Cross and circle is a board game design used for race games played throughout the world.
85-471: Pachisi ( / p ə ˈ tʃ iː z i / pə- CHEE -zee , Hindustani: [pəˈtʃiːsiː] ) is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India . It is described in the ancient text Mahabharata under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move around the board based upon a throw of six or seven cowrie shells, with
170-456: A castle square. Each player's objective is to move all four of their pieces completely around the board, counter-clockwise, before their opponents do. The pieces start and finish on the Charkoni. The playing order is decided by each player throwing the cowries. The player with the highest score starts, and turns continue counter-clockwise around the board. In some versions, each player throws
255-467: A cross which are nevertheless quartered ( Zohn Ahl ), and boards that have more than four spokes ( Aggravation , Trivial Pursuit ). The game board for the Aztec game Patolli consists of a collapsed circle without an interior cross and thus has the distinction of being a cross that is a circle (topologically), without being a cross plus circle. Tokens are moved around spaces drawn on the circle and on
340-457: A particularly close connection to Vedic ( Brahmana ) literature. The Panchavimsha Brahmana (at 25.15.3) enumerates the officiant priests of a sarpasattra among whom the names Dhritarashtra and Janamejaya, two main figures of the Mahābhārata' s sarpasattra , as well as Takshaka , a snake in the Mahābhārata , occur. The Suparnakhyana , a late Vedic period poem considered to be among
425-511: A piece lands on a square (other than a castle square) occupied by any number of the opponent's pieces, those pieces are captured / killed and must return to the Charkoni. Captured pieces may only enter the game again with a grace throw. A player making a capture is allowed another turn (not true in some versions). In some versions, a player cannot take their pieces back to the Charkoni/home, unless they have captured/killed at least one of
510-419: A player can move any number of their pieces with a single throw. Also, if the player casts a value higher than they are eligible to move in a single throw, then the player automatically loses that turn. More than one piece of the same team may occupy a single square (not true for all squares in some versions). However, a piece may not move onto a castle square that is already occupied by an opponent's piece. If
595-550: A pond and assumes it is not water and falls in. Bhima , Arjuna , the twins and the servants laugh at him. In popular adaptations, this insult is wrongly attributed to Draupadi, even though in the Sanskrit epic, it was the Pandavas (except Yudhishthira) who had insulted Duryodhana. Enraged by the insult, and jealous at seeing the wealth of the Pandavas, Duryodhana decides to host a dice-game on Shakuni's suggestion. This suggestion
680-461: A princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself for the rest of her life so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However, the arrow hits the sage Kindama , who was engaged in
765-519: A role in the Mahābhārata , some parts of the epic may have already been known in his day. Another aspect is that Panini determined the accent of mahā-bhārata . However, the Mahābhārata was not recited in Vedic accent . The Greek writer Dio Chrysostom ( c. 40 – c. 120 CE ) reported that Homer 's poetry was being sung even in India. Many scholars have taken this as evidence for
850-401: A sexual act in the guise of a deer. He curses Pandu that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness. Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage Durvasa that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma ,
935-467: A similar distinction. At least three redactions of the text are commonly recognized: Jaya (Victory) with 8,800 verses attributed to Vyasa, the Bharata with 24,000 verses as recited by Vaisampayana , and finally the Mahābhārata as recited by Ugrashrava Sauti with over 100,000 verses. However, some scholars, such as John Brockington, argue that Jaya and Bharata refer to the same text, and ascribe
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#17327767297541020-514: A slippery matter. Many modern discussions of the religious, magical, or divinatory genesis of board games stem from the work of Stewart Culin who postulated a single source: the "classification of all things according to the Four Directions" by means of divinatory arrows, and that "[s]urvivals of these magical processes constitute our present games" (including all dice, board, card, and domino games). He quotes, for example, an "account of
1105-520: A tunnel. They escape to safety through the tunnel and go into hiding. During this time, Bhima marries a demoness Hidimbi and has a son Ghatotkacha . Back in Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead. Whilst they were in hiding, the Pandavas learn of a swayamvara which is taking place for the hand of the Pāñcāla princess Draupadī . The Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins , come to witness
1190-589: A very short uneventful life and dies. Vichitravirya, the younger son, rules Hastinapura . Meanwhile, the King of Kāśī arranges a swayamvara for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapur. To arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses Amba , Ambika , and Ambalika , uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya. The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry
