Snakes and Ladders

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KAUAI, HAWAII, May 27, 2009: Hinduism Today is researching the Hindu game of Moksha Patamu, which came to the West as “Snakes and Ladders.” It was a game to teach children moral values (faith, reliability, generosity, etc., each of which provided a “ladder” to lift the player closer to the game’s goal, moksha or liberation from rebirth) and the dangers of wrong attitudes and actions (lying, debt, rage, etc.), each of which slid the player down a “snake” to an earlier square.

Unfortunately, we are not finding a clear Hindu version with the original meanings of each square. If you know where we can find such a version, please e-mail the managing editor, Arumugaswami, at ar.