precisely the same moves and powers as they have with us at this day, except that the Pawn could move only one square at starting. The Bishop moves diagonally to any third square, passing over the square next to him, which he does not command or attack. His move is no ways impeded by any piece placed in the intermediate square. His power is very limited, as it will be found that there are only seven particular squares of the board, besides the one on which he stands, where he can possibly be moved. This, however, is all the power the Bishop possessed both in Asia and Europe down to the beginning of the sixteenth century. It will also be found, on examination, that there are thirty-two squares on the board, which no Bishop could possibly cover!1 Another Another peculiarity attending this piece is, that not one of the four Bishops, allied or hostile, can attack any of the squares on which the three others are allowed to move; hence we see clearly the meaning of a verse in the Latin poem given by Hyde, from a MS. of the twelfth century, preserved in the Bodleian, viz., " Firmum pactum Calvi tenent, neque sibi noceant," i.e., "The Bishops maintain a solid compact not to hurt each other." Vide Hyde, "De ludis Orientalibus." Tome I. p. 180.

1 See the diagram explanatory of the term Vrihannaukā, in next chapter, page 24.

с

CHAPTER III.

CHATURANGA CONTINUED.

Translation of the Sanskrit Text.

of the Pieces, &c.

Moves and Powers

Yudhishthira said to Vyasa, "Explain to me, O thou super-eminent in virtue, the nature of the game that is played on the eight-times-eight squared board. Tell me, O my master, how the Chaturāji1 may be accomplished.

Vyasa thus replied: "O my Prince, having delineated a square board, with eight houses on each of the four sides, then draw up the red warriors on the east; on the south array the army clad in green; on the west let the yellow troops be stationed; and let the black combatants occupy the north.

"Let each player place his Elephant on the left of his King; next to that the Horse; and last of all the Ship; and in each of the four armies let the infantry be drawn up in front. The ship shall occupy the left-hand corner; next to it the Horse; then the Elephant; and lastly, the King; the foot soldiers, as already stated, being drawn up in front.2

1 Sir William Jones has erroneously stated that this game is more frequently called "Chaturāji." Now the term Chaturājī is not applied to the game at all; it only denotes a certain position or contingency that may arise in the course of play, which ensures the most complete species of victory, equivalent to our Check mate. The precise nature of the term Chaturājī is clearly described in the text.

2 It would seem, at first sight, that this is a mere repetition of the last sentence; but such is not the case: the former sentence would have remained vague and indefinite without the latter.

"If, on throwing the die,' the number should turn up five, the King or one of the Pawns must move; if four, the Elephant; if three, the Horse; and, if the throw be two, then, O Prince, the Ship must move.

On the Moves of the Pieces.

"The King moves one square in all directions; the Pawn moves one square straight forward, but smites an enemy through either angle, in advance; the Elephant, O Prince of many lands, moves (so far as his path is clear) in the direction of the four cardinal points,2 according to his own pleasure; the Horse moves over three squares in an oblique direction; and the Ship, O Yudhishthira, moves two squares diagonally.

1 The die alluded to is an oblong, four-sided one, used by the natives of India to this day in some of their own peculiar games, such as the game of Chaupar, in which, according to Abu-l-Fazl's description in the " Ayīni Akbarī” the dice used had " on one side, one spot; on the second, two; on the third, five; and on the fourth, six." In the second volume of Hyde's work, page 68, we have a brief account of this game, together with a figure of the board and dice, agreeing on the whole with that of Abu-1-Fazl, save that the dice are marked, one, three, six and four; the ace being opposite the six, and the three on the reverse side of the four. In a similar manner, the dice for the Chaturanga had the four numbers, two, three, four, and five; the three and four, as also the two and five, being opposite each other, so as to make the amount seven, as in our own cubic die.

2 Sir William Jones, and his learned friend the Brahman Radha Kant, have fallen into a very serious error respecting the move and power of the Elephant. They have translated the passage, "the Elephant moves in all directions as far as the driver pleases ;" and, further on, it is added, "the Elephant, we find, has the powers of our Queen, as we are pleased to call the minister or general of the Persians.” Now it so happens that the expression used in the original admits 'of no doubt as to the Elephant's move. It is the adverb chatushṭayam which simply means in the four cardinal directions—i.e., east, west, south, and north. Had the author intended to indicate the power of our Queen, he would have used the expression sarvatah—i.e., in all directions, which term he applies to the move of the King, a few lines before. The Elephant, then, in the game of Chaturanga, had precisely the move of our Rook; and we may add, once for all, that the present move of our Queen is not, generally speaking, of older date than three and a half centuries back.