1275-849: Is a popular German variant. It is also possible that this game led to the development of the Korean board game Yunnori , through the ancient kingdom Baekje . Games similar to chaupar with different colour schemes along with dice have been identified from the Iron Age during the Painted Grey Ware period from sites in Mathura and Noh (1100–800 BC). Cruciform boards have been depicted from art reliefs of Chandraketugarh dated to 2nd–1st century BC. A 6th- or 7th-century representation of Shiva and Parvati said to be playing Chaupar (a closely related game) in fact depicts only dice and not
1360-629: Is as follows: The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is unclear. Many historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to Iron Age India of the 10th century BCE. The setting of the epic has a historical precedent in Iron Age ( Vedic ) India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800 BCE. A dynastic conflict of the period could have been
1445-559: Is based on a story that is the precursor to the Mahābhārata . The Urubhanga , a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa who is believed to have lived before Kalidasa, is based on the slaying of Duryodhana by the splitting of his thighs by Bhima . The copper-plate inscription of the Maharaja Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh ( Satna District, Madhya Pradesh ) describes the Mahābhārata as a "collection of 100,000 verses" ( śata-sahasri saṃhitā ). The division into 18 parvas
1530-426: Is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced' ). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, Vidura , by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of
1615-587: Is first recited at Takshashila by the sage Vaisampayana , a disciple of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya who was the great-grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna . The story is then recited again by a professional storyteller named Ugrashrava Sauti , many years later, to an assemblage of sages performing the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati in the Naimisha Forest . The text
1700-652: Is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism , the other being the Rāmāyaṇa . It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War , a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas . It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or puruṣārtha (12.161). Among
1785-415: Is reborn to King Drupada as Shikhandi (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of Arjuna , in the battle of Kurukshetra. When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son Vyasa , born to her from a previous union with the sage Parashara , to father children with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son Dhritarashtra
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#17327767297541870-578: Is right, as well as the converse. The Mahābhārata itself ends with the death of Krishna , and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali Yuga , the fourth and final age of humankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and people are heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality, and virtue. King Janamejaya's ancestor, Shantanu ,
1955-531: Is sparse. In India, there are uncited claims that the most ancient board games would date back to BC 3500 in the time of legendary Ruler King Bharata . Noted writer and translator Gilles Schaufelberger lists Sanskrit words for board and dice games from ancient India (based on Heinrich Lüders ' work). For cruciform boards, the monumental Pachisi or Chaupat boards of the Moghul ruler Akbar (1542–1605), designed to accommodate humans as playing pieces, "still represent
2040-474: Is the very first square for every respective player: here, it is said that on throwing 10 or 25, or 35, you will introduce your new pawn at square number 1, and then you will add the second throw numbers that will be appeared on your cowries and 7, 14 as a grace without the introduction of pieces (here, it should be clear to players that on throwing 7 or 14, you can not introduce your new pawn, you only get an extra turn). A player needs to have at least one piece on
2125-430: Is translated as "Great Bharat (India)", or "the story of the great descendents of Bharata ", or as " The Great Indian Tale ". The Mahābhārata is the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. At about 1.8 million words in total,
2210-444: Is uncertain. Speculation that Pachisi derived from the earlier game of Ashtapada is plausible but unsubstantiated. Louis Rousselet wrote: The game of Pachisi was played by Akbar in a truly regal manner. The Court itself, divided into red and white squares, being the board, and an enormous stone raised on four feet, representing the central point. It was here that Akbar and his courtiers played this game; sixteen young slaves from
2295-669: The Kali Yuga epoch, based on planetary conjunctions, by Aryabhata (6th century). Aryabhata's date of 18 February 3102 BCE for Mahābhārata war has become widespread in Indian tradition. Some sources mark this as the disappearance of Krishna from the Earth. The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II , dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3,735 years have elapsed since the Bhārata battle, putting
2380-597: The Guru–shishya tradition , which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Ganesha who wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation, but this is regarded by scholars as a later interpolation to the epic and the "Critical Edition" does not include Ganesha. The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales , popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It
2465-658: The Kaurava and the Pandava . Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana , the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhishthira , the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne. The struggle culminates in the Kurukshetra War , in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what
