=Roger\|date=2003\|title=Kautilya's Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India\|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_military_history/v067/67.1boesche.html\|journal=The Journal of Military History\|language=en\|volume=67\|issue=1\|pages=9–37\|doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0006\|s2cid=154243517\|issn=1543-7795\|quote=Kautilya is most famous for outlining the so-called Mandala theory of foreign policy, in which immediate neighbors are considered as enemies, but any state on the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally [...]\|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|last=Hali\|first=Sultan M\|date=22 August 2019\|title=Chanakya's Mandala theory and Indian foreign policy\|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/08/22/chanakyas-mandala-theory-and-indian-foreign-policy/\|access-date=2020-10-06\|website=www.pakistantoday.com.pk}}</ref>

	==Terminology==		==Terminology==
	The term draws a comparison with the [[mandala]] of the [[Hindu]] and [[Buddhist]] [[Mount Meru\|worldview]]; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system.		The term draws a comparison with the [[mandala]] of the [[Hindu]] and [[Buddhist]] [[Mount Meru\|worldview]]; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system. In particular, it postulates that a neighboring state or neighbor of a natural friend is a natural enemy and that a neighbor of a natural enemy is a natural friend, such that one can visualize a set of concentric circles emanating from any given state, with alternating circles including enemies and allies of that state respectively.<ref name=":0" />

	The terminology was revived two ~~millenniums~~ later as a result of ~~Twentieth Century~~ efforts to comprehend patterns of diffuse but coherent political power. [[Metaphors]] such as [[social anthropologist]] [[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah\|Tambiah]]'s idea of a "galactic polity",<ref>[[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah\|Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja]]. ''World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. {{ISBN\|0-521-29290-5}}. Chapter 7, cited in Lieberman, ''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context c. 800-1830''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003-2009 {{ISBN\|978-0521804967}}. P. 33</ref> describe such political patterns as the mandala. [[Historian]] [[Victor Lieberman]] preferred the metaphor of a "solar polity,"<ref>{{cite web		The terminology was revived two millennia later as a result of twentieth-century efforts to comprehend patterns of diffuse but coherent political power. [[Metaphors]] such as [[social anthropologist]] [[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah\|Tambiah]]'s idea of a "galactic polity",<ref>[[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah\|Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja]]. ''World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. {{ISBN\|0-521-29290-5}}. Chapter 7, cited in Lieberman, ''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context c. 800-1830''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003-2009 {{ISBN\|978-0521804967}}. P. 33</ref> describe such political patterns as the mandala. [[Historian]] [[Victor Lieberman]] preferred the metaphor of a "solar polity,"<ref>{{cite web
	\|url = http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm		\|url = http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm
	\|title = Victor B. Lieberman		\|title = Victor B. Lieberman
Line 17:		Line 23:
	\|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722094127/http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm		\|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722094127/http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm
	\|archive-date = July 22, 2011		\|archive-date = July 22, 2011
	}}</ref> as in the ~~solar system~~, where there is one central body, the ~~sun~~, and the components or planets of the ~~solar system~~.<ref>Lieberman, 2003, p. 33</ref> The "Rajamandala" concept of ancient India was the prototype for the [[Mandala (Southeast Asian political model)\|Mandala model of South East Asian political systems]] in later centuries, established by British historian [[O. W. Wolters]].<ref>{{Citation \|author=Craig J. Reynolds \|title=Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts \|publisher=University of Washington Press \|year=2006 \|page=40}}</ref><ref>{{Citation \|author=Dougald JW O'Reilly \|title=Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia \|publisher=AltaMira Press \|year=2007 \|page=194}}</ref>		}}</ref> as in the [[Solar System]], where there is one central body, the Sun, and the components or planets of the Solar System.<ref>Lieberman, 2003, p. 33</ref> The "Rajamandala" concept of ancient India was the prototype for the [[Mandala (Southeast Asian political model)\|Mandala model of South East Asian political systems]] in later centuries, established by British historian [[O. W. Wolters]].<ref>{{Citation \|author=Craig J. Reynolds \|title=Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts \|publisher=University of Washington Press \|year=2006 \|page=40}}</ref><ref>{{Citation \|author=Dougald JW O'Reilly \|title=Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia \|publisher=AltaMira Press \|year=2007 \|page=194}}</ref>