General Directions for Play.

"Let each player preserve his own forces with excessive care, and remember that the King is the most important of all. O Prince, from inattention to the humbler forces, the King himself may fall into disaster. The Ship (from a central position) commands only four squares, but the Horse commands eight; therefore, the Horse bears the higher value.' The Pawns and the Ship assail the foe without subjecting themselves to capture; the King, the Elephant and the Horse slay the foe without subjecting themselves to destruction. O Prince, never let a player place his Elephant in front (en prise) of a hostile Elephant ; if any man of sense should do so, he will be deemed guilty of imprudence. Only in those cases where there is no other resource should a player place one Elephant en prise of another; such is the decree of the sage Gotama.3 Should

2

We shall afterwards see, when treating of the Shatranj, or medieval game of Chess, that the powers and value of the Rook, Knight and Bishop, which remained the same as in the ancient Chaturanga, were to one another, respectively, in the following proportion. The Pawn was reckoned one, as the unit of measure; then the Rook counted six; the Knight four, and the Bishop two. In the Chaturanga however, the value of the Bishop may have been slightly modified owing to the probable occurrence of the peculiar situation of the four Bishops called Vrihannaukā of which more hereafter.

2 The text of this stanza is, at first sight, a little puzzling, if not absolutely unintelligible. I take the author's meaning to be, that the Ships and Pawns mutually capture each other, but are not allowed to capture a superior piece. The King, Elephant and Knight, however, being of higher rank, are allowed certain special privileges: viz., the King can take any piece whatever belonging to his two adversaries; but he is not himself liable to be taken, except by a King, Elephant or Knight. In a similar manner, the Elephant could capture any of the adverse forces at pleasure, and was liable to be captured only by a King, Elephant or Knight. Lastly, the Knight could take any of his adversa. ries within his range, but was himself subject to be captured only by a Knight, Elephant or King.

3 Gotama, as Sir William Jones has already observed, was an eminent legislator and philosopher. That he should have condescended to record his decision on the merits of certain moves in Chess, is probably a license on the part of the poet, in order to confer the more honour on the game.

a player have it in his power to capture either of the hostile Elephants, it is preferable to slay that on the left hand. In order to attain those situations on the board, called the Singhasana and the Chaturāji, the King is to be preserved at the expense of the whole army, the Elephant even included."

Peculiar Situations of the Pieces, conferring certain Privileges, &c.

"I will now explain to you, O Prince, the nature of certain situations, &c., that may occur in the course of play, viz., Singhāsana, Chaturāji, Nripakrishta Shatpada, Kākakashta Vrihannaukā, and Gāḍhāvați.

"Singhāsana.—When a King moves to the square of another King, O Yudhishthira, then he is said to have

1 Sir William Jones, in commenting on this passage, says, "the last rule is extremely obscure." Now, it so happens, that, instead of being obscure, it affords us a ray of light of no small importance. We learn from it that the adverse forces of each party were those on the right and left of the board; consequently those opposite, at the top, were the allied forces. Thus, the Green and Black were allies, as also the Red and Yellow. Indeed, we should have inferred as much, although the author nowhere expressly asserts it, from the nature of the game. Were we to suppose, for instance, that the Red and Green were allies, the brunt of the battle and almost the whole of the danger would fall chiefly, if not entirely, on the Green. The Red would merely have to move forward his Pawns, in comparative security, to the opposite side, through his ally's quarters; but, by making the opposite forces allies, the risk to be incurred is precisely the same for all parties. As to the mere propriety of slaying the Elephant, on the left hand, it is obvious enough. For example, Green has to pass his Pawns forward, under the protection of his pieces, on the left-hand side of the board, where the Yellow Elephant is directly in their way, and much more likely to give them a rough reception than the Elephant of the Red, which is on the right hand, and less able to gain their range, owing to his own Pawns, which stand in front of him. To this we may add, that the very approach of his own allies impedes the movements of the Red for attacking the Green when further advanced. Finally, the Red is obliged to keep a sharp look out on his right, from which quarter the hostile Black are threatening to take him in flank.