2550-509: The Kushan Period (200 CE). According to what one figure says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-Parva 5), or Vasu (1.57), respectively. These versions would correspond to the addition of one and then another 'frame' settings of dialogues. The Vasu version would omit the frame settings and begin with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The astika version would add
2635-413: The Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahabharata can be traced back to Vedic times. The background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs "after the very early Vedic period " and before " the first Indian 'empire' was to rise in the third century B.C." That this is "a date not too far removed from
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2720-427: The Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa . There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The bulk of the Mahābhārata was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period ( c. 4th century CE ). The title
2805-564: The Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa . Within the Indian tradition it is sometimes called the fifth Veda . The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa , who is also a major figure in the epic. Vyasa described it as being an itihasa ( transl. history ). He also describes
2890-543: The sarpasattra and ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name Mahābhārata , and identify Vyasa as the work's author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pancharatrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the Bhishma Parva however appears to imply that this Parva may have been edited around
2975-630: The wife of all five brothers . After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining and demanding only a wild forest inhabited by Takshaka , the king of snakes, and his family. Through hard work, the Pandavas build a new glorious capital for the territory at Indraprastha . Shortly after this, Arjuna elopes with and then marries Krishna's sister, Subhadra . Yudhishthira wishes to establish his position as king; he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and
3060-672: The "earliest traces of epic poetry in India," is an older, shorter precursor to the expanded legend of Garuda that is included in the Astika Parva , within the Adi Parva of the Mahābhārata . The earliest known references to bhārata and the compound mahābhārata date to the Ashtadhyayi ( sutra 6.2.38) of Panini ( fl. 4th century BCE) and the Ashvalayana Grihyasutra (3.4.4). This may mean that
3145-519: The 19th century, Yut stick dice were used for divination, their results being looked up in a book not unlike the I Ching . Mahabharata Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Mahābhārata ( / m ə ˌ h ɑː ˈ b ɑːr ə t ə , ˌ m ɑː h ə -/ mə- HAH - BAR -ə-tə, MAH -hə- ; Sanskrit : महाभारतम् , IAST : Mahābhāratam , pronounced [mɐɦaːˈbʱaːrɐt̪ɐm] )
3230-427: The 4th century. The Adi Parva includes the snake sacrifice ( sarpasattra ) of Janamejaya , explaining its motivation, detailing why all snakes in existence were intended to be destroyed, and why despite this, there are still snakes in existence. This sarpasattra material was often considered an independent tale added to a version of the Mahābhārata by "thematic attraction" (Minkowski 1991), and considered to have
3315-518: The 78 CE. This places Yudhishthara (and therefore, the Mahabharata war) around 2448–2449 BCE (2526–78). Some scholars have attempted to identify the "Shaka" calendar era mentioned by Varāhamihira with other eras, but such identifications place Varāhamihira in the first century BCE, which is impossible as he refers to the 5th century astronomer Aryabhata . Kalhana 's Rajatarangini (11th century), apparently relying on Varāhamihira, also states that
3400-465: The 8th or 9th century B.C." is likely. The Mahabharata started as an orally-transmitted tale of the charioteer bards . It is generally agreed that "Unlike the Vedas , which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style," so the earliest 'surviving' components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than
3485-723: The American toy and game company Transogram introduced a mass market board game version called Game of India , later marketed as Pa-Chiz-Si: The Game of India . Pachisi is a game for two, three, or four players, four usually play in two teams. One team has yellow and black pieces, the other team has red and green. The team which moves all its pieces to the finish first wins the game. Each player has four beehive -shaped pieces (this can be increased to up to 16 pieces on each side in some versions). The pieces of one player are distinguishable from another by their colours: black, green, red, and yellow. Six cowrie shells are used to determine
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3570-413: The Charkoni on any throw after it has been introduced onto the board. Each player moves their pieces down the centre column of their own arm of the board, then counter-clockwise around the outside columns. A player may have any number of pieces on the board at one time. Only one piece may be moved with a single throw, or if the player chooses, they can decline to move any piece on a throw. In some versions,
3655-428: The Charkoni, but Player 2 is free to go ahead to their respective Charkoni unless the above repeats. A piece completes its trip around the board by moving back up its central column. Returning pieces may be placed on their side in order to distinguish them from pieces that have just entered. A piece can only return to the Charkoni by a direct throw. Four of the castle squares are placed so they are exactly 25 moves from
