Many of you would have played Snakes and Ladders or as the Americans know it; Chutes and Ladders!
The worst is above 90 when you get a big Chute or Snake and you are almost back to the starting point!
It has been played all over the world since 1960s! While Indians have been playing the ‘original’ version for centuries!
Yes! You read that right!
That original game was called the Moksha Patam!
This is the ancient Indian precursor to the modern game of Snakes and Ladders and was a series of moral lesson disguised as a board game, teaching virtues (ladders) uplift you towards enlightenment (Moksha), while vices (snakes) lead to downfall, reflecting Hindu philosophy on karma and spiritual journey.
It was originally designed to illustrate concepts from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, helping players understand the consequences of their actions as they race to the top square, representing liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Developed in ancient India, possibly around the 2nd century BC or later by saints like Sant Dnyaneshwar.
The game had deep spiritual meaning with a metaphor for life, where good deeds (ladders) and bad deeds (snakes) influence one’s spiritual progress!
The Moksha Patam features a grid board with ladders (virtues like generosity, faith) and snakes (vices like lust, anger).
Of course the final goal was to reach the final square, symbolizing Moksha or (liberation).
The game powerfully illustrates that virtuous actions lead to spiritual ascent, while vices lead to moral descent, guiding players on their path to self-realization.
The modern version of course is simply fun!
The game was brought to the United Kingdom in the 1890s by colonial rulers and introduced as “Snakes and Ladders”, where the moral and religious aspects were diminished and the number of snakes and ladders were equalized.
It was later introduced in the United States by Milton Bradley in 1943 as Chutes and Ladders, which used a playground theme instead of snakes!
Now that is history! You must look into the future but do remember your history! A brief lesson in history that was! A brief history of time though was the classic novel written by the one with a sharp mind; Stephen Hawking!
Now you may be old to play snakes and ladders; you are never old to play Moksha Patam in real life! Think about it!
Shubh Ratri!
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