The Origin and Early History of Chess

117 ART. XIII.—The Origin and Early History of Chess. By A. A. MACDONELL, M.A., M.R.A.S. No game occupies so important a position in the history of the world as that of chess. It is not only at the present day, but has been for many centuries, the most cosmopolitan of pastimes; and though one of the oldest known to civilization, it is yet undoubtedly the most intellectual. Long familiar to all the countries of the East, it has also been played for hundreds of years throughout Europe, whence it has spread to the New World, and wherever else European culture has found a footing. A map indicating the diffusion of chess over the habitable globe would therefore show hardly any blanks. Probably no other pastime of any kind can claim so many periodicals devoted exclusively to its discussion; certainly no other has given rise to so extensive a literature.1 The influence of chess may be traced in the poetry of the Middle Ages, in the idioms of most modern European languages, in the science of arithmetic, and even in the art of heraldry. An investigation as to its origin, develop- ment, and early diffusion therefore forms a not unimportant chapter in the history of civilization. The oldest name of chess is the Sanskrit word caturahga. The meaning of this term is transparent, and indicates with sufficient clearness the source from which the game is derived. The word frequently appears in the two great Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. It is there very often used as an adjective qualifying bala ' force ' 1 Heydebrand's Bibliography of Chess (Wiesbaden, 1896) contains no fewer than 3,358 entries, including about a hundred journals dealing- with this game alone. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 21 May 2018 at 03:38:09, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00146246 118 THE ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OP CHESS. or ' army,' in the sense of ' having four (catur) limbs (ahgd),' ' four-membered.'l It also occurs as a noun, meaning 'four- membered army,' and may in fact be regarded as the technical name for ' army' in the epic poetry. What the four members are, is evident from the repeated connection of the term with elephants, chariots, horses, and infantry.2 These were the four regularly recognized constituent parts of a complete Indian army as early as the fourth century B.C.; for the Greek accounts of Alexander's invasion in 326 B.C. state that in the Panjab King Poms (Sanskrit Pauras) fought against the invader with an army of 30,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 200 elephants, and 300 chariots.3 The Greek writer Megasthenes, who, about 300 B.C., spent several years at the court of Pataliputra (the modern Patna) as ambassador of Seleucus, ruler of Syria, remarks that the military administration of the Indian State was divided into six departments responsible for the management of elephants, cavalry, chariots, infantry, as well as baggage and boats. We may, therefore, with certainty conclude, even irrespectively .of the evidence of the Eamayana and Mahabharata,4 that the fourfold constitution of the Indian army was a recognized thing at least as early as the fourth century B.C. A Sanskrit work on Policy, Kamandaki's Nltisara,5 dating probably from the early centuries of our era, contains a passage of considerable length specially treating of elephants, chariots, horses, and foot-soldiers as 1 It alreadidy occurs in the Rigveda(X, 92,11) in the sense of 'four-limbed,'with reference toi ithe human figure; also in the S'atapatha Brahmana, XII, iii, 2, 2. 2 The four-membered army is also expressly calledhasty-aiva-ratha-paddtam, ' the aggregate of elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers,' in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Amarakofo: cf. Weber, Monatsberichte d. Berliner Akademie, 1872, p. 68, note. 3 See McCrindle, "The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great" (London, 1893), p. 102. * According to the results of Professor Jacobi's researches, "Ramayana" (Bonn, 1893), p. 105, the Ramayana in its oldest form goes back to the fifth century B.C.; while Dr. Btlhler has shown (" Indian Studies," ii, p. 26) that the Maha- bharata existed more or less in its present form certainly as early as 500 A.D., and probably much earlier. The word caturanga in the sense of ' army' occurs also in the Atharva Veda Parisistas; but Professor Weber ("History of Indian Literature," English Transl., p. 323) points out that this class of writings must he later'than 250 A.D. 8 Published in the Bibliotheea Jndica, 1884. