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Spiritual Games
- Snake and Ladder
The game had its origin in India and
was called Moksha Patam or Parama Padam or Mokshapat. It was used to
teach spiritual values to children. The British renamed it as
Snakes and Ladders.
 Now,
when and who created this game? Most people believe it was created by the
13th century poet saint Gyandev. There are certain references which take the
game back to 2nd century BC.
The ladders represented virtues and
snakes vices. In the original game square 12 was faith, 51 was Reliability,
57 was Generosity, 76 was Knowledge, and 78 was Asceticism. These were the
squares were the ladder was found.
 Square
41 was for Disobedience, 44 for Arrogance, 49 for Vulgarity, 52 for Theft,
58 for Lying, 62 for Drunkenness, 69 for Debt, 84 for Anger, 92 for Greed,
95 for Pride, 73 for Murder and 99 for Lust. These were the squares were the
snake was found.
The Square 100 represented Nirvana or Moksha.
The British took the game to England in
1892 and named it Snakes and Ladders and changed it according to Victorian
values. (This article is from the
Hindu Blog).
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