and secondly, from the torrents of rain that fall in summer. It is obvious, then, that in such a country ships and boats must have formed a very important item in the matériel of an army, whether for offensive or defensive purposes. On this point the reader will find ample confirmation in the fifth and sixth books of Arian's History, which so graphically detail the expedition of Alexander from Kabul across the Panjab, and thence downwards along the Indus till his return to Persia. The etymological proof of the Indian origin of Chess is still more incontrovertible. It is only in Sanskrit that the term Chaturanga, the name given to the ancient game I am about to describe, fully and clearly conveys to the mind an idea of the thing represented. The term Shatranj, used by the Persians, Arabs, and Turks, is a pure exotic in their respective languages, defying all the ingenuity of their grammarians to make it their own, and clearly proving that it is merely a modification or corruption of the word Chaturanga. But it is needless to dwell more on this point at present. We are, then, inevitably led to infer that the game of Chaturanga was invented by a people whose language was Sanskrit, which brings the invention home to India; and further, it is the representation of a mode of warfare that was most peculiarly adapted to that country in ancient times. The ancient Hindu account of the origin of the game is not unlike that of many more modern versions of the same tale. But, as I have already observed, the mere occasion of its invention is a point of little or no real importance; our main object at present is to determine the region where, and approximately the time when, it was invented. Sir William Jones states, on the authority of his friend the Brahman Radha Kant, "that this game is mentioned in the oldest (Hindu) law-books; and that it was invented by the wife of Rāvan, King of Lankā (the capital of Ceylon), in order to amuse him with an image of war, while his metropolis was closely besieged by Rāma, in the second age of the world." Here again we find an excellent reason why ships are admitted into the game, as being matters of the utmost importance in such an expedition as this, which bears no remote resemblance to that of the Greeks against Troy. In short, whether we consider the game to have been invented in Ceylon during the siege of Lankā, or subsequently in Central India, the admission of the ship, as one part of the four forces, is quite in accordance with the time, place, and circumstances. The period of the siege of Lanka, according to Hindū authorities, would carry us too far back to meet with the reader's belief; but, in what we may call the heroic or poetic age of Hindu history, we find the game familiarly spoken of in the Purānas, as then known and practised. The authenticity of these poetic histories is much on a par with that of the works of Homer, Hesiod, and Apollonius Rhodius. They are all most probably founded on something of the nature of fact, only the details are highly coloured. The best original account of this very ancient game to which we have yet obtained access, is to be found in the Sanskrit Encyclopædia, entitled "Shabda-KalpaDruma," published at Calcutta in seven volumes, 4to, within the last twenty years (vide vol. i., under the article Chaturanga"); also, in a work published at Serampore, in two vols. 8vo., 1834, entitled, "Raghu-NandanaTatwa," or "Institutes (of the Hindu Religion, &c.,) by Raghu Nandana" (vide vol. i., page 88). In both of these works, the text, with very slight variations, is identical, and evidently taken from the same original, viz., that alluded to by Sir William Jones as an abstract from the "Bhavishya Purana," (vide "Asiatic Researches," octavo edition, vol. ii., p. 160). We may here state, however, that Sir William Jones has given us only a very incorrect abridgement of the extract in question, and that he has at the same time deduced from it several inferences not warranted by the original, of which more hereafter. In the following Chapter, I shall lay before the reader what I believe to be a faithful translation of such portions of the Sanskrit text as bear upon our immediate inquiry. I must mention, however, that the original, is, in many places, so extremely concise in its style, that a mere verbal translation into English would convey no meaning. In such cases I have endeavoured to give the author's sense as clearly as I can, by adopting some slight degree of circumlocution. It may be proper here to state that the Hindus are possessed of an immense collection of works in verse, entitled the Purānas. These are eighteen in number, and are partly Theological or Mythological, and partly Historical. They rank next the four Vedas in point of sanctity. As a general rule each Purana treats of the creation of the Universe, its progress and dissolution or renovation, the genealogy of the Gods, and interminable legends of fabulous heroes and warriors. Next to the Purānas may be classed the two celebrated historical poems of India, the Rāmāyana, by Valmiki; who is styled "the father of Hindu poetry," and the Mahābharata by Vyasa Deva Muni. These, like portions of the Purānas, are probably founded upon real facts, though highly coloured with the extravagant mythology of the country. At the same time, they are greatly to be admired for the elegance of the language in which they are written, and the faithful representation which they exhibit of the manners and customs of the Hindus in days of yore. The events narrated in the Purānas and Mahābhārata, respecting the five sons of Pandu, of whom Yudhishthira was the eldest and most renowned, are supposed to have occurred a little more than 3,000 years before our era. The game of Chaturanga had by that time become popular in the country, and seems to have attracted the notice of Yudhishthira, who applied to the sage Vyasa, the Nestor of the day, for the benefit of his instructions on a subject so well adapted to his own peculiar disposition; for the youthful warrior, like a certain eminent military veteran of recent times, was strongly addicted to gambling; and in its infancy even Chess itself was a gambling game, if I may use such an expression. But unquestionably the favourite game among the ancient Hindus was that of dice, a knowledge of which, in those primitive times, formed one of the requisite accomplishments of a hero, just as skill in Chess was considered among us in the palmy days of chivalry. In Ward's "View of the History, &c., of the Hindus," vol. iv., p. 433, where the author gives an analysis of the contents of the great epic poem of the Mahābhārata, we have the following notice of Yudhishthira :-"This game (of dice) is sanctioned by the Shastra. Yudhishthira first lost his estates, then, in succession, all the riches in his treasury, his four brothers, and his wife, Draupadi. The conqueror's father, Dhritarashtra, was so pleased with Draupadi that he told her to ask what she would and he would grant it. She first asked for her husband's kingdom; this was granted. She was permitted to ask other blessings, till all that her husband had lost was restored. Yudhishthira again encounters Shakuni at Chess, and again loses all." Thus it would appear that Yudhishthira fared no better at Chess or Chaturanga than he had done with the plain dice. It is to be inferred that he ventured on the game too soon after Vyasa's lecture, before he had sufficient time to gain experience. The Mahabharata, like the Shāhnāma, of which more hereafter, is a gigantic poem which contains about 100,000 couplets. So far as mere quantity goes, this poem alone nearly equals all the hexametrical productions of Greece and Rome put together. An episode from the Mahabharata, was translated into English verse by the Rev. H. H. Milman, M. A., Oxford, 1835. The subject is simply this, when Yudhishthira was utterly ruined after his play with Shakuni, his friend the sage Vrihadasva relates to him the story of Nala, an ancient Hindū prince, who, in his day, had been similarly situated, and who, after undergoing many toils and miseries at last recovered his kingdom. Nala owed all his misfortunes to the dice, for we may suppose this to have happened before the Chess period, the story being old even then, as we see by the opening lines of the poem. "Lived of yore, a Rājā Nala—Vīrasena's mighty son, Gifted he with every virtue-beauteous, skilled in taming steeds; Before we proceed to the translation of the Sanskrit extract from the Bhavishya Purāna, the reader is requested carefully to examine and bear in mind the arrangement of the pieces on the board for playing the game of Chaturanga as exhibited in the frontispiece. Here the Green and Black are allied against the Red and Yellow. The Rook on the left hand of the King, represents the Elephant; and the Bishop represents the Ship. The King, Rook, Knight and Pawns, had then |