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Moksha Pattam:- Ancient Board Game

The widely known, and widely loved game, snakes and ladders, originates from the the small houses made of clay in our tiny villages.

Originally known as moksha pattam, it emphasises on the philosophy of karma, and how luck and will intertwine and together mould our life.
The board was covered with symbolic images, the top featuring gods, angels, and majestic beings. The ladders represented the good deeds, i.e. charity, generosity, kindness, honesty.

And the snakes represented hatred, jealousy, lust, and the rest of the major sins known to man.

Then came the Britishers, who modified the game and cleared the Indian roots associated with it, adapting it to “Snakes and Ladders”.

The same game that is today played by children and adults of all ages and all communities, is credited to no one but our ancestors, belonging to the 2nd Century Ancient India.

~sp

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