<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

India has a very prominent traditional board game culture, which is evident through numerous game boards and game pieces that are surviving. The spectrum of game board variations documented displays its association with the rich culture of crafts in India. Apart from these sets, there are ample examples of game board graffiti's present in various public spaces, temples being one of the most prominent of them. Many scholars, just to name a few, I. Finkel, R.K Bhattacharya, and L.K. Soni (published in 2011); <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_054">Vasantha (2003)</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_024">Fritz and Gibson (2007)</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_042">Rogersdotter (2015)</xref>, have documented and/or commented on these appearances of game boards in spaces. Most of these documentations are from the region of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. There are game board surveys from the states of Punjab (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_026">Gupta, 1926</xref>), Gujarat (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_050">Soni and Bagchi, 2011</xref>), Marwad (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_043">Samanta, 2011</xref>), Haryana (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_bgs-2022-0019_ref_047">Sinha and Bishwas, 2011</xref>). Nevertheless, for some reason, there is very little work on board games in the state of Maharashtra. Though the literary documentation of sedentary games of Maharashtra is found in a book by ‘Anant Babaji Deodhar’ named ‘Marāṭhī Khēḷān̄cē Pustaka’ published in 1905; which mainly is anthropological documentation. It does not touch upon the references of this game information.
Sāripata (chausar), pat Songtyā (asta chima) existed in the Marathi household until the earlier generation (Pre WWII) in form of cloth boards and wooden pieces. However, it does not show its appearance as game board graffiti's in spaces in the post-Yadav period (14th century). Few games like mancala, Indian hunt games do show their presence in graffitis but seldom in literature. Literary pieces of evidence of regional literature remain untraced. No specific research has happened in literature in this era in the context to board games and thus the paper tries to throw light on evidence of board game mentions in medieval Marathi language literature. During the same time, the game board graffiti's shows its existence in Karnataka, Rajasthan until the 17th century. So what happened to the board game culture in Maharashtra? Where did the games go? Did it acquire a different form?
The paper tries to inquire about the presence/absence of board games in the 13th - 17th century Marathi literature and architecture.
</abstract>

India has a very prominent traditional board game culture, which is evident through numerous game boards and game pieces that are surviving. The spectrum of game board variations documented displays its association with the rich culture of crafts in India. Apart from these sets, there are ample examples of game board graffiti's present in various public spaces, temples being one of the most prominent of them. Many scholars, just to name a few, I. Finkel, R.K Bhattacharya, and L.K. Soni (published in 2011); Vasantha (2003); Fritz and Gibson (2007); Rogersdotter (2015), have documented and/or commented on these appearances of game boards in spaces. Most of these documentations are from the region of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. There are game board surveys from the states of Punjab (Gupta, 1926), Gujarat (Soni and Bagchi, 2011), Marwad (Samanta, 2011), Haryana (Sinha and Bishwas, 2011). Nevertheless, for some reason, there is very little work on board games in the state of Maharashtra. Though the literary documentation of sedentary games of Maharashtra is found in a book by ‘Anant Babaji Deodhar’ named ‘Marāṭhī Khēḷān̄cē Pustaka’ published in 1905; which mainly is anthropological documentation. It does not touch upon the references of this game information.
Sāripata (chausar), pat Songtyā (asta chima) existed in the Marathi household until the earlier generation (Pre WWII) in form of cloth boards and wooden pieces. However, it does not show its appearance as game board graffiti's in spaces in the post-Yadav period (14th century). Few games like mancala, Indian hunt games do show their presence in graffitis but seldom in literature. Literary pieces of evidence of regional literature remain untraced. No specific research has happened in literature in this era in the context to board games and thus the paper tries to throw light on evidence of board game mentions in medieval Marathi language literature. During the same time, the game board graffiti's shows its existence in Karnataka, Rajasthan until the 17th century. So what happened to the board game culture in Maharashtra? Where did the games go? Did it acquire a different form?
The paper tries to inquire about the presence/absence of board games in the 13th - 17th century Marathi literature and architecture.

Where did the Games Go? Inquiry of Board Games in Medieval Marathi Literature in India

MIT Institute of Design – MIT ADT University

Board Game Studies Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

India has a very prominent traditional board game culture, which is evident through numerous game boards and game pieces that are surviving. The spectrum of...

Where did the Games Go? Inquiry of Board Games in Medieval Marathi Literature in India

Published Online: Oct 13, 2022

Page range: 47 - 83

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0019

Keywords
Board games, Maharashtra, Marathi literature, Temple spaces, Crafts, Culture, Graffiti, Abhāng

© 2022 Amit Deshmukh, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Where did the Games Go? Inquiry of Board Games in Medieval Marathi Literature in India

Published Online: Oct 13, 2022

Page range: 47 - 83

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bgs-2022-0019

KeywordsBoard games, Maharashtra, Marathi literature, Temple spaces, Crafts, Culture, Graffiti, Abhāng

© 2022 Amit Deshmukh, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Board games, Maharashtra, Marathi literature, Temple spaces, Crafts, Culture, Graffiti, Abhāng