Rewind to the Childhood Days

Around Christmas time every year I usually go to Mumbai as my nephew’s birthday falls on 31st Dec and he being the first kid in the family enjoys the privilege of most loved child. But since last 2 years I was forced to break the ritual (someone from nana nani family had to be there).Instead the kids along with parents have visited us and we have celebrated the last week of the year together. So since the last week is just around and the kids have sounded so excited (as always) about being with their Mama, I thought to go shopping to gift the kids to make celebrations a bit more merrier. So here I was in Landmark to search for some suitable things for the kids. The new age kids put forward before you such a complex dilemma when you want to give them a game, toy etc.


I will talk about this some day later but while scouting something for them I happened to pick a game which instantly made me nostalgic and brought upon so many memories. The name of the game will do the same to all of you who read this. The game was Snakes and Ladders and this is when I thought of writing this.

I had an inkling about the fact that the game had it’s origins in India but not to much detail. This clue I got from a note present in the game. Here is the first clue I got :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_and_ladders#cite_ref-Mathematical_Gazette_1-1

Some excerpts from the above mentioned link are here :

Snakes and Ladders originated in India as a game based on morality called Vaikuntapaali (stairs to Vaikuntha) or Paramapada Sopanam (the ladder to salvation). This game made its way to England, and was eventually introduced in the United States of America by game pioneer Milton Bradley in 1943.

“…The game was played widely in ancient India by the name of Moksha Patamu, the earliest known Jain version Gyanbazi dating back to 16th century. The game was called “Leela” – and reflected the Hinduism consciousness around everyday life. Impressed by the ideals behind the game, a newer version was introduced in Victorian England in 1892, possibly by John Jacques of Jacques of London.

Moksha Patamu was perhaps invented by Hindu spiritual teachers to teach children about the effects of good deeds as opposed to bad deeds. The ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith, humility, etc., and the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, theft, etc. The moral of the game was that a person can attain salvation (Moksha) through performing good deeds whereas by doing evil one takes rebirth in lower forms of life (Patamu). The number of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that treading the path of good is very difficult compared to committing sins. Presumably the number “100″ represented Moksha (Salvation). In Andhra Pradesh, snakes and ladders is played in the name of Vaikuntapali.. “

Some more research gave me an idea about a book written on this game and the idea behind the game. This book by Harish Johari titled : “The Yoga of Snakes and Arrows” gives an insight on the meta-physicality attached to the game. As almost everything in ancient India was, this game too has an intriguing spiritual aspect. Some excerpts from the book are mentioned below:

“Four things are necessary for one or more to play Leela: the Leela book and game board, a die (of karma) and a significant object that belongs to the player, such as a ring, to serve as the player’s symbol during the game. Each of the seventy-two squares on the board of Leela represents a virtue or vice, an aspect of human consciousness or a plane of being. The players’ progress is dictated by the fall of a die corresponding to the forces of karma. The seven planes through which the player must pass before he reaches the eighth plane – the plane beyond all planes – are the seven chakras. Leela is not merely an entertainment but a serious method of understanding the phenomenal world of Maya (Illusion), and the spiritual nature of our individual self that leads us to the journey towards liberation.

The saints who invented this game used the game-board to recognize the present state of their own being. By playing the game time and again they consciously observed which snake brought them down and which arrows took them up. Observing their own inner self, they could tell whether they had understood what it is to be not involved. The uniqueness of Leela – the game of self-knowledge – is that it is a study of scriptures and discovery of the self at the same time”

Some more information about the game related to the spiritual aspects of the game :

“The ladders represented virtues and snakes vices. In the original game square 12 was faith, 51 was Reliability, 57 was Generosity, 76 was Knowledge, and 78 was Asceticism. These were the squares were the ladder was found.

Square 41 was for Disobedience, 44 for Arrogance, 49 for Vulgarity, 52 for Theft, 58 for Lying, 62 for Drunkenness, 69 for Debt, 84 for Anger, 92 for Greed, 95 for Pride, 73 for Murder and 99 for Lust. These were the squares were the snake was found.

The Square 100 represented Nirvana or Moksha.”

And please find below a picture of the game board as it was in ancient times.

I am not sure about you all but atleast I had no idea that the game which we were so much indulged in as kids had so much aura attached to it.

And did I tell you that I walked out of the store with just one game and yes it is Snakes and Ladders.

Please do comment on how you found this post.

Love,
Saket