3740-414: The Charkoni. A common strategy is for returning pieces to stay on these squares, where they are safe from capture until a 25 is thrown. The pieces can then finish the game directly. This is where the name of the game comes from. In some versions, where more emphasis is put on the throwing of the cowries, experienced players can cause cowries to land in a specific way, so there are certain other rules to make
3825-466: The Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the Kurukshetra war. After the deaths of their mother (Madri) and father (Pandu), the Pandavas and their mother Kunti return to the palace of Hastinapur. Yudhishthira is made Crown Prince by Dhritarashtra, under considerable pressure from his courtiers. Dhritarashtra wanted his son Duryodhana to become king and lets his ambition get in
3910-570: The Pandavas flourished 653 years after the beginning of the Kali Yuga; Kalhana adds that people who believe that the Bharata war was fought at the end of the Dvapara Yuga are foolish. The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura , the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are
3995-580: The Zuñi War Gods" which explicitly links divination, the 4 quarters of the earth, and games. Nyout (Yut) and Native American games like Zohn Ahl are integral to his argument. However, later scholars have called into question our ability to assign historical precedence among randomizing activities such as divination, impartial decision-making, gambling, and game-playing, and elements of his monolithic genealogy of games have been called "absurd". Nevertheless, some historical connections are in evidence. In
4080-435: The amount to move the players' pieces. The shells are thrown from the player's hand and the number of cowries which fall with their openings upwards indicate how many spaces the player may move: In some versions, seven cowrie shells are used: The board is usually embroidered on cloth. The playing area is cruciform . There is a large square in the centre, called the Charkoni, which is the starting and finishing position of
4165-671: The attempt but is interrupted by Draupadi who refuses to marry a suta (this has been excised from the Critical Edition of Mahabharata as later interpolation ). After this, the swayamvara is opened to the Brahmins leading Arjuna to win the contest and marry Draupadi. The Pandavas return home and inform their meditating mother that Arjuna has won a competition and to look at what they have brought back. Without looking, Kunti asks them to share whatever Arjuna has won amongst themselves, thinking it to be alms . Thus, Draupadi ends up being
4250-442: The average duration of a reign, arrived at an estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950 BCE for the Bharata battle. B. B. Lal used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlated this with archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in
4335-603: The birth of Parikshit (Arjuna's grandson) and the accession of Mahapadma Nanda (400–329 BCE), which would yield an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle. However, this would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies. Of the second kind is analysis of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna ( Parikshit 's great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda . Pargiter accordingly estimated 26 generations by averaging 10 different dynastic lists and, assuming 18 years for
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#17327767297544420-412: The board to be able to throw a 7 or 14. Simply put, on throwing 10 or 25, or 35, you can not introduce your new pawn directly to 10 or 25, or 35 number square directly, you have to land the new pawn on square number 1 and then add your remaining numbers. Once your all pawns have entered the game, throwing 10 or 25, or 35 allows you to move the respective numbers ahead. Each player's first piece may leave
4505-602: The core 24,000 verses, known as the Bhārata , as well as an early version of the extended Mahābhārata , were composed by the 4th century BCE. However, it is uncertain whether Panini referred to the epic, as bhārata was also used to describe other things. Albrecht Weber mentions the Rigvedic tribe of the Bharatas , where a great person might have been designated as Mahā-Bhārata. However, as Panini also mentions figures that play
4590-408: The cowrie shells and pieces cannot move until a 2, 3, or 4 is thrown. If a 6, 10, or 25 is thrown, the player gets a grace , which enables the player to introduce one of their pieces from the Charkoni onto the board. The player then repeats their turn. In other versions, this includes 10, 25, or 35 to introduce another of their pieces. The newly introduced pawn will be landed on square number 1, which
4675-701: The cross, with the goal of being the first player to move all tokens all the way around the board. Generally the circle of the cross and circle forms the primary circuit followed by the players' pieces. The function of the cross is more variable; for example, in Yut the cross forms shortcuts to the finish, whereas in Pachisi the four spokes are used as player-specific exits and entrances to the pieces' home. In non-race games (like Coppit and Trivial Pursuit) all paths may be undifferentiated in function. Although these board game designs may be of considerable antiquity, firm evidence
4760-511: The date of Mahābhārata war at 3137BCE. Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by Vrddha Garga , Varāhamihira and Kalhana , place the Bharata war 653 years after the Kali Yuga epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE. According to Varāhamihira's Bṛhat Saṃhitā (6th century), Yudhishthara lived 2,526 years before the beginning of the Shaka era , which begins in
