Srinivasa Ramanujan was a legendary Indian mathematical prodigy whose life interwove spirituality with scientific genius. Interestingly, there is a fascinating link to traditional games in his life.
Ramanujan is believed to have independently compiled nearly 3,900 original mathematical results in his short life. Yet, he attributed his genius not to his intellect but to gifts from a higher power, the Goddess Namagiri, the patron deity of his family.
According to Ramanujan and those close to him, the goddess appeared to him in dreams, revealing intricate mathematical formulas which he later wrote down. “An equation for me has no meaning, unless it expresses a thought of god,” he said.
His grasp of mathematics was way beyond his age. Entirely self-taught beyond secondary school, he started recording original results in notebooks as a teenager. However, his single-minded obsession with mathematics led him to neglect other subjects. He dropped out of college because he failed exams in non-math topics.
During these difficult early years, Ramanujan remained spiritually anchored. He was “immersed in mathematics” but also in prayer — family accounts describe his mother praying to Namagiri for his success, and Ramanujan performing daily rituals seeking the goddess’s blessing. Daily prayers, devotional songs, and pilgrimages to Namakkal were part of the practice. It was during this period that Ramanujan began having the fabled dreams. According to his own later recollections, while meditating or asleep at night, he would see a red screen formed by flowing blood, and on it, mathematical equations written by the goddess.
Who was Goddess Namagiri? Namagiri (also called Namagiri Thayar) is revered as a manifestation of Goddess Mahalakshmi and is the presiding deity of the Narasimha Swamy Temple in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. Namagiri means “Namakkal’s hill” — the temple is built into a rocky hill. Devotees believe that worshipping Namagiri Thayar grants intellectual enlightenment and artistic inspiration, not just material wealth.
There is another interesting aspect in the life of Ramanujan. Biographical anecdotes and educational sources indicate that he “played the game of Aadu Puli Aatam with his mother” during his childhood, and that “it helped him to think strategically”.
This ancient strategy game — also known as the Goats and Tigers game — pits three tigers against fifteen goats on a geometrical grid. The game’s core challenge is inherently mathematical and strategic: the tigers must use cunning leaps to “hunt” goats, while the goats must cooperate to surround and immobilise the tigers.
So, what is the connection between Aadu Puli Aatam and Goddess Namagiri? On a recent visit to this temple, I was dumbstruck by the numerous boards of the game etched on the floor, including a couple of clear-cut boards outside the shrine. The belief is that these were etched by artisans during the building of the temple or subsequent renovations. It is therefore likely that these boards were present during Ramanujan’s visits.
While we will never know for sure, is it possible that one of these boards caught his mother’s eye and inspired her to teach her son the game? Or did the young boy spot these boards, and did they recall the moments he spent playing with his mother?
To me, the discovery of Aadu Puli Aatam outside the shrine was an exciting discovery — perhaps the closest I will come to touching genius!