'Chaturanga' is the name of a board game which was played at least 1500 years ago within the lands of Vedic India and which is known today as the popular game of 'Chess'.

 

Chaturanga is mentioned some 1400 years ago in the 'Harsa Carita' yet one of the discoveries of the Indus valley civilisation is a stone chess board which is dated around 5000 years.

Chaturanga is also mentioned within the 'Mahabharata' which is at least 5000 years old and compliments the findings of the Indus valley civilisation and the 5000 year old chess board.

 

 

Chaturanga possesses some sixteen pieces of which eight are known as the 'Padati' whose meaning is 'the foot ( pada ) soldier' and which became known as the 'Pawns'.

Chaturanga also possesses the 'King' who is known as 'Raja' it possesses the 'Queen' or 'Minister' who is known as 'Mantri' and it possesses the 'Chariot' which is known as 'Ratha'.

Chaturanga also possesses the 'Elephant' who is known as 'Gaja' and it also possesses the 'Horse' which is known as 'Asva' and seen within chess as the 'Knight'.

 

Chaturanga is a compound within the ancient language of Sanskrit whose meaning is that which possesses four ( catur ) limbs ( anga ) and that which possesses four ( catur ) parts ( anga ).

 

Chaturanga became the game of 'Chess' a name composed of 'Ksa' a root within Sanskrit meaning to 'govern' which becomes 'Ksatra' meaning 'ruler' becomes the Iranian 'Xsathra' meaning 'dominion' and 'Shah' meaning 'king'.

 

'Shah' meaning 'king' evolves throughout the lands of Europe as 'Schach' and 'Schaak' and 'Echecs' and 'Ches' and 'Chess' whose origin is 'Ksa' whose meaning is 'protector' and 'ruler'.

 

 

Chaturanga was once the game of kings and a game won by the removal of the king to the cries of 'Shamat' the king ( shah ) is dead ( mat ) words from the language of Sanskrit.

"It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India sent to the West such gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess and above all numerals and the decimal system" William Durant.

 

"India was China's teacher in religion and imaginative literature, the world's teacher in trigonometry, quadratic equations, grammar, phonetics, Arabian Nights, animal fables, chess and philosophy." Lin Yutang.