Chaturanga or Chaduranga is the predecessor of Chess. As played on an 8X8 unchecked board, Chaturanga was also called Ashtapada. It is, probably, the first strategy board game ever invented. Although we cannot be sure if the rules of the Chess and Chaturnaga are the same, what we can be sure, thanks to albeit limited historical records, is that the look of the game has barely changed.
There were, and are, thirty-two pieces on board divided equally between two parties: playing from two ends of the board. Each side has one Raja or King, one Mantri or Minister, two Rathas or the Chariots, two Ashwas or the Horses, two Gajas or the elephants, and eight Padatis or the soldiers.
Chaduranga was a game of patience and perseverance. It was game-driven more by thinking than by actions. Two fingers are adequate to move pieces, but the thoughts that went behind each move was exhausting and elaborate.
It was a game designed to explain the dynamics of Karma or actions. Each move was sure to have consequences. No moves went without certain consequences. You also must bear the consequences. Worse, those consequences are irreversible, and there was no time for regrets or remorse. If you had to prevail, you must move on. It was a game where emotions played havoc, where absolute objectivity was a necessity, never the choice.
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