A friend of mine went to northern Karnataka to visit the historic site of Sannati. He sent me a photograph of a carved stone panel depicting a game in progress. Sannati is a historically important village in the Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) district, closely associated with the nearby Kanaganahalli Buddhist stupa complex.
Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) excavations in the 1990s exposed a large limestone stupa, sculptural slabs, railings, ayaka platforms, Buddha images, and a major corpus of Brahmi inscriptions. The finds include narrative reliefs of Jataka stories, scenes from Buddha’s life, royal portraits, and label inscriptions.
The site spans a long early historic Buddhist phase, while much of the stupa’s architecture and sculpture belongs to the Satavahana period, broadly from the late centuries BCE into the early centuries CE.
Its significance is exceptional because image and inscription survive together in unusual abundance, making it one of the important Buddhist monument finds of recent decades.
Among the panels is one showing a game in progress. Based on the inscription, the story depicted is most likely the ‘Vidurapandita Jataka’ (Pali: Vidhurapandita Jataka, No. 545).
The inscription reads thus: ‘Jatakam vidurapunakiyam todagahapatino deyadha[m]ma sava’. It translates to: The Jataka of Vidurapunnaka. All is the pious gift of the notable Toda (source: DHARMA epigraphic record).
The inscription connects the gaming scene to the Jataka story, rather than naming the game itself. It also records a donor — probably a notable householder or banker — through the phrase ‘todagahapatino deyadhamma’.
The game appears to be an 8x8 board akin to Ashtapada. Careful examination seems to reveal dice in the hand of the player on the right. Beyond this, the exact game cannot be identified with any certainty.
Interestingly, there is a list of games that Gautama Buddha is reputed to have said he would not play and advised his disciples not to play. The list is found in the Brahmajala Sutta and repeated in a number of other early Buddhist texts, including the Vinaya Pitaka. While information could be lost in translation, there is specific reference to games played on 8x8 boards and 10x10 boards.
If the identification is accurate, the game scene in the panel represents the pivotal gambling match that changes the fate of all the main characters. The story goes thus: Vidhura (Vidurapandita) is the wise and virtuous minister of King Dhananjaya of the Kuru kingdom. His reputation for wisdom, justice, and knowledge of dharma spreads across the human and supernatural worlds.
In the realm of the Nagas, Princess Irandati wishes to obtain the “heart” of Vidhura, meaning the source of his wisdom and virtue. To win her hand in marriage, the Yaksa Punnaka undertakes the task of bringing Vidhura to the Naga court.
Punnaka challenges King Dhananjaya to a high-stakes dice game, wagering a magical jewel and a wondrous horse. The king eventually stakes Vidhura himself and loses. As a result, Vidhura becomes Punnaka’s prize. He then takes Vidhura away, intending to fulfil his promise. During their journey, however, Vidhura remains calm and teaches dharma. His wisdom and moral insight gradually transform Punnaka.
When they arrive at the Naga court, Vidhura explains that his true “heart” is not a physical organ but his wisdom, truthfulness, and virtue. His teachings impress the Naga king, queen, and princess. Realising the deeper meaning of what they sought, they abandon any thought of harming him. Punnaka wins Irandati’s hand in marriage, and Vidhura is honourably returned to his king.
Jatakas were not just texts; they were carved and painted on Buddhist monuments as moral and devotional narratives. The word ‘Jataka’ means “birth story,” and in Buddhist usage it refers to stories of the former births of the Buddha, before he became Gautama Buddha.
In this small carved scene, a game is more than play: it becomes the moment through which risk, wisdom, and dharma are set in motion. It also reminds us that games were never merely pastimes; they were part of how stories, ethics, and memory travelled through our cultural heritage.