	== See also ==		== See also ==
	* [[~~Cakravartin~~]]		* [[Mandala (political model)]]
			* [[Indian political philosophy]]
			* [[Chakravarti (Sanskrit term)]]
	* [[Greater India]]		* [[Greater India]]
	* [[Indosphere]]		* [[Indosphere]]
	* [[Geopolitics]]		* [[Geopolitics]]
	* [[~~Mandala (political model)~~]]		* [[History of Indian foreign relations]]
	* [[The enemy of my enemy is my friend]]		* [[The enemy of my enemy is my friend]]

imported>Flameoguy: /* See also */

2021-03-16T19:55:59Z

See also

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{{short description|Circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's state, term formulated by Indian author Chanakya}}
The '''Rajamandala''' (or ''Raja-mandala'' meaning "circle of kings";<ref>{{Citation |author=Torkel Brekke |title=Between Prudence and Heroism: Ethics of war in the Hindu tradition |work=The Ethics of War in Ancient Asia |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |page=124}}<br>{{Citation |author1=Kulke |author2=Rothermund |title=A History of India |year=2004 |page=350}}<br>{{Citation |author=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2008 |page=349}}<br></ref> {{lang|sa|मण्डल}}, ''mandala'' is a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "circle") was formulated by the [[India]]n author [[Chanakya]] (Kautilya) in his work on politics, the ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE). It describes circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's (''[[raja]]'') state.<ref name="avari-2007">Avari, Burjor (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C India, the Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-continent from C. 7000 BC to AD 1200]'' Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN|0415356156}}. pp. 188-189.</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80q_hd7ASdEC |title=Kautilya: Theory of State |year=2011 |pages=11–13|isbn = 9788131758519}}.</ref> Also known as '''Mandala theory of foreign policy''' or '''Mandala theory''', the theory has been called as one of Kautilya's most important postulations regarding foreign policy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chakravarty|first=Amb (Retd) Pinak Ranjan|date=19 February 2016|title=Distinguished Lectures Details: Foreign Policy Challenges for National Development|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?410|access-date=2020-10-06|website=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boesche|first=Roger|date=2003|title=Kautilya's Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/journal_of_military_history/v067/67.1boesche.html|journal=The Journal of Military History|language=en|volume=67|issue=1|pages=9–37|doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0006|s2cid=154243517|issn=1543-7795|quote=Kautilya is most famous for outlining the so-called Mandala theory of foreign policy, in which immediate neighbors are considered as enemies, but any state on the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally [...]|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hali|first=Sultan M|date=22 August 2019|title=Chanakya's Mandala theory and Indian foreign policy|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/08/22/chanakyas-mandala-theory-and-indian-foreign-policy/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=www.pakistantoday.com.pk}}</ref>

==Terminology==
The term draws a comparison with the [[mandala]] of the [[Hindu]] and [[Buddhist]] [[Mount Meru|worldview]]; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system.

The terminology was revived two millenniums later as a result of Twentieth Century efforts to comprehend patterns of diffuse but coherent political power. [[Metaphors]] such as [[social anthropologist]] [[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah|Tambiah]]'s idea of a "galactic polity",<ref>[[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah|Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja]]. ''World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. {{ISBN|0-521-29290-5}}. Chapter 7, cited in Lieberman, ''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context c. 800-1830''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003-2009 {{ISBN|978-0521804967}}. P. 33</ref> describe such political patterns as the mandala. [[Historian]] [[Victor Lieberman]] preferred the metaphor of a "solar polity,"<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm
|title = Victor B. Lieberman
|access-date = August 17, 2011
|date = February 4, 2005
|format = Biography
|work = Professor of History, Department of History, appointed 1984
|publisher = [[University of Michigan]]
|quote = Center for Southeast Asian Studies
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722094127/http://www.umich-cseas.org/faculty/biographies/lieberman.htm
|archive-date = July 22, 2011
}}</ref> as in the solar system, where there is one central body, the sun, and the components or planets of the solar system.<ref>Lieberman, 2003, p. 33</ref> The "Rajamandala" concept of ancient India was the prototype for the [[Mandala (Southeast Asian political model)|Mandala model of South East Asian political systems]] in later centuries, established by British historian [[O. W. Wolters]].<ref>{{Citation |author=Craig J. Reynolds |title=Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2006 |page=40}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Dougald JW O'Reilly |title=Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia |publisher=AltaMira Press |year=2007 |page=194}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Cakravartin]]
* [[Greater India]]
* [[Indosphere]]
* [[Geopolitics]]
* [[Mandala (political model)]]
* [[The enemy of my enemy is my friend]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* ''King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra,'' translated and annotated by [[Patrick Olivelle]], Oxford University Press, 2013
* {{Citation |author=M. B. Chande |title=Kautilyan Arthasastra |publisher=Atlantic |year=2004 |isbn=81-7156-733-9}}, especially Book Six: Circle of Kings as the Basis, pp. 305–312
* {{Citation |author=John Keay |title=India: A History |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2000 |pages=170–172}}
* {{Citation |author1=Hermann Kulke |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India |edition=fourth |publisher=Routledge |year=2004}}
* {{Citation |author=Vikas Kumar |title=Strategy in the Kautilya Arthasastra |journal=Homo Oeconomicus |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=289–320 |year=2010}}
* {{Citation |author=Mahendra Prasad Singh |title=Kautilya: Theory of State |work=Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-5851-9 |year=2011 |pages=1–17}}

{{Indian philosophy}}

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