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 21 May 2018 at 03:38:09, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00146246 THE ORIGIN AND EAELY HISTORY OF CHESS. 119 the divisions of an army, and describing the best strategical methods of employing them.1 Now nothing could be more natural than the attempt to represent, in the form of a game with figures, the operations of hostile armies thus constituted and com- manded by opposing kings, victory depending on the death or capture of the leader of the foe. That this is in fact the genesis of chess, the oldest form of Kriegspiel known to history, is sufficiently proved by its having received its name of catumhga from that of the four- membered Indian army. Such is also acknowledged to be its character by Persian, Arabic, and Chinese writers.2 The board on which chess, from the time of its first mention, has been played in India, is named astdpada, 'eight-square.' This word already occurs in Patanjali's great Commentary on Panini's Grammar, the Mahabhasya, which was written at any rate not later than the first century A.D.,3 and is there explained as a board " in which each line has eight squares,"4 that is altogether sixty- four squares. The astdpada must have been a familiar object in early times, for it is used as an illustration by old Sanskrit poets. Thus, in the Piamayana (i, v, 12), the city of Ayodhya (the modern Oudh) is described as " charming by reason of pictures consisting of astdpada squares, as it were painted." 5 A northern Buddhist writer also speaks of the earth "on which astdpadas were fastened with cords of gold,"6 meaning, doubtless, that its surface was divided into squares like a chessboard.7 The word atlhapada (= Sanskrit astdpada) also occurs in Pali sutras 1 Chapter xix, which contains 62 slokas: cf. Linde, '' Geschichte und Litteratur des Schachspiels " (Berlin, 1874), vol. i, p. 76. 2 See below, pp. 126-9, 131, note 1. 3 See Kielhom, " Gottinger Nachrichten," 1885, p. 185 ff.; and Biihler, " Die indischen Inschriften und das Alter der indischen Kunstpoesie," p. 72. 4 Kielhorn's edition of the Mahabhasya, vol. iii, pp. 362-3 ; Weber, " Indische Studien," vol. xiii, p. 473. 5 Cf. "Weber, Monatsberichte, 1873, p. 710, note 1. According to Professor Jacobi, books i and vii are later additions to the older portion, books ii to vi: see his " Bamayana," p. 65. 6 suvarnasutrdstdpadanibaddhd: cf. Burnouf, " Lotus de la bonne loi," p. 363. 7 Weber, loc. cit. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 21 May 2018 at 03:38:09, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00146246 120 THE ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF CHESS. as the name of a game.1 Whatever may be the precise date of these passages, it is practically certain, from the statement in the Mahabhasya, that a board consisting of sixty-four squares existed in India as early as the beginning of our era. It was probably known considerably earlier, as the Pali siitras in which the word atthapada occurs, are, ia the opinion of Professor Rhys Davids, among the very oldest of Buddhist documents, and must date from the fifth century B.C.2 But what kind of game was played on this board ? It might very well have been used for some game played with dice. For dice are of immemorial antiquity in India. A very interesting Rigvedic hymn (X, 34), which can hardly be dated much later than 1000 B.C., contains the lament of a gambler, who, unable to resist the fascination of the dice, plays from morning to night, though fully aware that he is ruining his happiness and his home. In Rigvedic times the dice, called aksa, were made of the nut of the Vibhidaka-tree (Terminalia bellerica), which is still used for this purpose in India.3 The number of the dice referred to in the Rigveda is four,4 while in a text of the Yajurveda (VS. 30, 18) mention is made of a game with five dice (called ayd), to each of which a name is assigned.5 We know that in post-Vedic times the passion for dice had become general among princes. Thus, two of the heroes of the Mahabharata, King Yudhisthira and King Nala, are both described as having been so far carried away by the frenzy of the game as to stake and lose their very kingdoms. 1 See p. 121: cf. Burnouf, op. oit., p. 466 ; "Weber, op. cit., p. 710 ; "Indische Studien," iii, 148, 154. 2 Dr. H. Liiders, of the Indian Institute, has pointed out to me that on the Bharhut stupa (Cunningham, "The Stupa of Bharhut," London, 1879, plate xlv: cf.

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