Snakes and Ladders is one of the most successful board games ever marketed. It was introduced by British game manufacturers in the late nineteenth century, but its history can be traced back to the religious Vaishnava and Jaina communities in eighteenth-century Western India. It was known there as the ‘Game of Knowledge’ and variously used for entertainment, education, divination, and self-exploration. The board was a map of the universe, the pawns were the souls traveling through it, the dice the karma controlling them, and the snakes and ladders the ups and downs on their journey toward spiritual liberation.

The Game of Knowledge: Playing at Spiritual Liberation in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Western India tells the fascinating story of board games from its origin in mystical charts of the astral body to its modern adaptation as an abstract children’s game. The story is told through beautifully handcrafted gameboards and little-known texts and manuscripts. The facts are presented with scholarly rigour yet easily grasped by the attentive reader.

Contents

PART 1: STUDY

List of Figures and Tables

Note on Transliteration

List of Abbreviations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. What’s in a Game?
2. The Beginnings of Gyān Caupaṛ
3. Source Material
4. Critical Reading and Analysis
5. Simulation and Narrative
6. Related Cultural Forms and Practices

Conclusion

Bibliography

PART 2: APPENDICES

Appendix A: Game Charts

A1: Provenance

A2: Description

Appendix B: Typology

B1: Vaiṣṇava Charts

B2: Jaina Charts

B3: Ṣūfī Charts

B4: Advaita Vedānta Charts

B5: Unidentified Charts

Appendix C: Transcriptions

C1: 72-Square Vaiṣṇava Charts

C2: 84-Square Jaina Charts

Appendix D: Critical Readings

D1: 72-Square Vaiṣṇava Charts (Type a)

D2: 84-Square Jaina Charts (Type a1)

Appendix E: Game Verses

E1: Verses on Vaiṣṇava Charts

E2: Verses on Jaina Charts

Appendix F: Game Texts

F1: Krīḍākauśalya

F2: Jñān Bājī Ramvānī Rīt

Index