
CHENNAI: One of the most common assumptions people make while discussing traditional games is that the game of Chaupad or Pachisi or Dayakattam played on a symmetrical cross, was the game played in the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata describes in detail a pivotal game of dice that changes the fortunes of many of the key characters in the epic. It is this game of dice that becomes one of the central events leading to the Kurukshetra war.
The first question of course that one would ask is why did the wise Yudhishtra respond to the invitation to gamble? C Rajagopalachari in his translation explains this in these words — “Three reasons may be given. Men rush consciously on their ruin, impelled by lust, gambling and drink. Yudhishtra was fond of gambling.
The Kshatriya tradition made it a matter of etiquette and honour not to refuse an invitation to the game of dice. There is a third reason, too. True to the vow he took at the time, Vyasa had warned him (Yudhishtra) of the quarrels that would arise leading to the destruction of the race. Yudhishtra would not give any occasion for displeasure or complaint …”
The next question is what did they play? Artistic renderings indicate a game played on a symmetric cross, but such a game takes time to complete. When we read the descriptions of the game, it is thus. “Shakuni threw the dice and exclaimed I have won. Time after time, Yudhishtra would stake his wealth and time after time Shakuni would win and the only sound that could be heard was look, I have won.
If Shakuni was exclaiming about his win based on the throw of the dice, it seems unlikely that the game was played in entirety. This concept of winning at the mere throw of the dice seems to indicate that it was not a full-fledged game, but a gamble based on the number that appeared on the dice. Perhaps it was akin to gambling on what run will be scored off the next ball in cricket rather than on the outcome of the game as a whole. Or perhaps there was no board at all and the gamble was based on merely dice throws.
While the events surrounding the game and the concept of gambling is described in detail, there is very little description of the actual game itself. So, while we may choose to imagine that they played a game that we play even today, there is very little proof of that. However, one must understand that even if they played the game, it was gambling that led to the destructive war, not the game itself.
So let us play the game and preserve it for future generations. Because whether or not it was played in the Mahabharata, it is a game with rich history, culture and has no fault in itself.
GAME TO RETHINK
While the events surrounding the game and the concept of gambling is described in detail, there is very little description of the actual game itself. While we may choose to imagine that they played a game that we play even today, there is very little proof of that. However, one must understand that even if they played the game, it was gambling that led to the destructive war, not the game itself.
Vinita Sidhartha
vinita@kreedagmes.com
The writer is an author and the founder of Kreeda, an organisation reviving traditional games