4845-606: The distinctive board. In a similar period, a board identical to pachisi was discovered in the Ellora cave system. A Song dynasty (960–1279) document referencing the Chinese game Chupu ( Chinese : 樗蒲 ; pinyin : chūpú ), "invented in western India and spread to China in the time of the Wei dynasty (AD 220–265)" may relate to Chaupar, but the actual nature of the Chinese game (which may be more closely related to backgammon )
4930-482: The earliest 'external' references we have to the epic, which include an reference in Panini 's 4th century BCE grammar Ashtadhyayi 4:2:56. Vishnu Sukthankar, editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahābhārata , commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in an original shape, based on an archetype and a stemma codicum . What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct
5015-464: The earliest secure evidence for the existence of the game in India. The game's role in the history of India still remains to be investigated. It is often assumed that the gambling game that plays so significant a role in the Mahabharata , the classical literary epic, is pachisi , but the descriptions, such as they are, do not tie in with the game, and this conclusion is perhaps erroneous. In 1938,
5100-536: The earliest secure evidence for the existence of the game in India." Culin found evidence for a Nyout-like game existing in China in the 3rd century AD, though this does not seem to be accepted by H. J. R. Murray . Mayan cross and circle boards have been found on stones from the 7th century AD. Although frequently encountered among the native tribes of North America (particularly as a "quartered circle" design) these boards were not made of durable materials, so generally
5185-458: The elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out the rājasūya yagna ceremony; he is thus recognized as pre-eminent among kings. The Pandavas have a new palace built for them, by Maya the Danava . They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees
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#17327767297545270-490: The entire court, but Draupadi's disrobe is prevented by Krishna, who miraculously make her dress endless, therefore it couldn't be removed. Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, but Duryodhana is adamant that there is no place for two crown princes in Hastinapura. Against his wishes Dhritarashtra orders for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in
5355-467: The epic. John Keay suggests "their core narratives seem to relate to events from a period prior to all but the Rig Veda." Attempts to date the events using methods of archaeoastronomy have produced, depending on which passages are chosen and how they are interpreted, estimates ranging from the late 4th to the mid-2nd millennium BCE. The late 4th-millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of
5440-406: The event. Meanwhile, Krishna, who has already befriended Draupadi, tells her to look out for Arjuna (though now believed to be dead). The task was to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, which was the eye of a moving artificial fish, while looking at its reflection in oil below. In popular versions, after all the princes fail, many being unable to lift the bow, Karna proceeds to
5525-643: The existence of a Māhabhārata at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources identify with the story of the Iliad . Several stories within the Mahābhārata took on separate identities of their own in Classical Sanskrit literature . For instance, the Abhijnanashkuntala by the renowned Sanskrit poet Kalidasa ( c. 400 CE ), believed to have lived in the era of the Gupta dynasty,
5610-399: The five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the Pandava brothers. Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons, and one daughter— Duhsala —through Gandhari , all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These are the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana , and the second Dushasana . Other Kaurava brothers include Vikarna and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and
5695-642: The game more exciting. Cross and circle game The basic design comprises a circle divided into four equal portions by a cross inscribed inside it like four spokes in a wheel; the classic example of this design is Yut . However, the term "cross and circle game" is also applied to boards that replace the circle with a square, and cruciform boards that collapse the circle onto the cross; all three types are topologically equivalent. Ludo and Parcheesi (both descendants of Pachisi ) are examples of frequently played cruciform games. The category may also be expanded to include circular or square boards without
5780-578: The game. Barjis [ ar ] (barsis) is popular in the Levant , mainly Syria , while Parchís is another version popular in Spain and northern Morocco . Parqués is its Colombian variant. Parcheesi , Sorry! , and Ludo are among the many Westernised commercial versions of the game. The jeu des petits chevaux ('game of little horses') is played in France, and Mensch ärgere Dich nicht
5865-483: The god of justice, Vayu , the god of the wind, and Indra , the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, Yudhishthira , Bhima , and Arjuna , through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen Madri , who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in lovemaking, and Pandu dies. Madri commits suicide out of remorse. Kunti raises
