It would come as a surprise to many that the game known as Mokshapat or Moksha Patamu created by thirteenth-century CE saint Gyandev was the original Snakes and Ladders. Bharat has been the land of great inventions and innovations even though a majority of Bharatiyas are hardly aware of them. Social media has bridged the knowledge gap to a large extent.

What is Mokshapat?

Although the origin of the game is attributed to Sant Gyandev, there is a belief that it was played as early as the second century BCE. The intention of the game was to inculcate moral lessons in children. The squares where a ladder started stood for a virtue while those with the head of a snake symbolized a sin or an evil characteristic.

In the original Hindu game, the number of snakes was greater than the ladders as the aim was to teach morality. It was introduced with modifications in Britain in the latter half of the nineteenth century by the colonial rulers. When the game was taken to England it was shorn of the moral lessons and religious aspects. The number of snakes and ladders was also equalized. The game was introduced in the US as Chutes and Ladders.

Other discoveries of ancient Bharatiyas

Not just Snakes and Ladders but Bharat is the birthplace of several ancient games. Chess originated in Bharat with evidence of a game similar to chess having been discovered in Sindhu Sarasvati Civilization archaeological sites. It was originally called Ashtapada and came to be known as Chaturanga during the Gupta Age.

Ludo first played in the sixth century, has its origins in the ancient game called Chausar played by Pandavas and Kauravas. Historians attest to the fact that the Ellora caves have a depiction of the game. Martial Arts that spread to China and South-East Asia through Buddhist Monks originated in Bharat. Interestingly, the modern form of Badminton was also born in Bharat and subsequently carried to Britain by the colonial rulers.

Although Bharat is known as a land of spirituality, our ancestors were far advanced in numerous fields. Our Rishis were experts in fields as diverse as mathematics and astronomy to medicine among several others. They harnessed these powers and made many scientific discoveries. These were used to make the lives of ordinary citizens easy. 

Bhaskaracharya, also known as Bhaskara I, was a mathematician and astronomer of the seventh century who first used 0 as a symbol for Zero. Acharya Charaka is rightly known as the father of Indian medicine. Aryabhatta’s notable concepts are the explanation of lunar and solar eclipses, rotation of the earth on its axis and reflection of the sun’s light by the moon and calculation of the value of pi accurately up to 4 decimal places, the diameter of the earth and correct calculation of the length of the sidereal year.

Acharya Kanad, founder of the Vaisheshika School of Philosophy and author of Vaisheshik Darshan, came up with the atomic theory and explained the properties of anu and parmanu 2,500 years before English physicist John Dalton came up with the concept. The list is, of course, by no means exhaustive but only a glimpse of the genius minds that made Bharat a land of knowledge and even games severed the dual purpose of education along with recreation.

(Featured Image Source: Clio Heritage Stores’ Twitter page)