5950-466: The harem wearing the players' colours, represented the pieces, and moved to the squares according to the throw of the dice. It is said that the Emperor took such a fancy to playing the game on this grand scale that he had a court for pachisi constructed in all his palaces, and traces of such are still visible at Agra and Allahabad . Irving Finkel adds: To date, these grandiose boards still represent
6035-455: The inspiration for the Jaya , the foundation on which the Mahābhārata corpus was built, with a climactic battle, eventually coming to be viewed as an epochal event. Puranic literature presents genealogical lists associated with the Mahābhārata narrative. The evidence of the Puranas is of two kinds. Of the first kind, there is the direct statement that there were 1,015 (or 1,050) years between
6120-438: The king of Hastinapura , had a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and had a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma , a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King Shantanu goes hunting, he sees Satyavati , the daughter of the chief of fishermen, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati
6205-429: The king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry the king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. She vows to kill him in her next life. Later she
6290-408: The king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honoring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise. Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrāngada and Vichitravirya . Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives
6375-501: The number of shells resting with the aperture upward indicating the number of spaces to move. The name of the game is derived from the Hindi word paccīs , meaning 'twenty-five', the largest score that can be thrown with the cowrie shells; thus this game is also known by the name Twenty-Five . There are other versions of this game where the largest score that can be thrown is thirty. In addition to chaupar , there are many versions of
6460-432: The oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach based on the manuscript material available." That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the climate of India, but it is very extensive. The Mahābhārata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses: the Bhārata proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the Ashvalayana Grihyasutra (3.4.4) makes
6545-467: The opponent's pieces. Some versions have a rule where if, for example, two players are playing against each other, and Player 1 captures a piece of Player 2, then Player 2, in their immediate turn after being captured for the first time, captures the same piece Player 1 just used to capture, in the same square where the capture took place, then Player 1's capture/kill is invalidated. Player 1 will need to recapture Player 2's piece again to be able to go back to
6630-417: The pieces. The four arms are divided into three columns of eight squares. The players' pieces are moved along these columns during play. Twelve squares are specially marked as castle squares. Four of these are positioned at the end of the middle columns of each arm; the other eight are four squares inwards from the end of the outer columns on each arm. A piece may not be captured by an opponent while it lies on
6715-463: The principal works and stories in the Mahābhārata are the Bhagavad Gita , the story of Damayanti , the story of Shakuntala , the story of Pururava and Urvashi , the story of Savitri and Satyavan , the story of Kacha and Devayani , the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the Rāmāyaṇa , often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of
6800-588: The theory of Jaya with 8,800 verses to a misreading of a verse in the Adi Parva (1.1.81). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18 and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the Anushasana Parva and the Virata Parva from the " Spitzer manuscript ". The oldest surviving Sanskrit text dates to
6885-471: The way of preserving justice. Shakuni, Duryodhana, and Dushasana plot to get rid of the Pandavas. Shakuni calls the architect Purochana to build a palace out of flammable materials like lac and ghee. He then arranges for the Pandavas and the Queen Mother Kunti to stay there, intending to set it alight. However, the Pandavas are warned by their wise uncle, Vidura , who sends them a miner to dig
6970-594: The wisest figures in the Mahabharata . He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra. When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and Madri . Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari ,
7055-414: The writings and collections of European-Americans constitute their earliest attestations. Cross and circle boards may suggest a variety of mystical, symbolic, or esoteric designs such as mandalas ; sun and earth symbols; swastikas ; or Celtic , Coptic , and Greek crosses. However, mere visual similarities do not prove a deeper connection; and demonstrating any historical connection has proven to be
7140-460: Was accepted by Yudhisthira despite the rest of the Pandavas advising him not to play. Shakuni , Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishthira with loaded dice. In the dice game, Yudhishthira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. Yudhishthira then gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of
7225-453: Was described by some early 20th-century Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the original poem must once have carried an immense "tragic force" but dismissed the full text as a "horrible chaos." Moritz Winternitz ( Geschichte der indischen Literatur 1909) considered that "only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes" could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole. Research on
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